Adding Compliant Vendors to MS Website

["Patrick Gannon" <pgannon@warningsystems.com>]

Rex,

After the OASIS InterOp Demos at Baltimore and Orlando, some vendors asked
what more could be done to highlight their work in implementing the various
OASIS EM standards.  I raised this idea with the EI MS Steering Committee,
and they were supportive of pursuing further evaluation.

I did some research and asked OASIS staff for some recommendations on what
is possible.  I first learned that providing a website list of vendors who
implement OASIS standards is something that OASIS has implemented for a
couple of other OASIS TCs: BPEL and DITA.

http://bpel.xml.org/products

http://dita.xml.org/products

Since the EI MS also has a Drupal-powered website, we could implement a
similar webpage.

http://www.oasis-emergency.org/products


However, before we ask OASIS IT staff to implement this, we will need to
work out among our members just what parameters should be offered to enable
searches and listings of EM standards-compliant vendor products.  Once the
C&D SC comes up with a set of recommendations, we could take the
recommendations to the EM Adoption TC for review and approval to implement.

Here are some of the guidelines and issues that OASIS staff have provided
which we should discuss.


Patrick Gannon
President & COO
Warning Systems, Inc.
+1 256 880 8702 x104  (office)



-----Summary of Staff Input-----

Guidelines and Options:


One of the EM Adoption SCs should be tasked with compiling a
list of the filters they'd like the product directory to have, i.e., in
addition to viewing all the products in the directory, what do you want
readers
to filter on...

Consider two types of filters: "Product type" and "Standards support". 

Recommend no more than ten options for "Product type" (fewer would be
better). These should be the main categories that buyers' will come looking
for, e.g., "Alerting software", "Sirens", "Broadcast systems", "Radios and
transmitters"... 

The "Standards support" options should be pretty straightforward. 
>products that support CAP 1.1
>products that support CAP 1.2
>products that support CAP IPAWS
>products that support CAP 2.0
>products that support EDXL-HAVE 1.0
>products that support EDXL-DE 1.0
>products that support EDXL-RM 1.0
>products provided by OASIS members
>other filters?

Advise you to consider limiting the user to one choice
of product type and one choice of standard per view.

A product directory is only useful if it's open. 

Rather than prohibit non-members from posting, give extra benefit
to listings from members--e.g., include the OASIS logo bug as an icon next
to member products and put Sponsor member listings in boldface.

Require people who post their products to the directory to register (if they
are not already OASIS member). 

The EI MS product directory could be different from our current
BPEL & DITA XML.org product directories. On XML.org, the main directory
includes teaser
copy describing each product, and the reader can only view a handful of
listings on any one page. Each XML.org product listing links to a full page
on the site that features a description, which quickly gets out-of-date.

For the EI MS directory, it's better to see a simple list that displays only
the product name and company name linked to the product page on the
company's web site. That way, there aren't a lot of sub-pages that go stale
and the reader can view (and print out) a list of products that match their
requirements, e.g. a list of products that support IPAWS.