Iterative development models are currently in vogue. This seems at odds with the current trend towards standardization, which follows a largely linear path. It's time to explore the adoption of an evolutionary approach in standardization efforts. Although standardization is aimed at achieving interoperability it doesn't preclude change, it merely calls for managed change. Seek Clarity Concerning the quality of writing in standards documentation, Joe Kesselman observed that technical writing takes a back seat in the standards process .
Nobody writes poorly deliberately.
Thomas Passin commented that writing technical documents often improves one's understanding of the key concepts , making it a worthwhile goal. Terseness can be fine, and writing for the experienced practitioner is too. Or it may help you find assumptions you didn't realize were there. Using the XML Schema specification as an example, Eric Bohlman drew a distinction between the requirements of an implementer versus those of a schema author . They need to know exactly how lots of corner cases should be handled, cases that very few authors would actually generate, and that sort of thing requires mind-numbing detail.