What we need to do to get the learning specialization ready for DITA 1.2

[john_hunt@us.ibm.com]

Dear DITA learning and training content specialization
sub-committee,

The DITA Technical Committee is keeping to a tight schedule
for consideration and approval of updates for DITA 1.2, the next major
update to the DITA specification slated for submission for OASIS approval
in 2008. In sum, we need to have the designs and specifications for learning
and training content ready to submit for review by the TC by October 30,
so TC members can vote on approving them for inclusion in DITA 1.2 at the
regular TC meeting on November 13. 

Please see details below about what we need to have ready
and when. 

Due to all of the good participation and input from all
of you, I think we have a very solid design in place, which provides a
good starter set of learning topic types, a supporting map domain, a set
of basic interaction types to support assessments, and a solid support
plan for IEEE LOM metadata. 

Now is the time to review these designs, and make any
necessary revisions to them as we ready them for submission to the DITA
TC.

The latest designs, samples, and language spec are available
with the learningsc_plugin - 
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/dita-learningspec/download.php/25497/learningsc_plugin.zip

And the most recent version of the language spec is also
available by itself here - 
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/dita-learningspec/download.php/25496/draft1_dita_learning_spec.zip

If possible, please plan to attend and provide input at
our regular sub-committee meetings Thursdays at 4-5 pm ET, or circulate
your reviews and comments to the dita-learningspec list, according to the
review schedule below. 
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Details: What we need ready in order to make it into
DITA 1.2 
In order to get our learning and training content specialization
ready for submission and inclusion with DITA 1.2, we need to have the specification,
DTDs, and schemas ready to submit for review and approval by the DITA Technical
Committee by November 13. We do not need to have resolved or developed
supporting specialized processing by November 13, but we need to have complete
specifications, including the reference doc, working DTD and schema modules,
and sample content ready by then. 

Targets 
In order to make this November 13 date, we need to make
the following targets for completing, reviewing, and approval our designs
and the language specifications the describe them.

October 4 Sub-committee final review and approval
of the DTD/schema designs and language specifications for the topic (except
learning plan) elements, map domain elements, and interactions domain elements.


October 16 We submit a summary design proposal
for our work to the DITA TC. This is a formality, but places us on the
agenda for November 13. 

October 18 Sub-committee final review and approval
of the DTD/schema designs and language specifications for the learning
plan topic and LOM metadata domain elements. 

October 25 Review of overview and introduction
section of the spec - John Accardi and Reuben Tozman are drafting this.


October 30 We submit the DTD/schema designs, samples,
and language specification for review by the full DITA Technical Committee.


November 13 - The DITA TC reviews the designs and
specifications and votes on their readiness for inclusion in the 1.2 update
to the DITA spec. 
Pending DITA TC review and approval, the DTD/schema designs
and language specifications will get included with the DITA 1.2 specification
being assembled for submission to OASIS for review and approval in 2008.


November - December - We tackle processing, with
primary target of SCORM and secondary target PDF, according to our Phased
Design Plan. The processing would get delivered separately from the DTD/schema
designs and language specification, and made available to the community
as part of a DITA Open Toolkit plugin module on a schedule TBD.


Thanks for you attention to this.

John
___________________________________
John Hunt
DITA Architect / Lotus Education Development
Chair, OASIS DITA learning and training content sub-committee
IBM Software Group/Lotus Software
john_hunt@us.ibm.com