Current research shows that failures in the standardization process are often the result of a failure of the participants to communicate or organize. To this effect, NIST has developed a tool, NIST Ontological Visualization Interface for Standards (NOVIS), with an environment for visualizing, browsing, and querying standards. Aztera will create a Computer Aided Standards Development (CASD) framework based on concepts from NOVIS, Model Driven Engineering (MDE), Version Control Systems (VCSs), and Software Development. This framework will be a Visual Ontological Language for Technical Standards (VOLTS). VOLTS will help shepard standards through the development, deployment, and maintenance stages. In Phase I, Aztera will develop mechanisms by which existing standards can be imported into and exported from this information model using existing materials. In Phase II, Aztera will integrate tools for creating, linking, and versioning standards.
