OASIS

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) is a not-for-profit, global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards.

The technical work of OASIS is driven by our members; technical committees (TCs) are formed based on the proposals of our members, and the TCs set their own agendas and schedules. OASIS provides the guidance, process, and infrastructure necessary for our members to do the work.

OASIS members have formed TCs in a number of areas including the following:

• Horizontal and e-business framework
  
• Web Services
  
• Security
  
• Public Sector
  
• Vertical industry applications

OASIS encourages its TCs to consider how the work they are doing relates to work being done by other organizations, and to establish liaison relationships where practical; OASIS prefers to see interoperable specifications than competing specifications.

The OASIS Technical Committee Process is:

• Open The OASIS TC process is open to all OASIS members, and the email list archives for TC discussions are visible to the world.
  
• Accountable OASIS TC work is conducted according to a process that ensures a formal audit trail.
  
• Democratic The OASIS TC process encourages consensus but retains traditional democratic processes for resolving conflicting views.
  
• Flexible The OASIS TC process allows multiple entry and exit points as well as flexibility in deliverables.
  
• Scalable The OASIS TC process is designed to handle any number of technical efforts through a bottom-up approach.
  
• Language Neutral An OASIS TC may work in a language that best suits the needs of its members.

OASIS has adopted a Technical Committee Process to govern technical work, and provides a vendor-neutral home and an open, democratic process for this work; this gives all interested parties, regardless of their standing in a specific industry, an equal voice in the creation of technical work.