Nanzan University
IBM Japan Ltd.
Fujitsu Limited
NEC Corporation
NTT DATA Corporation
Hitachi, Ltd.
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
October 22, 2013

Unification of Project Management Data for Large-Scale
Systems across Organizations
PROMCODE releases its first R&D results, the PROMCODE Interface Specifications, andother publications for the Japanese market

Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan, October 22, 2013 – Nanzan University, IBM Japan Ltd., Fujitsu Limited,
NEC Corporation, NTT DATA Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., and Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. today
announced that PROMCODE (*1) has released its first publication, the PROMCODE InterfaceSpecifications, for exchanging project-management data between organizations. The specifications areavailable on the group’s website (http://www.promcode.org) along with the PROMCODE Usage Manualand PROMCODE Adapter Software for exchanging data in actual projects based on the specifications, aswell as the PROMCODE Experiment Report. These tools will enable customers and vendors to manage
project-management data via a standard interface across organizations, lowering the risk of project
delays and cost overruns.

Figure - Project management data unification through PROMCODE Interface Specifications
PROMCODE was formed so that large-scale system-integration and software-development projectsinvolving a customer and multiple vendors would have efficient time and progress management andquality control between the organizations involved. This is made possible by a data-interchange interface
for project-management data that would be independent of any organization or platform.
The first publication from this consortium, the PROMCODE Interface Specifications, compiles knowledge
from the member organizations that are involved in multi-organizational, multi-layered, large-scale
systems integration and software development projects in Japan. The PROMCODE Interface
Specifications was designed based on management data used in actual development projects, and isbeing validated through practical experiments. The consortium plans to use it on actual projects in thefuture, with the aim of giving the customer and vendors participating in large-scale systems integration orsoftware development projects a high degree of flexibility and independence, with the aim of transforming
Japan’s information industry.

