Documentation Standards Development
Introduction
This is a proposal to OSHWA to collaborate on documentation standards. Submitted to Catarina Mota and Alicia Gibb. Concept:
- Define a standard list of Documentation Items Required for Hardware Projects
- Such as: CAD, control code, software, firmware, circuit schematica, CAM files, Fab Drawings, Exploded Part Diagram, Gerber Files, Conceptual Diagram, Design Rationale).
- Define core and Secondary level documentation. Core is CAD and Fab Drawings, fabrication procedure - those elements which are indispensible to replication. Secondary may be Fabrication Diagram, workshop layout, CAM files, instructional videos- those items which accelerate replication, but which are not indispensible.
- Evaluate all open source projects for the level of openness on hardware, organizational, social, and economic fronts. Establish a set of icons for each element of the design (say, mechanical, electronics, CAD, CAM files, software, open collab process (and standards) open organizational process (and standards) Distributive Enterprise label) to note which elements are open.
- Apply OSE or OSHWA brand (based on absoluty purity of intent and practice) label as the Superlabel for the extreme open case of All Documentation Available up to Distributive Enterprise Model available.
- Apply evaluation in phases - first phase is the hardware/software level; secondary are social, economic, and organizational openness level of projects.
- For OSE, this results in a basis for a labeling system for OSE Chapters, and I suggest the same for OSHWA Chapters.
