What is the S1000D Specification?

The S1000D specification was developed to establish standards for the documentation of any civil or military vehicle or equipment. It is based on international standards such as SGML/XML and CGM for production and use of electronic documentation (Editor's note: the latest S1000D release Issue 2 allows both SGML and XML output using the same specification.) The goals were to establish a standard that can be used internationally by a wide variety of organizations, to reduce the need for independent development of such standards by the various organizations, and to enhance interoperability - thus reducing duplication with its inherent costs. Click here for more technical details and benefits of S1000D Benefits for document producers (equipment manufacturers) Allows for multi-channel publishing to paper as well as web and IETM based electronic products. Reduces the cost of producing documentation since material is authored in one format, which streamlines the publishing process, regardless of the product being manufactured. Greatly enhances global marketability of products since prospects will already be familiar with the "look and feel" of the product documentation. Benefits for data consumers (military) Data becomes interoperable and communication and data mining is greatly improved - because the U.S. military and NATO countries will be authoring to the same specification. Allows the development of standardized software to work with data - including content management systems, IETM, FOSI, and text editors - which significantly reduces cost and transforms the military from a "reactive" to a "proactive" maintenance organization. Maximizes content reuse capabilities and slashes overall document load, along with the costs of maintaining data. New documents created faster and document accuracy hugely improved.

Dennis Raitz is co-chair of the Technical Publications Specifications Maintenance Group (TPSMG), an international body responsible for the development and maintenance of ASD/AIA Specification 1000D (S1000D). Last year he received the 2003 Office Secretary of Defense (OSD) Standardization Award. This recognized his dedication in leading US industry efforts in the development of the S1000D, which involved the AIA, U.S. Department of Defense, and the European Ministry of Defense, as well as industry.

Dennis Raitz: The old "Mil" (military) standards 87268 and 87269, used by defense and industry, were issued in the early 1990s. Different contractors interpreted the spec in different ways. This is why U.S. industry and the DoD signed on for the S1000D specification. They wanted data to be easily shared across different software platforms. And because the new specification is dynamic, it continues to be updated to incorporate latest technologies like Network Centric philosophies.

DCLnews: Is XML involved in the specification?

Dennis Raitz: The basis of the spec is currently SGML. I understand that converting to XML is relatively easy. Which means we've get the best of both worlds. (Editor's note: the latest S1000D release Issue 2 allows both SGML and XML output using the same specification.)

DCLnews: You oversee the standard with your co-chairs at the Technical Publications Specifications Maintenance Group (TPSMG). What have you found to be the biggest issues in the adoption of the specification?

Dennis Raitz: A significant challenge was educating the community on the business case for competing on delivering data, not on selling software tools.

DCLnews: Does the new specification help with re-using content?

Dennis Raitz: Content reuse is the big reason for the U.S. government investing in Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs), and they're putting these into the S1000D standard. The spec fuels content reuse. Graphic reuse allows for a significant cost reduction especially when you consider how expensive it is to develop a graphic.

DCLnews: One question a lot of non-technical people might ask is what exactly is the specification? What does it look like?

Dennis Raitz: In printing it out, it is five large volumes of paper identifying how you break down data, how content should look, and what types of data you can and can't define. It also provides rules on how to structure data, how to style the data, and how to wrap it for delivery. It's the manual you consult to make sure your technical documentation is structured properly and that the material can be viewed and shared by anyone.

DCLnews: How does the standard affect technicians and maintainers?

Dennis Raitz: Since no proprietary software or viewers are involved, technicians and maintainers can take a standard laptop, and a browser like Internet Explorer, and have the entire library of supporting technical maintenance data at their fingertips.

DCLnews: Creating and maintaining the standard must take up a lot of time?

Dennis Raitz: A lot of time and effort has been involved to make this happen. Large companies, along with the MoD and DoD have funded people to work on it as well. A large amount of commitment and energy have been put into making this an industry standard that can be a living document keeping pace with technology.

DCLnews Editorial

About Dennis "Denny" Raitz

Besides co-chairing on the Technical Publications Specifications Maintenance Group (TPSMG), Denny Raitz is an associate technical fellow at The Boeing Company. He has been with the McDonnell Douglas turned Boeing Company for 26 years as a technical writer on the F/A-18A/B/C/D, A-12, AFX technical publication programs and the F/A-18E/F IETM. He has also has been deeply involved in the Boeing IETM Class IV/V estimating and process development. His current duties at Boeing include F/A-18E/F IETM Data Coordinator, IETM author training and consulting, and IETM software testing.