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Expand Up @@ -453,23 +453,30 @@ \subsection{Flexibility vs.~Stability}\label{flexibility-vs.-stability}
\subsection{Mismatches between standards developers and user
communities}\label{mismatches-between-standards-developers-and-user-communities}

In contrast to the OSS case, in open-source standards there is often an
inherent gap in both interest and ability to engage with the technical
details undergirding standards and their development between the core
developers of the standard and the users of the standard, which are the
broader field to which the standard pertains. This gap, in and of
itself, creates friction on the path to broad adoption and best
utilization of the standards. In extreme cases, the interests of
researchers and standards developers may even seem at odds, as
developers implement sophisticated mechanisms to automate the creation
and validation of the standard or advocate for more technically advanced
mechanisms for evolving the standard. These advanced capabilities offer
more robust development practices and consistency in cases where the
standards are complex and elaborate. They can ease the maintenance
burden of the standard. On the other hand, they may end up leaving
potential users sidelined in the development of the standard, and
limiting their ability to provide feedback about the practical
implications of changes to the standards.
Open-source standards often entail an inherent gap in both interest and
ability to engage with the technical details undergirding standards and
their development between the core developers of the standard and the
users of the standard, which are members of the broader research field
to which the standard pertains. This gap, in and of itself, creates
friction on the path to broad adoption and best utilization of the
standards. In extreme cases, the interests of researchers and standards
developers may even seem at odds, as developers implement sophisticated
mechanisms to automate the creation and validation of the standard or
advocate for more technically advanced mechanisms for evolving the
standard. These advanced capabilities offer more robust development
practices and consistency in cases where the standards are complex and
elaborate. They can also ease the maintenance burden of the standard. On
the other hand, they may end up leaving potential users sidelined in the
development of the standard, and limiting their ability to provide
feedback about the practical implications of changes to the standards.
One example of this (already mentioned above in
Section~\ref{sec-use-cases}) is the use of git/GitHub for versioning of
standards documents. This sets a high bar for participation in standards
development for researchers in fields of research in which git/GitHub
have not yet had significant adoption as tools of day-to-day
computational practice. At the same time, it provides clarity and
robustness for standards developers communities that are well-versed in
these tools.

\subsection{Unclear pathways for standards
success}\label{unclear-pathways-for-standards-success}
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The OSS model is seen as a particularly promising avenue for an
investment of resources, because it builds on previously-developed
procedures and technical infrastructure and because it provides avenues
for democratization of development processes and for community input
for the democratization of development processes and for community input
along the way. The clarity offered by procedures for enhancement
proposals and semantic versioning schemes adopted in standards
development offer avenues for a range of stakeholders to propose to
funding bodies well-defined contributions to large and field-wide
standards efforts (e.g., (Pestilli et al. 2021)).
development offers avenues for a range of stakeholders to propose
well-defined contributions to large and field-wide standards efforts
(e.g., (Pestilli et al. 2021)).

