EML Training Seminar

["Paul Spencer" <paul.spencer@boynings.co.uk>]

Dear Colleagues,

I am currently planning an EML course in London on 15/16 September. Content is as shown below. Please let me know if you or any of your colleagues are interested in attending or if you have any questions.

Regards

Paul Spencer
Director
Boynings Consulting Ltd
http://www.boynings.co.uk 

The Election Markup Language

The OASIS Election Markup Language (EML) provides for the "structured interchange of data among hardware, software, and service providers who engage in any aspect of providing election or voter services to public or private organizations". In practice, this means that EML can be used within virtually every type of public and private election and referendum, whether the actual voting is done electronically or on paper. For this reason, suppliers of election systems and services are starting to support EML and it is important for those organizing elections to know how to use this to their advantage.

Who should attend

The course is divided into an overview day and a technical workshop. The first day is aimed at those responsible for organizing elections, managers within suppliers of election systems and services, project managers and technical staff. The second day is aimed at project managers and technical staff who have attended the first day.

The Presenter

Paul Spencer is a Director of Boynings Consulting Ltd and a Consultant on the use of XML in Government. He led the development of the XML definition of the Election Markup Language for OASIS on behalf of the UK Office of the e-Envoy.

What you will learn

On the first day, you will get a background to EML, why it is important, how it meets the security needs of public elections and how it can be tailored to the needs of a specific election. Those staying for day two will learn more detail of the EML messages themselves and how to define and implement local requirements.

Day 1 (Overview)

• Welcome and Introductions
• Why and how the Election Markup Language is being developed
• The scope of the language in the public and private sectors
• EML terminology
• The model election process used to develop and explain EML
• How EML is structured
• How EML supports different election and referendum types
• How EML can be tailored to meet the requirements of individual elections
• The security and audit mechanisms of EML

Day 2 (Technical workshop)

• The EML messages in more detail
• How to define local election rules
• One way to implement the local election rule mechanism
• Examples of EML message validation

Course Schedule

Currently, a public course is planned for 15/16 September 2004 in London. If required, additional courses can be held  before or after this in London or other locations depending on demand. The course can also be run on a private basis at a fixed cost.