I concluded my last post, by saying that the vision for HRInterop is to "open up" (community participation), "lock-down" (lock-down IP for confidence and clarity among implementers and contributors), reduce costs, and improve standards quality and utility.
Opening Up
I've related in previous posts, that it is a sign of success that HR-XML now has more non-member implementers than members. As adoption increases, it is logical to expect there will be more total implementation experience outside of HR-XML than inside. In the course of the 3.0 project, it is fair to say that half or more of the feedback we received was from outside stakeholders.
New content, new channels of participation, and a new structure for managing intellectual property are changes that will support engagement of a broader community. HRInterop.org forums are a place where anyone can bring implementation questions and feedback. There is no cost to participate, but this does require registration and agreement with a feedback policy and community guidelines.
The Return of the Customer
With new channels of participation and new content we also believe we will see a return of HR services customers within the dialog shaping standards.
In its early years, HR-XML enjoyed participation from HR IT representatives at organizations such as Northrup Grumman, Shell, BP, and HP. We even attracted significant support from those working on a next generation HR system at U.S. Department of Defense. Unfortunately, we didn't produce specifications directly addressing the problems of this segment. So it isn't surprising that we weren't able to sustain engagement with these stakeholders.
