ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19778-3
Second edition
2015-10-15
Information technology —
Learning, education and training
— Collaborative technology —
Collaborative workplace —
Part 3:
Collaborative group data model
Technologies de l’information — Apprentissage, éducation et
formation — Technologies collaboratives — Lieu de travail
collaboratif —
Partie 3: Modèle de données du groupe collaboratif
Reference number
ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2015

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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

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© ISO/IEC 2015, Published in Switzerland
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
1.1 Statement of scope . 1
1.2 Subjects and aspects not currently addressed . 1
1.3 Excluded subjects and aspects . 1
2 Normative references . 2
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Abbreviated terms and acronyms . 2
5 Collaborative group Data Model . 2
5.1 Data Model representation . 2
5.2 Collaborative group Data Model diagram . 2
5.3 Collaborative group Data Model specification . 3
5.4 Supplementing information for DMEs of the CG DM. 7
5.4.1 AE CG_General . 7
5.4.2 DE CG_Name. 7
5.4.3 DE CG_Description . 7
5.4.4 AE CG_ID . 7
5.4.5 DE CG_ID_source . 8
5.4.6 DE CG_ID_value . 8
5.4.7 AE CW_ID-Ref. 8
5.4.8 DE CW_ID-Ref_source . 9
5.4.9 DE CW_ID-Ref_value . 9
5.4.10 AE CG_Roles . 9
5.4.11 DE CG_Roles_spec_source . 9
5.4.12 AE CG_Role .10
5.4.13 DE CG_Role_name .10
5.4.14 AE CG_Role_holder .10
5.4.15 DE CG_Role_holder_ID .10
5.4.16 DE CG_Participant_ID-Ref .10
5.4.17 DE CG_Role_holder_nickname .10
6 Conformance .10
Annex A (informative) Alphabetical list of terms .11
Bibliography .13
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee
SC 36, Information technology for learning, education and training.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 19778-3:2008), of which it constitutes
a minor revision.
ISO/IEC 19778 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Learning,
education and training — Collaborative technology — Collaborative workplace:
— Part 1: Collaborative workplace data model
— Part 2: Collaborative environment data model
— Part 3: Collaborative group data model
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

Introduction
ISO/IEC 19778 provides Data Models for specifying collaborative workplaces and their components.
ISO/IEC 19778-1 provides general information for all parts, and specifies a Data Model which, by
reference, composes the Data Model instantiations of the two main components of a collaborative
workplace: the collaborative environment and the collaborative group. ISO/IEC 19778-2 provides the
Data Model for the collaborative environment and specifies information related to the service aspects
of a collaborative workplace. This part of ISO/IEC 19778 provides the Data Model for the collaborative
group and specifies information related to the roles and the membership of a collaborative workplace.
The main accomplishment of this part of ISO/IEC 19778 is to specify the composition of the roles which
can be played by the participants of a collaborative group, to declare the intended role holders (positions
for playing a particular role) for each role, and (at least during the life-span of the collaborative
workplace) to assign participants to these role holders.
The purposes of this part of ISO/IEC 19778 are the following:
— to provide a standardized way of defining and instantiating, as an independent entity, the composition
of a collaborative group in terms of roles and role holders (this is done by associating this composition
with a collaborative group identifier unique within a particular domain or application context);
— to specify the membership requirements of a collaborative workplace for the purpose of set-up,
employment, management, administration, and evaluation of its collaborative group.
The detailed specification of the roles is not provided in this part of ISO/IEC 19778; however, it may
be linked to the collaborative group Data Model instantiations by referring to “potential further
specifications or standards” that are not identified and possibly do not yet even exist. (One of the
intentions of this part of ISO/IEC 19778 is to encourage adopters to develop and harmonize such
specifications.)
No reference to detailed specification of participants is provided in this part of ISO/IEC 19778 as
multiple-purpose user management provisions are currently already in place and will be used.
Linkages to “potential further specifications or standards” are constituted by employing a “source/value”
approach, where the value (e.g. the name of a role) is taken from a “source”, a specification or standard,
which declares the names and specifies the details of roles. The “source” itself is specified by reference,
using a URL. The intention of this “source/value” approach is to provide a simple method for linking
developing specifications or standards to the Data Model of this part of ISO/IEC 19778 without needing
to identify them beforehand. This highly flexible method reflects the fact that ISO/IEC 19778-3 is a part
of a multipart standard that represents prospective technology. Figure 1 illustrates how this is achieved.
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

