Standards Development Process

Organisation for example ISO 15489 on records management. Other examples include HTML (e.g. ISO/IEC 15445) and PDF (e.g. ISO 32000-1) could be used, which started as de facto standards and have now been formally adopted as de jure standards .

De facto standards are customs or practices that have become adopted and commonly used but are not prescribed by law. For example, Excel may be considered a de facto standard for accounting and data compilation, but there is no formal

requirement to use Excel to perform those functions in order to ensure the accuracy or reliability of the accounting or data compilation process. Similarly, the Microsoft DOC file extension is a de facto standard; even though the Microsoft Corporation has changed the specific format specifications for documents created using its Word software, DOC has remained the standard file extension for word processed documents.

1.6.2 Standards Development Process

In order to understand the role and purpose of standards it is important to understand the process in which they are developed. Both OAIS and RAC are ISO standards, so it is relevant to examine the ISO standards development process. The International

Standards Organisation is divided into 250 technical committees.¹⁰¹ The Technical Committees (TC) each have a specific thematic focus, such as screw threads (TC 1) or information and documentation (TC 46). The TCs can then be broken down into specialised Sub-Committees (SC), such as metric series wires for measuring screw threads (TC1/WG15), technical interoperability for information and documentation systems (TC 46/SC 4) or archives/records management (TC 46/SC 11). Standards can be identified and developed at either the TC, SC level or even by liaison groups.

101 International Standards Organisation, ‘Who develops standards? - ISO’.accessed 24 November 2014 http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards_development/who-develops-iso-standards.htm.

The Technical Committees and Sub-Committees are comprised of industry experts, Non Governmental Organisations (NGO), specialists and other stakeholders.¹⁰² Members are drawn from national standards boards or other ISO full member bodies, like the Consultative Committee for Space Data Sciences. National standards boards if they wish to feed into the development process related to particular types of standards such as, metrics series for measuring screw threads (TC1/WG15) or archives and records management (TC46/SC11) must have similar technical committees at the national level.

For example, the British Standards Institute (BSi) has a committee of experts on archives and records management,¹⁰³ who also represent that committee on TC46/SC11. If there is no similar technical committee, experts can create one along with other industry experts, with approval from their national standards board. However if such a technical committee cannot be created then experts cannot feed into the standards development process at the international level. For example, neither Tanzania nor Kenya have

technical committees at the national level dedicated to space data standards, as such any space data experts would not be able to feed into the ISO standards development process for TC20/SC13 which is the committee dedicated to developing standards related to space data and information transfer systems.¹⁰⁴

Not only do technical committees at the national level feed into the ISO

development process but also professional bodies such as the Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems (CCSDS). The Consultative Committee on Space Data Systems (CCSDS), established in 1982, was created to serve as an international forum for space

102 International Standards Organisation, ‘Who develops standards? - ISO’.

103 British Standards Institute. ‘Information Management’, accessed 1 March 2015. http://www.bsigroup.co.uk/en- GB/industries-and-sectors/information-management/.

104 International Standards Organisation, ‘ISO - Technical Committees - ISO/TC 20/SC 13 - Space Data and Information Transfer Systems’, accessed 2 March 2015,

http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/technical_committees/other_bodies/iso_technical_committee.h tm?commid=46612.

data scientists to discuss and develop standards. CCSDS also has close ties with ISO TC20/SC13, which develops space data standards, and ISO TC20/SC13 often draws directly from CCSDS work. In actuality CCSDS has a cooperative agreement with TC20/SC13, whereby standards developed by the committee can proceed through the ISO standards process, without having to be proposed as a new work item to the SC13.

105 CCSDS is also listed, on TC20/SC13’s ISO website, as a Liaison A committee which is defined as: ‘Organizations that make an effective contribution to the work of the technical committee or sub-committee for questions dealt with by this technical committee or sub-committee.’¹⁰⁶ Both TDR standards studied in this thesis (e.g. OAIS and RAC) were developed by CCSDS and then submitted to TC20/SC13 for finalisation and approval as ISO standards.

