Modern tools for improving the development of acoustical standards
Christopher J. Struck · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2011
The development of acoustical standards has in the past largely followed on the trailing edge of technology. Given the progressively more rapid development of new technology, it is critical that new standards be developed when needed in the timeliest manner possible. Furthermore, participants in working groups are volunteers with limited time available for this important work. Budgetary constraints may also limit travel to in-person meetings for many persons otherwise interested in participating and whose practical experience is essential to the process. On-line meeting and collaboration tools enable shorter, more effective, and more frequent meetings to move draft standards more quickly to a ballot-ready document. Documents can be edited collaboratively in real time using standard mark-up tools for immediate feedback from participants. This also enables participation across time zones. The use of a password protected “cloud network" ftp site for working group documents (e.g., drafts, reference documents, meeting minutes, etc.) eliminates unnecessary e-mail traffic with large attachments and enables participants to access documents at any convenient time. These tools will be described and demonstrated to show the contemporary standards development process in action.