Figure 1 — Composing roles, declaring role holders, and assigning participants
in this part of ISO/IEC 19778
In this part of ISO/IEC 19778, “composing roles” and “assigning participants to role holders” are generally
performed by specifying names of roles and identifiers of participants. Further information on these
roles and participants may be specified in “potential further specifications or standards” or in user
management provisions which are not included in this part of ISO/IEC 19778. The adopters of this part
of ISO/IEC 19778 may decide whether or not to use such “potential further specifications or standards”
or provisions. If no “potential further specifications or standards” or participant identification
provisions are used, the names and properties of roles and the identifiers of participants need to be
consistently known in the user community. This, however, also means that the interoperability of Data
Model instantiations of this kind is limited to this “harmonized” user community.
It should be noted that, where no participants are assigned to the role holders, the respective collaborative
group Data Model instantiation can be reused as a template for setting up further collaborative groups
of the same dedication. Also, due to the provision of role holder identifiers, anonymizing a collaborative
group Data Model instantiation by removing the assigned participant identifiers does not affect the
differentiation between role holders. This is important in cases where role holders of the collaborative
group Data Model instantiation are referenced by other data objects.
Where the need for broader interoperability exists, external “specifications or standards” are required.
They would at least define a set of roles or a method for identifying participants and information on
them, provide names for roles, and describe their properties. Of course, “specifications or standards”
for roles could be very simple and general. However, they could be highly sophisticated and detailed as
well. Where a collaborative group Data Model instantiation makes use of such an external “specification
or standard” for roles, it references it and adopts the role names as shown in Figure 1.
Using this first edition of this part of ISO/IEC 19778 provides utmost flexibility at the risk of a low level
of interoperability. It allows adopters to experiment with diverse specifications for roles or methods for
identifying participants and providing information on them. It is intended as a step towards broader
harmonization of such specifications or provisions. This expected progress in harmonization will be
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)

reflected by future editions of this part of ISO/IEC 19778, while today’s users can employ this first
edition instantly.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 19778-3:2015(E)
Information technology — Learning, education and training
— Collaborative technology — Collaborative workplace —
Part 3:
Collaborative group data model
1 Scope
1.1 Statement of scope
This part of ISO/IEC 19778 specifies the Data Model for a collaborative group.
The collaborative group Data Model composes roles which can be played by the participants of a
collaborative group, declares the intended role holders (positions for playing a particular role) for each
role, and (at least during the life-span of the collaborative workplace) assigns participants to these role
holders. The role names may be used as references to roles specified in detail by further specifications
or standards. Where no such specifications or standards are available or identified, the provision
of descriptions for human interpretation may support harmonized use of these names. Provided
participant identifiers may be used as references to detailed participant information which may be
specified in a provided user management system.
NOTE There is a risk of improper access and misuse of personal and private data facilitated by use of the
collaborative group Data Model. It is the responsibility of the implementer to ensure proper use of any involved
personal information.
1.2 Subjects and aspects not currently addressed
In future editions of this part of ISO/IEC 19778, the identification of participant types referring to a
harmonized or standardized participant typology may be provided. Such a provision would upgrade
the value of anonymized collaborative group Data Model instantiations for being reused as templates.
Currently, the collaborative groups specified by this Data Model are static. Participants may not be
online all the time; in a collaborative group, private discussions may occur; participants may leave the
collaborative group during the life-state of the collaborative workplace. It is not yet clear to which degree
such aspects can and should be addressed in future editions of this part of ISO/IEC 19778.
1.3 Excluded subjects and aspects
Subjects and aspects not provided by this part of ISO/IEC 19778, but which it is anticipated will be
provided by further specifications or standards include the following:
— the detailed specification of roles or role typologies in the context of learning, education, and
training (such specification is reserved for further specifications or standards; it may be specific
for particular domains of applications in this field; such specifications are excluded from this part
of ISO/IEC 19778);
— methods for assigning collaborative tools or collaborative functions of a collaborative workplace
to participants in particular roles (such methods mean optimization for mapping capabilities and
requirements of technical means to capabilities and preferences of participants; such methods are
excluded from this part of ISO/IEC 19778);
— the detailed specification of participant information (such specification is reserved for further
specifications or standards and is excluded from this part of ISO/IEC 19778).
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ISO/IEC 19778-3:2
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