The S1000D standard is defined as an international specification for the procurement and production of technical publications.

Whilst the title restricts its use to technical publications, it has been found (through application) that the principles of the specification can be applied to non-technical publications. This specification was initially developed by the Aerospace and Defense Industries. 

What version of the S1000D standard should I use for my project?

The version of ASD S1000D that you use for your project will be dependent on several governing factors. They will be:

• The version that is specified in the Business Rules for the project. This will be decided by the requirements of the contract. If this is not specified, it is recommended that key stakeholders are consulted with the pros and cons for specific versions.
• What you wish to achieve. If you are starting an internal project to try and get a head start in the market, one of the questions should be, what is it we are trying to gain from using the S1000D standard? Once you have answered this question, you can then look at what version to use. Each version of the specification has subtle differences and functionality available for projects to use. Just because the latest version of the specification has been released, doesn't always mean that it will meet your project requirements. 

What tools do I need to begin an S1000D project at a minimum?

If you need to start a S1000D project from scratch, there are a number of requirements that you need to meet. To deliver to the specification, you will need to have the following:

• a way to create and maintain your data an XML/SGML authoring package
• a way to store and retrieve your data a Common Source Database (CSDB)
• a way to manage the different revisions of your data a CSDB Front End application or a Data Module Requirement List (DMRL) and a CSDB Status List (CSL)
• a way to control the way your data is structured, presented and distributed a set of project Business Rules 

Can I start a project without a set of Business Rules?

Yes you can but it is not recommended. The business rules give you the road map to work to for the generation of your S1000D Project. The ten suggested topics or categories as laid out in S1000D Version 4.0 chapter 2.5.1 are:

a) General business rules
b) Product definition business rules
c) Maintenance philosophy and concepts of operation business rules
d) Security business rules
e) Business process business rules
f)  Data creation business rules
g) Data exchange business rules
h) Data integrity and management business rules
i)  Legacy data conversion, management and handling business rules
j)  Data output business rules

This is not a definitive list of categories but it is a good guide to begin with.

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