S1000D and SCORM Integration

This is a presentation I gave at the DocTrain Boston 07 conference on how to reduce product lifecycle costs by integrating the S1000D and SCORM specifications.

S1000D is the International Specification for Technical Publications utilizing a Common Source Database (CSDB). Based on open XML standards, the latest issue (4.0) has been developed by the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD), the Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA), and the Air Transport Association of America (ATA).

Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a specification for online learning content developed by the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative.

The presentation has been updated to reflect the addition of SCORM support in S1000D 4.0.

S1000D and SCORM Integration

View more OpenOffice presentations from Joel Amoussou.

S1000D and SCORM Integration

I gave a presentation yesterday on S1000D and SCORM integration at the Doctrain 2007 conference in Lowell, MA. The main goal of integrating these two specifications is to reduce product life cycle costs and eliminate redundancies by streamlining business processes across the documentation and training functions. I noted that there are many opportunities for data reuse at every phase of the product life cycle including: concept, design, manufacturing, assembly, testing, delivery, and support. Documentation and training belong to the support phase and are often the only departments where content is captured in XML. This is due to the complexity and cost of current specialist XML authoring tools. XForms will allow knowledge workers to contribute knowledge assets in XML at every phase of the product lifecycle with a simple web form. I also believe that Office Open XML (OOXML) offers the opportunity to extract some value out of MS Office documents by exposing their contents to XML processing languages and tools such as XSLT 2.0 and XQuery.

Engineering data should be the trusted source of data for both publications and training. For example, product model data and engineering drawings can be used to create simulation for training and manufacturing assembly instructions can be used to create installation procedures for publications. Any data reuse strategy should look beyond training and publication to identify ways to reuse data and streamline processes across the entire product lifecycle.

The integration of SCORM and S1000D presents management and technical challenges. Since training and documentation are often two separate functions within the enterprise, the integration can have an impact on budget, processes, roles, and the organizational structure. For example, the cross-functional integrated project team is a good approach. The success of the integration will also require top leadership commitment and support. It is also important to address technical challenges such as the integration of existing content management systems (CMS) and learning management systems (LMS).

The first technical approach is to create dual purpose data modules (DMs). I highlighted the importance of clearly defining and documenting business rules, particularly for dual purpose data modules. The business rules should specify among other things the appropriate level of granularity and language style (e.g. Simplified English). These business rules should be validated with technologies such as ISO Schematron and Simplified English Checkers. Since S1000D is weak on learning content metadata, the IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) specification should be used to add learning object metadata to the S1000D dual purpose DMs. It is also possible to package all training data modules as a training publication module (PM). XSLT is then used to transform the S1000D DM into SCORM sharable content objects (SCOs) and learning assets. The S1000D metadata (IDSTATUS) shall be retained in the result SCOs to facilitate product applicability filtering when the SCOs are presented to the learners with an LMS. The S1000D PM can be used to generate the SCORM manifest as well. The dual purpose S1000D DM approach does not always support complex learning interactions and good instructional design principles.

The second approach is to give complete freedom to the instructional designer to design an effective learning experience. All elements in the S1000D data modules that are reusable in SCOs are assigned a unique ID. Examples are: paragraphs, steps, warning, cautions, notes, tables, etc. This can be done automatically using the XSLT generate-id() function. The instructional designer then searches the CSDB to find and display relevant DMs. She can then use XInclude/XPointer to include reusable elements from the DM into the SCO. When this is done, the SCO is automatically updated when the DM is updated.

Future versions of the S1000D specification will incorporate change proposal forms (CPFs) that will facilitate the integration of SCORM and S1000D content.

A copy of my presentation is available here.

