Subject: Copy of: SC 24 Sec Report in IT Strategy (SC 24 N1544)

From: Jean Stride <[email-masked]>
Date: 23 May 96 08:49:52 EDT

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 N1544

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24 Electronic Document Distribution Pilot Study - 
Secretariat Report

At the SC24 Plenary Meeting in Ottawa, an Ad hoc study group was established to begin 
implementation of the ISO/IEC JTC1 Electronic Distribution Policy  (Current Reference Document 
JTC1 N 4054, SC 22 N 1523).

All SC24 document up to and including those produced in Ottawa had previously been produced in hard 
copy only.  In Ottawa much debate took place as to the most appropriate form of document distribution 
for SC24 and it was agreed that for a trial period documents received in electronic format would be made 
available to members on diskette (as per JTC1 guidelines) and also on a server distribution site.

The Computer Graphics Unit at Manchester University very kindly agreed to establish a password 
controlled site from which SC24 members could view/download SC24 N-numbered documents.

The SC24 Secretariat was actioned to :

  Obtain Email addresses for the official SC24 membership list (i.e. NSBs, Liaison Officers, WG/RG 
Officers)
  Issue instructions on how to access the site, containing the password details
  Forward electronic documents to Computer Graphics Unit at Manchester University for uploading, 
with the SC 24 cover document
  Issue an email message to the to advise when new documents were available.

The site was officially opened on 14 February 1996, and since that date  in excess of 37 documents have 
been uploaded.  These accompany documents from Ottawa which have been made available 
electronically, making  over  80 documents in total.  The documents are being made available in their 
original format plus in HTML.  The number of accesses being made each month are as follows :-

April 1996		82 accesses
May 1996		To be advised !

There has been very little feedback from members regarding the use of this facility.  It is not known 
whether NSBs can/do access the site and how they are using the facility to disseminate the information 
to those within their country/organisation/committee.  Information is needed from all members regarding 
this distribution media before any decision can be made as to how to progress the SC24 Policy in line 
with the JTC1 directives.

In parallel with the server distribution, BSI has established a diskette distribution system, which mirrors 
the system used by the ANSI based secretariats.  A total of 6 diskettes have been issued from October 
1995 - May 1996 containing 37 documents.  Most documents have been issued in Word 6 format, the 
preferred SC24 format.  After some initial teething problems with graphics, this system appears to be 
working smoothly, however input from the UK has been that this media is unpopular.

Unfortunately many documents, probably 60%, continue to arrive either on paper or in formats that can 
not be handled by the majority of the recipients. It is recognised that most WP packages do not meet the 
needs of those producing complex technical documents, especially in the graphics area, however most
NSBs are unable to handle much more than Word or WordPerfect. This obviously restricts electronic 
distribution, and members are once again encouraged to submit documents in secretariat-friendly 
formats.

Both the SC24 Chairman and Secretariat have been involved at the JTC1 level in the discussions on
Electronic document distribution.  Whilst the formatting guidelines are far from perfect for all
levels of JTC 1 user i.e. NSBs, Industry, Secretariats, Project Editors etc.,  some improvement
has been made towards making them more suited to the needs of the whole JTC 1 community
JTC 1 Sub-committees have been requested to review the output documents of the latest 
IT Strategy meeting in Sydney, Australia, and submit comments to JTC 1 by 1996-06-30.
The next meeting of the group is planned for late September in London, and it is anticipated that 
the SC 24 Secretariat will attend.

It is hoped that the SC 24 Ad Hoc meeting on Ad Hoc Group on IT Strategy, called for Monday 17 June,
Kyoto, will address the issues raised in this paper and any problems identified, agree the future
SC 24 IT Strategy  and provide input to JTC 1 for discussion at the forthcoming IT Strategy meeting.

J M Stride
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 24 Secretariat