Braille in DAISY Working Group

Project Charter

Prepared by: Joel Håkansson
Date: October 23, 2006
Status: Approved

Summary

Describe the background and rationale for the Project, and what is to be accomplished.

It is currently impossible to prepare a DTBook for automated braille production. Producers are forced to extensive editing after leaving the DTBook environment. This is inefficient for several reasons:

• it leaves two originals – one that has been edited for braille production and one that hasn’t
• errors in markup or contents discovered in braille production have to be edited back into the original document, or vice versa
• the braille editing environment may not exhibit the benefits of an XML-workflow

This project aims to improve the efficiency of braille print production from DTBook by:

• identifying and documenting the editing requirements of braille
• providing a vocabulary for braille editing in DTBook
• creating a printer independent, non-proprietary and universal "embosser ready" braille format
• providing a framework for, and a basic implementation of, a fully automated conversion between DTBook (including the braille editing vocabulary) and the "embosser ready" braille format

This should be accomplished by the end of 2007.

Project Scope

Describe the parameters (limits) of the Project; specifically, what is in scope and what is out of scope.

In Scope

It is within the scope of this project to:

• develop internationally applicable solutions
• develop solutions that enable easy localization (i.e. i18n)
• invite the public to comment on the project and specifications

Out of Scope

It is not within the scope of this project to:

• solve practical or economical issues associated with the usage of the braille editing vocabulary
• make sure that all views on braille production are represented by, or made known to, this group
• develop support for other modular extensions, e.g. MathML

Deliverables

Describe the expected outcomes; what specifically will be delivered by the Project.

• A document describing the editing requirements of braille
• A vocabulary for braille editing in DTBook, e.g. a modular extension to DTBook
• A printer independent, non-proprietary and universal "embosser ready" braille format
• A fully automated conversion between DTBook (including the braille editing vocabulary) and the "embosser ready" braille format

Schedule

Provide a high level perhaps as a (Gantt) chart showing the start, major milestones and end dates, and the human resources required.

• "Embosser ready" braille format specification - December 2006
• Conversion software framework for DTBook - February 2007
• Editing requirements document - February 2007
• Braille editing vocabulary specification - June 2007
• Conversion software for DTBook (including the braille editing vocabulary) - December 2007

Budget/financial Summary

Provide as much information as possible concerning the financial commitment to complete the project successfully.

Meeting costs:

1 face-to-face meeting, 1 * $ 8000

Strategic/political issues to be considered in the project

Describe how the Project relates to strategic directions of the Consortium as well as any particular sensitive issues to be considered in the Project’s development.

Risk Management

Describe (perhaps in a table format) anything that could have an adverse effect on (threaten) the project, likelihood/probability of occurrence and proposed mechanisms to address the threats.

Threat	Probability	Effect	Strategy	Action
WG could have too many off topic emails, e.g. country specific braille issues not related to the goals of the project	Medium	Medium	Mitigate	George will monitor and keep on WG task

Approvals

Project manager: Joel Håkansson

Project Manager Reports to: George Kerscher, Secretary General

Project group members: (names or how they are chosen)

A call for participation was made first to see if there was interest. To our surprise, there was huge interest in the working group. This charter is expected to focus the group on the work.

Date considered by Board: October 19, 2006

Approved /not approved: Approved

Budget amount approved in fiscal year 2007: $8000

(Note: repeat for multiple year project.)

Post Project Evaluation

Did the Project meet scope, deliverables, schedule, budget and quality targets (Yes/No explain)?

Scope:

Deliverables:

Schedule:

Budget:

Quality:

Process

What was done really well?

What could have been done better?

What would you do differently if the Project could be done over again?

What were the lessons learned?

General

Can this Project be considered a success?

Are there any recommendations for future DAISY Projects?