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News
June 7, 2010
UN/CEFACT Readies Updated Electronic Data Standard
The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) is nearing completion on the latest version of the UN/CEFACT Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) XML schema for project management reporting. Dekker, Ltd. has been tracking the evolution of the UN/CEFACT XML standard since its inception, and is currently developing UN/CEFACT import/export capabilities for the Dekker PMIS™ (Program Management Information System).
The newest version of the standard, expected for release within the next 60 days, will be identified as version D09B, and its publication will be closely followed by a set of Joint Industry/Government reporting guidelines to be issued by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA).
The UN/CEFACT XML data exchange standard, much like the long-established ANSI ASC X12 standard familiar to most project management professionals, provides a coherent set of business modeling rules and data signifiers that parties at every level of a project can use to standardize data transmissions. By building the standard on XML – a no-cost, universally embraced data language – UN/CEFACT has lowered the barriers to entry for organizations throughout the project management sphere long hampered by the costs associated with deploying complicated, proprietary reporting structures. The global familiarity with XML paves the way for UN/CEFACT to grow into its intended role as a truly universal business modeling and data exchange standard.
DCMA is the branch of the Department of Defense tasked with ensuring Federal acquisition programs, supplies, and services are delivered on time, within cost, and meet performance requirements. DCMA collects Earned Value Management (EVM) data from federal projects, and for many years, this data came to the agency in a number of different formats. In 2005, DCMA began exploring the possibility of creating their own software-neutral data interchange standard to streamline the data collection process. Based on UN/CEFACT’s experience creating the EDIFACT standard, used predominantly in Europe, DCMA ultimately decided to pursue the creation of an XML standard through the United Nations organization.
The purpose of the standard, says Chris Hassler of DCMA, is to provide “better visibility through the supply chain for large projects. Through better and faster information flow, it gives us a better picture of a project at any given time.” DCMA now handles maintenance of the standard and continues to work in cooperation with other federal groups such as the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), and project management software vendors such as Dekker, Ltd., on the continuing development of the schema.
Once the standard is published, DCMA will require all data submitted into its central database to be in UN/CEFACT XML format. The standard closely mirrors the Dekker PMIS™ data conventions, and once the government publishes the official reporting standards pertaining to UN/CEFACT, the Dekker software suite will implement compliant reporting capabilities. Until such standards are published, no software system can be considered truly compliant.
The UN/CEFACT XML standard evolved from the original work conducted on the ANSI X12 standard, but differs from X12 in that it offers a broader scope inclusive of more than simply Earned Value data. For instance, the X12 cost reporting transaction set (X12.839) enjoyed wide adoption in the marketplace, but other aspects of the standard, such as the schedule transaction set (X12.806) never took hold. These X12 structures have counterparts in EDIFACT, which experienced the same hit-and-miss adoption.
The more comprehensive nature of the UN/CEFACT XML schema offers core guidelines for cost performance (CPR), contract funds status reports (CFSR), integrated master schedule (IMS), structure data (WBS, etc.), and time phased cost data.
Three documents provide the underlying structure of the XML standard. The UN/CEFACT Universal Modeling Methodology (UMM) outlines the processes and business objects covered by the specification, and these components become part of the Core Component Technical Specification (CCTS). The Naming and Design Rules Technical Specification (NDR) takes the business model and elements from the CCTS and translates them into XML expressions.
For more information about the UN/CEFACT XML standard, including the current standard Joint Industry/Government Guidelines, please visit the UN/CEFACT XML wiki, maintained by DCMA.