\subsubsection{Invest in Data Stewards}\label{invest-in-data-stewards}

Advancing the development and adoption of open-source standards requires
the dissemination of knowledge to researchers in a variety of fields,
but this dissemination itself may not be enough without the fostering of
specialized expertise. Therefore, it is important to recognize
\emph{data stewards} as a distinct role in research. To truly support
experts whose role will be to develop, maintain, and facilitate the
adoption and use of open-source standards, it will be necessary to set
up programs for training for data stewards and invest in career paths
that encourage this role. Initial proposals for the curriculum and scope
of the role have already been proposed (e.g., in (Mons 2018)). In
addition, in order for these individuals to be able to make the best use
of open-source standards, it will be important for these individuals to
be facile in the methodology of OSS. This does not mean that they need
to become software engineers -- though there may be some overlap with
the role of research software engineers (Connolly et al. 2023) -- but
rather that they need to become familiar with those parts of the OSS
development life-cycle that are useful for development of open-source
standards.
specialized expertise. Therefore, it is important to recognize the
distinct role that \emph{data stewards} play in contemporary research.
As policy demands for openess become increasingly high, it is crucial to
truly support experts whose role will be to develop, maintain, and
facilitate the adoption and use of open-source standards. This support
needs to manifest in all stages of the career of these individuals: it
will be necessary to set up programs for training for data stewards, and
to invest in the career paths of individuals that receive such training
so that this crucial role is encouraged. Initial proposals for the
curriculum and scope of the role have already been proposed (e.g., in
(Mons 2018)), but we identify here also a need to connect these
individuals directly to the practices that exemplify open-source
standards. Thus, it will be important for these individuals to be facile
in the methodology of OSS. This does not mean that they need to become
software engineers -- though for some of them there may be some overlap
with the role of research software engineers (Connolly et al. 2023) --
but rather that they need to become familiar with those parts of the OSS
development life-cycle that are specifically useful for the development
of open-source standards. For example, tools for version control, tools
for versioning, and tools for creation and validation of compliant data
and metadata.

\subsubsection{Review Data Standards
Pathways}\label{review-data-standards-pathways}

Invest in programs that examine retrospective pathways for establishing
data standards. Encourage publication of lifecycles for successful data
standards. Lifecycle should include process, creators, affiliations,
grants, and adoption journeys. Make this documentation step integral to
the work of standards creators and granting agencies. Retrocactively
document \#3 for standards such as CF(climate science), NASA genelab
(space omics), OpenGIS (geospatial), DICOM (medical imaging), GA4GH
(genomics), FITS (astronomy), Zarr (domain agnostic n-dimensional
arrays)\ldots{} ?
standards. These lifecycles should include the process, creators,
affiliations, grants, and adoption journeys of open-source standards. To
encourage sustainable development of open-source standards, and to build
on prior experience, the documentation and dissemination of lifecycles
should be seen as an integral step of the work of standards creators and
granting agencies. In the meanwhile, it would be good to also
retroactively document the lifecycle of existing standards that are seen
as success stories. Research on the principles that underlie successful
open-source standards development can be used to formulate new standards
and iterate on existing ones.

\subsubsection{Establish Governance}\label{establish-governance}

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -780,20 +796,25 @@ \subsubsection{User-Driven Development}\label{user-driven-development}
\subsubsection{Meta-Standards
development}\label{meta-standards-development}

Develop meta-standards or standards-of-standards. These are descriptions
of cross-cutting best-practices and can be used as a basis of the
analysis or assessment of an existing standard, or as guidelines to
develop new standards. For instance, barriers to adopting a data
standard irrespective of team size and technological capabilities should
be considered. Meta standards should include formalization for
versioning of standards \& interaction with related software. Naming of
standards should aid marketing and adoption.

\subsubsection{Ontology Development}\label{ontology-development}

Create ontology for standards process such as top down vs bottom up,
minimum number of datasets, community size. Examine schema.org (w3c),
PEP (Python), CDISC (FDA).
In surveying the landscape of existing standards, a readiness/maturity
model can be developed that assesses the challenges and opportunities
that a specific standard faces. This process in itself can be
standardized to develop meta-standards or standards-of-standards. These
are the succinct descriptions of cross-cutting best-practices that can
be used as a basis for the analysis or assessment of an existing
standard, or as guidelines to develop new standards. For instance,
barriers to adopting a data standard irrespective of team size and
technological capabilities should be considered. Meta-standards should
include formalization for versioning of standards and interactions with
speficic related software. Aspects of communication with potential user
audiences (e.g., researchers in particular domains) should be taken into
account as well. For example, in the quality of onboarding documentation
and tools for ingestion or conversion into standards-compliant datasets.
Relatedly, it would be good to create an ontology for standards process
such as top down vs bottom up, minimum number of datasets, target
community size and technical expertise typical of this community, etc.
This ontology can help guide the standards-development process towards
more effective adoption and use.

\subsubsection{Formalization Guidelines}\label{formalization-guidelines}

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