Offshore development has brought the challenges of distributed development conducted by multiple
organizations to a global level. This is why the consortium is preparing to form a technical committee inOASIS (*2) with the eventual goal of having its work recognized as an international standard.
About the PROMCODE Interface Specifications, PROMCODE Usage Manual, PROMCODE Adapter
Software, and PROMCODE Experiment Report
The PROMCODE Interface Specifications define a standard interface to allow different organizations toexchange project-management data. It was designed based on direct experience with on-site project
management, and is compatible with Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK *3).
The PROMCODE Interface Specifications consist of the PROMCODE Domain Model Specifications,which standardizes the model for project-management data being exchanged between organizations, andthe PROMCODE Resource-Definition Specifications, which define the resources that perform datainterchange between the various management tools used by each organization, via that data model.
The PROMCODE Usage Manual consists of the PROMCODE Service Development Guide, which is a
guide for developing data-interchange software based on the PROMCODE Interface Specifications, and
the PROMCODE Usage Guide, which establishes principles for using it in practice.
PROMCODE Adapter Software is a reference implementation of software for exchanging data between
organizations based on the PROMCODE Interface Specifications. This conforms to OSLC (*4), whichaims to be a standard specification for data-interchange interfaces between software tools, and ispublished as open-source software from the Eclipse Lyo (*5) website.
The PROMCODE Experiment Report is a report from each of the companies on results based onexperiments of the interface’s usefulness with real project management data.
List of Published Work Products
1. Report on products of activities
2. PROMCODE Interface Specifications(1) PROMCODE Domain Model Specifications(2) PROMCODE Resource-Definition Specifications
3. PROMCODE Usage Manual(1) PROMCODE Service Development Guide(2) PROMCODE Usage Guide
4. PROMCODE Adapter Software
5. PROMCODE Experiment Report
Group Milestones
May 21, 2012: Formation of group.
May-October 2012: Wrote a series of PROMCODE interface specifications based on project-managementcases and knowledge held by each of the member organizations.
November 2012: Presented results at international conference on project management.
From November 2012: Developed adapter software; conducted practical testing at member organizations,
made ongoing improvements.
September 2013: Presented results at major conference in Japan on software development technology.
Benefits of the Group’s Work
1. Accurately track a project’s status through timely data sharing
With projects growing in scale and becoming geographically distributed because of outsourcing, tracking
their progress becomes increasingly difficult, which can lead to delays and cost overruns. The products of
the PROMCODE consortium will make it possible for customers and a vendor – or multiple vendors –exchange project management data between their organizations in a timely manner, and to accurately
track projects.
2. Eliminating manual workIn the past, for one organization to exchange its project management data with another required that thedata be converted manually. Data collection and conversion are time consuming and are susceptible toerrors. The products of the PROMCODE consortium automate the collection and conversion process,thereby enabling the prevention of errors.
3. Usefulness confirmed through experiments
The member organizations of the PROMCODE consortium have conducted experiments to confirm theusefulness of their work products with various usage scenarios. One project, for example, used a varietyof different management tools and forms, but this new technology made it relatively simple to compile anaggregate-total form in a consistent manner.
4. An open specification based on international standards
The terminology used in the PROMCODE Interface Specifications has been made compatible withPMBOK. Additionally, the Resource Definition Specifications within it complies with the OSLCspecifications. OSLC created an OSLC member section for standardizing its works in OASIS, theinternational standards body for information-systems technology.
5. Adapter extends availability beyond IT specialists
The PROMCODE consortium is providing software to convert project management data from the widelyused Excel® format to the format set by the PROMCODE Interface Specifications. In addition, because
the conversion rules are defined in Excel as well, they can be used without highly specialized knowledge.
6. Open-source adapter software is available to everyone
A reference implementation for data-conversion software has been published as open source on Eclipse
Lyo for everyone to use.
Proposal to Establish an OASIS Technical Committee for Recognition as an International Standard
To encourage widespread international adoption of the PROMCODE Interface Specifications, thePROMCODE consortium intends to set up a technical committee in OASIS, and to establish PROMCODE
as an open standard. This technical committee is expected to be instituted under the OSLC member
section, which is the technical committee working on OSLC standardization within OASIS.
CommentsSteve Speicher, OSLC Core Working Group Lead, W3C Linked Data Platform Editor, Eclipse Lyo
Project Co-Lead“It is great to continue to see the expansion and impact of OSLC -- geographically, into new industry
sectors, domain areas and open source efforts driven by the PROMCODE consortium. The OSLC
community will benefit greatly from the experience of these industry experts involved with PROMCODE
and how it can both shape and drive furthering the standardization work at OASIS.”
Mik Kersten, CEO of Tasktop“In an effort to scale software delivery, organizations around the world are struggling with figuring out how
manage a growing number of software suppliers. The PROMCODE group brings invaluable experiencefrom Japanese firms managing software supply chains that contain a hundred separate organizations,and I am personally very excited by PROMCODE contributing their knowledge and ideas to the lifecycle
standards discussions that are taking place in the OSLC forum on OASIS.”
Related Links
The PROMCODE website: http://www.promcode.org
Glossary and Notes
1. PROMCODE:
PROject Management for COntracted DElivery. A consortium developing a data-interchange architecture
for project management comprised of Nanzan University, IBM Japan Ltd., Fujitsu Limited, NECCorporation, NTT DATA Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., and Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.

2. OASIS:
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards. A non-profit organization thatsets international standards for developing information systems on the Web, including cloud computing
and security. See website for more information: https://www.oasis-open.org/org
3. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
Systematized knowledge relating to project management, organized by the non-profit ProjectManagement Institute. See website for more information: https://www.pmi-japan.org/
4. OSLC
Open Services for Lifecycle Collaboration. A non-profit organization that promulgates interface
specifications for exchanging software-development data on the Web, independent of any software
platform (OS or hardware). In order to have OSLC’s work products recognized as an international
standard, an OSLC member section was created in OASIS in May 2013. See website for moreinformation: http://open-services.net/
5. Eclipse Lyo
Software based on OSLC specifications, released as open source on Eclipse. See website for more
information: http://eclipse.org/lyo/
About PROMCODE
PROMCODE was established on May 21, 2012, to enable project-management information to be sharedin a timely and efficient manner between purchasers and multiple vendors in large-scale systems
integration and software development projects. The consortium develops and tests technologies toestablish standard protocols for data-interchange interfaces used in progress management and quality
control, independent of any platform or organization.
All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of theirrespective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and issubject to change without advance notice.

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