In the IMS document system, there are 4 types of documents - scope documents, internal documents, base documents, and specifications. In general, each document type represents a level of completeness and consensus as technical work proceeds within the IMS community and governance process. Scope documents mark the start of the process and as the work area progresses, documents are produced in sequence from internal to base to specifications. To be more precise, all work starts out with a scope document to set the objectives, parameters, and deliverables for a particular area of work. The scope documents are approved by the Technical Board, which is comprised of one voting member from each of the IMS Investment Member organizations.
Internal documents follow scope documents.
Internal documents are produced by one or more members of a team and provide starting points for discussion within the team. Examples of internal documents include informative documents, such as usage scenarios, or technical documents, such as api or data model descriptions. The next step in the process is to create base documents. These documents are derived from internal documents and best represent the consensus view of the team for addressing the objectives and requirements outlined in the scope document. Base documents are submitted to the Technical Board for review.