IA Standards (was RE: [Sigia-l] AIfIA Goals 2004 Survey Results)

[David Heller]

Donna, great point re: standards and how we should be talking more tangibly
about standards in IA vs. standards in general. Just got sidetracked by what
seemed to be a discussion about the value of standards in general. 

So now what? Are we to say that b/c we can't agree on the end-goal we can't
agree on how to get there? Are there standards for how to get there? I.e.
didn't Einstein use scientific methods to prove relativity? Relativity was
an unknown possibility, but there were standards for how to get there. Yes,
I know he dreamed it but his dreams alone were not enough and he had to use
scientific methods in order to turn his dreams into an axiom for all time.

Can't we be looking for our methods? I realize there is much debate here,
but if we did have methods that were standardized than this might actually
help others looking in from the outside be able to accept us as something
other than magicians. So getting back to the survey results, I think someone
said it is a chicken and egg sorta thing, eh?

I would say that we need to be doing these things in parallel. Building the
discipline and building our practices and outreach to the business world.
And they need to iterate off of each other as one informs us of new
information. Nothing should remain static in such a young and fluid
environment.

-- dave

-- Dave