Member bodies can choose to be observing members (O-members) or

participating members (P-members).¹⁰⁷ P-members are active members of the TC or the SC, who must not only contribute to the standard development process but are also required to vote on all questions submitted to the technical committee. O-members cannot vote or comment on any standards in development, they are only able to observe the standards development process.

ISO has established four principles in the development of standards. Standards must answer a market need (1), and they must be developed by team of international experts (2), who must be drawn from various industries and sectors to ensure a

105 Brian Lavoie, ‘Meeting the Challenges of Digital Preservation: The OAIS Reference Model’, OCLC Newsletter, February 2000., 26.

106 International Standards Organisation, ‘Organizations in Liaison - ISO’, Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, accessed 2 March 2015,

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about/organizations_in_liaison/organizations_in_liaison_details.htm?id=9301.

107 All the information from this paragraph comes from: International Standards Organisation, ‘Who develops standards? - ISO’.

balanced representation of interests (3).¹⁰⁸ Finally the standards must be based on consensus, and the comments and opinions of all stakeholders must be given equal weight and consideration (4).

The standards development process for Technical Committees and

Sub-Committees is identical. Although OAIS and RAC were developed by CCSDS, by virtue of the reciprocal agreement between CCSDS and TC20/SC13, the standards were vetted and approved at the Sub-Committee level (TC20/SC13), as such the description of the development process here will use the term Sub-Committee, not Technical Committee.

The entire development process is broken down, below, but it should be noted that OAIS and RAC proceeded through the ISO process from step 3, onwards.

1. A standard is proposed by a P-member of a Sub-Committee (SC).

2. If the proposal is accepted, then a working group within the SC is established to prepare an initial draft.

3. The draft is shared with the SC committee and the central secretariat (ISO-SC).

4. If consensus is reached within the SC about the contents of the draft standard, then that draft standard is shared with all ISO national bodies through the central secretariat.

5. A draft standard can only received full standard status if it receives 2/3 of the vote from P-members that were actively involved in its development and 75% of the ISO national bodies. If the draft standard is not approved it is sent back to the SC committee to be revised.¹⁰⁹

This development process is particular to ISO but an understanding of the layers involved in the ISO standards development process will inform the reader’s

understanding of discussions in the data analysis chapters. It is acknowledged, though, that other standards bodies have their own development and approval mechanisms that differ from those established by ISO.

108 Information from this paragraph comes from: International Standards Organisation, ‘Standards Development- ISO’, accessed 24 November 2014, http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards_development.htm.

109 International Standards Organisation, ‘Standards Development- ISO’ See also International Standards Organisation,

‘ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1-Consolidated Supplement- Procedures Specific to ISO’ (International Standards Organisation, 2014).

1.7 Conclusion

This chapter has provided the background to the thesis research; the problem

statement; a description of the study locations; definitions for the major terms used in the thesis; and an overview of the standards development process, using the ISO as a model. The thesis itself is divided into eight (8) chapters, including this chapter; the subsequent chapters are outlined below.

Chapter 2 discusses the various methodologies and analytical frameworks

considered for this research, noting that mimesis was selected as the methodology used to guide the development of the research framework. This chapter also explores the usage of mimesis in different research studies, in particular its usage in studying language and reality construction. This analysis leads into a discussion of Ricoeur’s threefold mimetic model,¹¹⁰which served as the inspiration for constructing the research framework for the thesis. An explanation and justification for the selection of study locales, along with a detailed discussion about data collection and analysis, are also included in this chapter.

Chapter 3 discusses archival scholarship related to digital records preservation.

This contextualisation of the topic from the literature leads into an examination of the factors that contributed to the development of the idea of a digital repository and a Trusted Digital Repository. The chapter considers the development of OAIS, along with the work that contributed to the elaboration of audit and certification standards, in particular RAC. This chapter also deconstructs the notion of trust, especially the meaning of the term in reference to ‘trusted’ digital repositories.

