Abstract
Joint Industry Program 33 (JIP33) was established through IOGP with backing from the World Economic Forum to drive industry level standardization for procurement of equipment and packages. During Phases 1 and 2 of JIP33 the traditional business applications Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and e-mail were used to develop, collaborate and publish 14 specifications.
For phase 3 a digital requirements management platform was implemented to enhance capacity, efficiency and auditability of specification development and maintenance. This platform has subsequently been used to develop and publish 27 ‘exception’ style specifications and 4 ‘narrative’ style specifications, bringing the JIP33 published specification library to 45 since the program's commencement in 2016.
JIP33 proposed that the adoption of a digital requirements management platform would reduce the cost and time of development, simplify collaboration and improve the quality and maintainability of output. The platform's original configuration and work processes have evolved to enhance collaboration and improve traceability. Natural language processing technology has been integrated into the platform to support JIP33 writing protocols and reduce user dependence on external tools. Document production is automated using customised data transformations to output the specifications in a publishable form. Requirement Interchange Format (ReqIF) data exports are being piloted in collaboration with the IOGP Standards committee to test the digital transfer of JIP33 specifications into user databases.
Changes to JIP33 work processes aimed at improving user engagement also provided resilience to the Covid pandemic and the sudden shift globally to virtual working. However, notwithstanding improvements in the tools and process, timely engagement of collaborators in content development and reviews remains a significant area for improvement. Resistance to ‘sentence centric’ requirement writing should decline as familiarity and culture change programs take effect. Improvements to JIP33 data transformations are predicted to streamline extraction of publishable specification documents from the platform. Digital transfer of JIP33 specifications has also been piloted and advances in the standardisation of data attributes across the industry will drive the future evolution of the JIP33 program's use of these tools.
This paper will present an update of the JIP33 program's sustained use of a requirement management platform and other digital tools for specification development and future digital integration of JIP33 specifications by users.