Guidance for the Paperless Cockpit

One of the interesting applications of the Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) is electronic documents. Electronic documents allow aircraft operators to amend manufacturer’s flight operations manuals based on operator's policies and procedures and publish these manuals in electronic formats such as Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) and XML. Examples of these manuals are:

• Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM)


• Quick Reference Handbook (QRH)


• Flight Crew Training Manual (FCTM)


• Minimum Equipment List (MEL)


• Fault Reporting Manuals (FRM)


• Weight and Balance Manual


• Dispatch Deviations Guide

US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular (AC) 120 76A “Guidelines for the Certification, Airworthiness, and Operational Approval of Electronic Flight Bag Computing Devices” specifies the design and technical criteria for the approval of the human/machine interface of EFB systems. The following is an excerpt of the EFB Operational Evaluation and Approval Job Aid used by FAA inspectors for electronic documents functionalities:

• Is there a training program on how to display and interact with electronic documents? Is it adequate?
  
• Can the crews find the material they are looking for?
  
• Is the information organized in a way that makes sense to the crews?
  
• Is the information arranged in a consistent way on the screen so that the crews know where to look for specific types of information?
  
• Is it obvious when text is out of view? Is it easy to bring that text into view?
  
• Can the crew tell where they are in relation to the full document?
  
• Can the crew tell where they are in relation to the section of the document they are currently viewing?
  
• Is the text of the document easy to read on the screen?
  
• Is white space used to separate short main sections of text?
  
• Is high priority information especially easy to read?
  
• Are tables readable and usable?
  
• How are especially long and complex tables handled?
  
• Are figures readable and usable?
  
• Can the entire figure be viewed at one time?
  
• Can the crew zoom in to read details on the figure?
  
• Is it easy to move quickly to specific locations (e.g., to the beginning of a section, or to recently visited locations)?
  
• Are active regions (e.g., hyperlinks) clearly indicated?
  
• Is it easy to move between documents quickly?
  
• Is it easy to tell what document is currently in view?
  
• Is there a list of available documents to choose from?
  
• Can crews search the document electronically?
  
• Is the search technique adequate?
  
• If animation is supported, does the crew have adequate control over it?
  
• Can the crew start and stop the animation as needed?
  
• Is there a text description of the animation that describes its contents (so the crews know its contents without running the segment)?
  
• Is printing supported? If so, is it adequate?
  
• Can crews select a portion of a document to be printed?
  
• Is the hard copy usable?
  
• Can the crew terminate a print job immediately, if necessary?
  

These criteria have been developed as the result of research into human factors in the use of electronic documents in EFBs by the Human Factors Division of the Office of Aviation Programs at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. Knowing these criteria in advance can help an aircraft operator in preparing for approval. However, I believe that operators can benefit from a more detailed set of specifications in regard to the interface to electronic documents. Section 6.3.1 of the S1000D standard provides rules and guidance for the look and feel, and printed output from an Interactive Electronic Technical Publication (IETP). Section 6.4.1 defines a functionality matrix for IETPs to be used as an aid for defining requirements for S1000D projects. The functionality matrix leverages the US Department of Defense (DoD) long experience in defining class 1 to 5 IETMs with military specifications MIL-PRF-87268 and MIL-PRF-87269. For example, in the area of searching, the S1000D functionality matrix provides very detailed guidelines that go beyond the simple criteria "Can crews search the document electronically?" and "Is the search technique adequate?". The matrix breaks down searching functionalities into:

• Full-text search
  
• User-defined Boolean search
  
• Search across multiple databases and files
  
• Context search
  
• Keyword search
  

Publishing EFB electronic documents in XML provides many benefits over the Adobe® PDF format. Key enabling technologies for XML-based EFB electronic documents are: ISO Schematron, XSLT, XSL FO, XLink, XPointer, XInclude, and XQuery. For quality assurance, the electronic documents application should be subjected to rigorous unit testing and functional testing before its release to flight crews. A content management system can help an operator by providing features such as workflow routing, versioning, document locking, access control, and full audit trail of modifications made to documents.

The Air Transport Association (ATA) has adopted S1000D as the next generation aircraft digital data standard and there is already a very close collaboration between the ATA and the S1000D TPSMG to harmonize commercial aviation technical data requirements with S1000D. That collaboration should be extended to electronic documents for EFBs to allow aircraft operators to leverage and influence the development of the S1000D IETP functionality matrix for better guidance on creating the paperless cockpit.