Environmental Data Coding Specification EDCS Product Development Group PDG

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Environmental Data Coding Specification (EDCS)
Product Development Group (PDG)

• 20 September 2000
• Meeting at the Fall 2000 SIW,
• Orlando, Florida

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Todays Meeting

• Review activities to date, including the
  actions taken at the most recent ISO / IEC WG 8
  meeting and the SISO - ISO / IEC relationship
  relevant to EDCS product development
• -- Discuss open action items from previous
  meetings
• -- Discuss and vote on accepting 00F-SIW-071 as
  the initial PDG product. Discuss the product
  evolution approach
• Describe upcoming EDCS review activities and
  establish suspense dates - dovetail with the ISO
  schedule
• Discuss other EDCS-related products and solicit
  volunteer participants

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The Environmental Data Coding Specification (EDCS)

• The SEDRIS program was initiated to facilitate
  the complete and unambiguous interchange of
  simulation data
• The SEDRIS Data Coding Standard (SDCS) was a key
  component that served as the data dictionary
• The SDCS has evolved into the EDCS
• The EDCS has several key components including
• EDCS Classification Codes (ECC), EDCS Attribute
  Codes (EAC) EDCS Unit Codes (EUC)
• The EDCS is progressing towards international
  standardization through the ISO / IEC

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EDCS PDG Purpose

• To review the EDCS technologies and its software
  implementation
• To provide comments, modifications,
  improvements for incorporation into the ISO/IEC
  standard
• Once the results are satisfactory to SISO, to
  recognize the EDCS as a formal SISO product,
  recommending and encouraging its use within the
  MS community
• The product will reference appropriate ISO/IEC
  specification standards
• To encourage and guide the development of
  utilities (software, mapping documents, use
  guides, etc.) that will enhance usability of the
  EDCS

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Value to MS Community

• To replace legacy DIS capabilities, e.g.
• Entity Bit Value (EBV) enumeration
• JSIMS/WARSIM built ECS
• To increase interoperability, e.g.
• DMSO EnviroFed leveraging in SOMs/FOM
• To increase federate accuracy and performance
• To provide rational structure for community data
  modeling
• Integration of disparate data sources/requirements
  with environmental data consumers (military
  models), e.g.
• Emissive characteristics of terrain vs. required
  sensor inputs
• Capture of non-environment data such as EO/IR
  sensor characteristics
• STRICOM built/extended TCDM from EDCS O/A RDM
  next

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PDG Membership Status

• Technical Area Director Gene Wiehagen
• PDG Officers
• Chair Bob Richbourg, Institute for Defense
  Analyses
• Vice Chair / Secretary Dale Miller,
  Lockheed-Martin Information Systems
• Drafting Group (one established)
• Paul Foley, Quantum Research (DMSO)
• Annette Janett, LMIS
• David Jodeit, ITT
• Dale Miller, LMIS
• Bob Richbourg, IDA
• Guy Schiavone, IST
• Membership As of July 2000, 59 individuals had
  subscribed to the EDCS PDG reflector

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PDG Meetings

• 30 March, 2000 (Spring SIW, Orlando) Formation
  of the PDG announced, reflectors established,
  solicitations for volunteers
• 4 May, 2000 (SEDRIS Associates Meeting, ANL)
  Officer elections, drafting group formation
• -- Open item Producing an initial Reference
  Product
• -- Open item Type of SISO product to be produced
• 27 July, 2000 (teleconference) Review of
  actions on PDG comments submitted to the ISO /
  IEC
• -- Open item discussion of rejected comments

