Page 54 - GAO-02-327 Electronic Government: Challenges to Effective Adoption of the Extensible Markup Language
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Chapter 3: The Federal Government Faces
Challenges in Realizing XML’s Full Potential
receive transmissions. The agency has also begun using XML for its own
databases of federal IT management information.
Federal Government Several federal agencies are working individually with key industry and
public interest groups to incorporate their unique requirements into
Needs Have Not Been standards and specifications as they are being developed. Specifically,
Consolidated for officials from OMB, NIST, DISA, and GSA have each participated in one or
more XML-related standards activities. However, no central focal point has
Input to Standards- been designated to identify cross-agency or governmentwide requirements
Setting Bodies for standard XML data structures or develop a dictionary of inherently
governmental data tags. Further, no process has been implemented for
consolidated collaboration with standards bodies on the development of
XML standards and specifications to ensure that federal requirements are
identified and incorporated. Past experience coordinating federal
requirements for EDI suggests that one approach to resolving the problem
would be to present a “single face to industry” through a single
requirements coordinating committee.
Based on individual agency initiative, several federal agencies are
participating in standards initiatives led by organizations such as the
2
American National Standards Institute (ANSI), UN/CEFACT, OASIS, and
RosettaNet. For example, NIST is a member of OASIS and RosettaNet and
has actively participated in the development of test suites to assess
conformance with XML standards. NIST chairs several OASIS technical
committees to influence the quality, correctness, and testability of ebXML
specifications. In addition, NIST developed conformance test suites based
on XML standards and submitted them to OASIS for the benefit of the
entire community. Further, NIST co-sponsored a forum with ANSI in
October 2001 to explore alternatives for using XML to improve ANSI’s
standards-setting process. GSA has also been active in standards setting by
serving as a board member of the RosettaNet initiative. In addition, GSA
officials, including the co-chair of the XML Working Group, have been
actively participating in the development of ebXML standards at
UN/CEFACT and OASIS. Also, OMB officials told us they were working
with international organizations on trade-related standards.
2
ANSI is a private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S.
voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.
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