JISC

You should consult the programme manager about the programme’s overall approach for standards and JISC guidelines 

You should indicate:

• any deviations from the standards that JISC recommends
• where choices exist in an area, the reasons for the standards you select
• where proprietary standards are selected in an area where open ones are available, the reasons for their use and their scope of deployment

Open standards should be used wherever possible

Open standards should be used wherever possible - any deviation should be justified in the original proposal and any alternative interface specifications should be designed with re-use by others in mind. JISC recognises that emergent technologies lack the maturity of standards of some existing technologies. Interoperability and data transfer are key to the provision of next generation technologies for education and research, and projects are expected to work with JISC to address these issues.

Further guidance on standards and their stipulation will be provided by the programme manager.

You must list the standards (including versions) you plan to use in the project plans, and this must be agreed with the programme manager. Any deviations from the standards JISC recommends must be agreed with the programme manager and documented in the project plan.

You are expected to adhere to these standards for the duration of the project. However, there may be cases where it’s useful to re-visit standards agreed at the start (e.g. where a long running project needs to interoperate with other projects that have started later). Where continuing to use a standard would impact on the value of project deliverables, then changes may be renegotiated with the programme manager. Any decisions to change the standards used require JISC approval.

Projects are encouraged to use compliance testing tools wherever appropriate

You are encouraged to use compliance testing tools wherever appropriate. Effective tools are a valuable way of easing the construction and maintenance of standards compliant applications and data. They exist in many areas including HTML compliance, metadata maintenance, accessibility testing and conformance to SCORM standards, and viewing XML schemas. UKOLN and JISC CETIS provide help and guidance on standards for information management and learning and teaching.