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PDG Accomplishments
(1) Establishing election procedures Modified
the guidance found in the (draft) PDG Handbook
describing voting rules for general PDG business
and comment resolution (section 6, pg 5)
Process announced on reflector, comments
solicited Two-week open self-nomination period
(via reflector) In-person self nominations at
first meeting Members present vote at first
meeting Two week review period via
reflector Results submitted to SAC for approval
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PDG Accomplishments
(2) Initial review of EDCS Working Draft 3 15
May EDCS Draft available to PDG 24 May PDG
comments returned to DG editor 31 May DG editor
posts consolidated comments to reflector 5 June
Consolidated comments to TAD 12 June Comments
sent to ANSI H3 representative
104 separate comments were submitted from the
PDG All included in US national comment 99
accepted during the ISO / IEC WG8 meeting
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PDG Accomplishments
(3) Drafting Group jointly authors paper
00F-SIW-071, Standardizing the Codification of
Environmental Objects The Environmental Data
Coding Specification Includes an overview of
the EDCS purpose, content Outlines the ISO / IEC
standardization process Explains the SISO
relationship to the ISO / IEC process and the
SISO planned course of action Intended to be
the initial SISO (reference) product
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ISO/SISO Development Relationships
Product V.1
Product V.2
SISO Products
Product V.n
SISO Product References Adds MS-specific
Elaborations and Implementation Details
to International Standard
SISO PDG
Difference Assessment Revised Product Draft
Proposed Revisions
. . .
SISO PDG
Product Draft V.n1
SISO Proposed Extensions (via TAD to
National Standards bodies)
ISO Draft
International Standard
Draft International Standard (DIS)
Committee Draft (CD)
Working Draft (WD)
Final Committee Draft (FCD)
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Dovetail With ISO Schedule

• Next Working Group 8 meeting in Oct - Nov
  timeframe - principle focus will be SRM
• EDCS Working Draft 4 will be made available to
  the PDG by the end of October
• Comments due to US representatives by 5 January,
  2001
• Consolidated comments posted back to reflector by
  29 December, 2000
• Individual comments posted to reflector by 20
  December, 2000
• Guidelines for comments will be posted to
  reflector NLT end of October

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Focus of PDG Comments

• Nature of comments submitted to the ISO can be
• General Related to organization, procedures, or
  of a nature that applies to entire concepts or
  the document as a whole
• Technical Related to specific changes that
  would impact the interpretation, scope, or
  technical use of terms or specific clauses in the
  document
• Editorial Related to presentation, grammar, or
  typographical errors within the document
• Given the longer review period, PDG comments
  should focus on substantive general and technical
  issues for the next submission.

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Old Business Into New

• 4 May meeting the drafting group will begin
  activities that result in initial approval of the
  EDCS as a SISO Reference Product
• This reference product will evolve to remain
  current with the ISO EDCS Working Drafts
• As the EDCS moves through working draft to the
  committee draft, final draft, and draft standard
  stages, the (initial) reference product will
  advance to become a more formal type of SISO
  Product
• Two relevant issues
• PDG approval of F00-SIW-071
• Appropriate type of final SISO product

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PDG Approval of F00-SIW-071

• Standardizing the Codification of Environmental
  Objects The Environmental Data Coding
  Specification
• Includes an overview of the EDCS purpose, content
• Outlines the ISO / IEC standardization process
• Explains the SISO relationship to the ISO / IEC
  process and the SISO planned course of action
• Is already a SISO Reference Product by virtue of
  SNE forum acceptance to publish and present
• PDG formal vote to accept will make a stronger
  statement

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Appropriate Type of SISO Product?

• Reference Products Sources of information that
  provide a passive input to models and
  simulations. May also be an aid to research
• -- Include, e.g., reports prepared by Study
  Groups, Data Dictionaries, Lexicons and the SIW
  Proceedings
• Administrative Products Developed by SISO to
  guide the operations and practices of the
  organization
• -- Examples include the SISO Vision document and
  the SISO Policies and Procedures

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SISO Products (continued)

• Guidance Products Documents that can control
  the development, integration, and use of common
  reference data in some portion of the Modeling
  and Simulation community
• Guidance Products are similar to Standards in
  that they describe SISO Best and Current
  Practices
• A recommended development process is an example
  of a Guidance Product

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SISO Products (continued)

• Standards Products Formally approved documents
  that reflect consensus agreements on products,
  practices, or operations, as required, by
  simulation industry applications
• Interoperability with a SISO Standard shall
  require full compliance to document
  specifications
• SISO Standards are stable and well-understood,
  technically competent, have multiple,
  independent, and interoperable implementations
  with substantial operational experience, enjoy
  significant public support, and are recognizably
  useful in some or all parts of the simulation
  community
• An example is the RPR FOM

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SISO Product Development Process

