Towards a Rational Approach to Standards for Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS) Development

As we continue the development of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) there is a belief that specifying standards is an obvious next step to quicken the pace of IOOS implementation while assuring interoperability. The lure of standards lies in such expected benefits. This paper identifies and discusses some assumptions of this belief, the proposed use of several important process standards, and their place in the overall Systems Engineering (SE) process. Several specific process standards are examined in detail, along with their relationship to the system engineering process already proposed for the IOOS. In addition, alternative process standards are proposed which can also be used to perform this function. The authors hope that the use of these process standards will be considered for incorporation into the IOOS program