Section 6. Resources

1. Historical Resources

   1. Funding: No membership fees.

   2. Membership: Required active participation

   3. Regular Meetings: Quarterly for three days: two working days plus one general session day

   4. Extra Meetings: By group, as needed. Conference calls, where possible.

   5. Travel Costs: Incurred by members

   6. Time Estimate: 6 to 9 days per year (average), 40 days per year (active)

   7. Benefits: A new EDI transaction set was believed to achieve 50% effort savings. Typical transaction set development was estimated to be 20 days per participants over several months.

   8. Value: It was estimated that the collection, review, and maintenance costs from the outset was almost 1.5 million USD.
      

2. Historical Conclusion

   The PIDD Dictionary has established itself as a usable resource within the industry. It is recognized throughout the industry as a central repository for standardized terminology. Although the Dictionary is currently being used by various companies, vendors, and government agencies and is an integral part of the PIDX EDI initiatives and industry data modeling efforts, it has many other possibilities.

   The benefits derived from the Dictionary far outweigh the cost of participation in continuing its development. Its continuance, however, is the critical issue. A dictionary that is not continually maintained and modified to meet developing needs becomes stagnant and is soon outdated. At present (pre-1994), many of the planned and scheduled additions and expansions are yet to be implemented. Those remaining are to be put in place to meet the expectations of the industry. They are all doable and an organization is in place to bring them to fulfillment.

   Willingness to participate and to work toward satisfying industry expectations is vital. Each company, whether operator or vendor, and government agencies must determine the level of their involvement. No company should assume that others will do the job. If they do, the Dictionary will suffer, possibly even falter. Company participation provides a voice in the dictionary's development and accrues the benefits.

   Every company can benefit from the Dicti

3. Historical Charter Elements

   1. Membership: Those with an interest in developing a Dictionary for the industry and making it available for all to use.

   2. Chair: Elected by the group.

   3. Task Groups: Established by the Chair on a temporary basis

   4. Purpose: To provide liaison and support for parties interested in developing, implementing, and maintaining current and future Dictionary entries for EDI applications.

   5. Objectives:

      1. Review, identify, and evaluate existing sources for Dictionary entries to determine the possible usage in EDI initiatives.

      2. Develop recommendations for Dictionary entries that will satisfy industry needs

      3. Provide a forum to enable parties to share ideas about how Dictionary entries can be used in industry processes

      4. Provide consultation on conventions and standards

      5. Support data modeling efforts as required