110 Paul Ricoeur, ‘Chapter 3: Time and Narrative: Threefold Mimesis’, in Time and Narrative, vol. 1, 3 vols. (London and Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984).

Chapter 4 analyses the impact of international donor policies on information communication technology initiatives in the developing world, based on a review of literature from the field of technology transference. This chapter also examines whether or not assumptions in foreign donor policies indirectly contributed towards the failure of ICT projects in Africa. This discussion will seek to provide the reader with an

understanding of the potential effect that implied expectations can have on the successful implementation of technology projects in Africa. However, the chapter also studies the factors that have contributed to successful IT projects in the developing world. In closing, there will be an overview of African archival research and scholarship to juxtapose the observations in the technology transference literature and the realities of digital records preservation in the region.

Chapter 5 is an analysis of the data collected from case study digital repositories, examining how current digital repositories are constructed and whether they adhere to TDR standards. The chapter compares a selection of TDR standards requirements against the realities of case study repositories.

Chapter 6 uses interview findings from practitioners in the East African

Community to consider the realities of digital records preservation in the region. This chapter studies the impact of legislative frameworks and the position of the national archives in government on digital records preservation initiatives. It also examines the effects of weak infrastructure and the absence of trained personnel to support digital preservation initiatives. In closing, the chapter will analyse the perceived usefulness of TDR standards by East African practitioners.

Chapter 7 contains an analysis of the intent of the standards in question, in order to consider the extent to which they can meet digital preservation needs in East Africa. It

also examines the standards development process in detail, asking whether there was a privileging of voices, how equitable the development process was and the perceived usefulness of TDR standards by practitioners in the developed world.

Chapter 8 summarises the findings of this thesis and makes recommendations to help to resolve identified problems or shortcomings in the development and application of TDR standards. The chapter also includes suggestions for areas requiring further research and exploration.

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 Introduction

This thesis examines the transferability of Trusted Digital Repository (TDR) standards to an Eastern African context, by determining if there are assumptions built into TDR standards (specifically OAIS and RAC) that might affect the ability of developing nations, such as those in the Eastern African Community (EAC), to apply them effectively.

A qualitative approach to the research supports the task of exploring both the reasoning behind TDR standards and the realities of operationalising them. Qualitative research is: '[a] process of enquiry that draws data from the context in which events occur, in an attempt to describe these occurrences, as a means of determining the process in which events are embedded and the perspectives of the participants in the events.’¹¹¹ In order to understand the transferability of TDR standards to different geopolitical environments, it is necessary to understand the context in which those standards have been developed and applied, as well as the perspectives of those participants involved in implementing them. This methodology helps provide the framework in which the presumptions built into TDR standards can be identified and deconstructed.

The methodological framework used in this thesis was designed specifically for this study, using Ricoeur’s threefold mimetic model. This model has proved useful in the research because it has enabled a structured analysis of data collected through onsite visits to case study institutions and interviews with standards developers, digital repository operators and archival practitioners in the developed world and East Africa.

The findings from the analysis of interviews, site visits and observational data will be

111 G. E. Gorman and Peter Clayton, Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook (London: Library Association Publishing), 1997., 23.

used to answer the research questions proposed in Chapter 1. The design, development and application of the framework will be explained in greater detail in this chapter.

To understand the reasoning behind the selection of Ricoeur’s threefold mimetic model and the development of the research framework, the reader needs to first understand what is meant by the term ‘text’ (2.2). This will be followed by a discussion of the research methodologies that were considered and rejected (2.3), before providing an overview of the chosen theoretical framework: constructivism and mimesis. The chapter will then offer a definition of constructivism and mimesis and an examination of the use of mimesis as a methodology for deconstructing texts (2.4). Ricoeur’s threefold mimetic methodology will be then examined, in order to assess its viability as a research methodology (2.4.2). The chapter will include a discussion of the application of mimesis in this study (2.5.1), as well as a description of the parameters of the study and the data collection points chosen (2.5.2), and an explanation of the methods used to collect and analyse data (2.5.3 and 2.5.4).