• 1. Activity Approval (DONE)
• 2. Product Development ( first drafting group
  work is in process)
• 3. Ballot Product (Not required for Reference
  Administrative Products)
• 4. Product Approval (SAC, CC, EXCOM as
  applicable)
• 5. Distribution and Configuration Management
• 6. Periodic Review

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The Approval Process
Discussion ...
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Results of the July 2000 WG8 Meeting
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Potential EDCS-based SISO Products
Domain Specific Subsets Subsets of the EDCS may
fully describe data in specific functional
domains. These subsets could be developed as
products to be used within the functional domains
during data transfer. At the Spring 00 SIW, the
EO/IR functional domain was described as a
potential application area for this type of
product. Are there other such functional
domains? Are other approaches sufficient for
this purpose (Group definition)?
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Potential EDCS-based SISO Products

• Pre-simulation Mappings The EDCS provides
  alternate encoding schemes for some data objects.
  As an example, a Lighthouse could be described
  by either of the following
• - ECC BC050 (Lighthouse)
• - ECC AL015 (Building) and EAC BFC_ 82 (Building
  Function Code 82 is Lighthouse)
• - Other ECC and EAC combinations are also
  possible.
• It would be useful to recognize standard
  mappings between the EDCS and DFAD DMAFF
  FACC DTED / CIB USGS DLG-3 What are the other
  useful mappings?

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Potential EDCS-based SISO Products
Run-time Mappings Similar issues exist when
using the EDCS during run-time. Examples include
mappings between the DIS EBV and the EDCS and, as
a logical extension, EDCS use as part of the RPR
FOM - Are there other useful mappings?
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Potential EDCS-based SISO Products
Attribution Just as alternate ECC or ECC
EAC combinations can describe similar objects,
the are many opportunities to select from
different EAC when describing attribution - Are
there circumstances when a standard set of EAC
should be required? - Are there cases when one
EAC should be preferred? - Are there other
potential products
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Potential EDCS-based SISO Products

• Access mechanisms The General (default)
  Organizational Scheme provides one method of
  easing the access the most appropriate code
  problem
• Other schema should be devised to support domain
  specific use
• Automated assists in finding the right codes
  would be very beneficial (and potentially
  profitable?)
• How else can the access problem be resolved?

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Product Development Phase
During this step, the product is developed. This
is typically accomplished by members from the
community who volunteer for the effort. The
volunteers establish a clear understanding of the
product to be developed. In the case of unclear
or ambiguous information, the volunteers contact
the product proponent or the SAC member
designated as the Technical Area Director (TAD)
for the effort to obtain additional information.
The volunteers execute the plan and schedule to
accomplish the product development as established
during the activity approval process.
Modifications must be approved by consensus of
the product development volunteers, the SAC, and
the EXCOM.
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Making a Product - Initial Efforts
Drafting Group - This group is responsible for
evaluating and evolving a draft product
circulating the product for review responding to
comments by reviewers and responding to the SAC
on scope, schedule, and technical issues. DG
membership normally ranges from 5 - 7. Drafting
group membership is assigned by the SAC.
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Making a Product - Reviews

• Assigned Reviewers - This group is responsible
  for concentrated review and comment on all
  products, including interim products. There are
  10 - 20 Assigned Reviewers. The members are
  recommended by the Drafting Group and approved by
  the SAC.
• Volunteer Reviewers - This group is responsible
  for overall review of the product. The Volunteer
  Reviewers review any draft of the product and
  provide comments to the Drafting Group.
  Volunteer Reviewer membership is unlimited in
  size and is open to the MS community and all
  interested parties.

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The Drafting Group Composition

• DG Editor  The Drafting Group Editor is selected
  from the PDG membership by the PDG Chair TAD
• The DG Editor is responsible for developing a
  component based on direction from the PDG
• The DG Editor assigns specific tasks to DG
  members, collects input, and integrates it into
  the component
• The DG Editor reports the efforts of the DG to
  the PDG
• DG Member  A DG Member provides input in the
  development of the draft Product or component.
• The default DG Membership shall be the PDG
  membership. However, this may be unworkable.
  The PDG may develop a narrower definition of DG
  membership, and submit it for SAC approval.