U.S. TAG to ISO TC 171

What is the U.S. TAG?

A U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) provides a mechanism for U.S. experts to participate in ISO’s standardization activities, representing the interests and needs of U.S.-based industry in ISO’s work. In the case of ISO’s TC 171, which manages (under SC 2) ISO standards for PDF and PDF-related technologies, the U.S. TAG is administered by the PDF Association.

Relationship of the U.S. TAG to the PDF Association

Based in Germany, the PDF Association e.V. is a Category A liaison member of ISO TC 171 SC 2. This status enables the participation of PDF Association Individual, Full, Division, Institutional and Partner members in ISO TC 171 SC 2 working groups, contributing to the development of international standards for document management applications.

The PDF Association, Inc., a US-based 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association affiliated with the PDF Association, e.V., administers the U.S. TAG to both ISO TC 171 and ISO TC 171 SC 2, including serving as the ISO Committee Manager for this subcommittee.

PDF Association members domiciled in the United States may join the U.S. TAG to participate directly in ISO TC 171 and SC 2.

ISO TC 171, Document management applications

ISO TC 171 addresses document management applications. ISO’s Technical Management Board has defined the purpose of TC 171 as follows:

ISO TC 171 addresses document management applications. ISO’s Technical Management Board has defined the purpose of TC 171 as:  Standardization of technologies and processes involving capture, indexing, storage, retrieval, distribution and communication, presentation, migration, exchange, preservation, integrity maintenance and disposal in the field of document management applications. Documents may be managed in micrographic or electronic form. This includes:

• quality control and integrity maintenance;
• input/output quality of documents (micrographic or electronic)
• implementation, inspection and quality control procedures for storage, use and preservation of documents (micrographic or electronic), including supportive metadata;
• applications involving workflow (process management) in an enterprise and on the Internet;
• maintenance of quality and integrity during information exchange between systems;
• procedures and processes supporting legal admissibility and/or integrity and security;
• management of related audit trail information.

Excluded:

• records management policies and procedures within the scope of TC 46;
• all work on information, process and production definitions and workflow of industrial automation systems within the scope of TC 184;
• cinematography, dimensions and labeling of raw-stock film, and the methods within the scope of ISO TC 42 dealing with testing, rating, classifying and specifying the performance characteristics of processes, materials and devices applicable to photography;
• work being done by ISO/IEC JTC1 that is within its scope and in particular work of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23, SC 24, SC 27, SC 28, SC 29, SC 32 and SC 34.
• NOTE Where potential or actual overlap with other TCs exists JWGs will be actively pursued.

Scope of TC 171 SC 2, Document file formats, EDMS systems and authenticity of information

This subcommittee is the workplace for ISO standards pertaining to the PDF file format and related technologies. The subcommittee also manages ISO standards for AFP and EDMS systems. ISO has defined this subcommittee's scope as:

• Logical aspects of storage and preservation (short and long term)
• File formats
• EDMS functionalities and architecture
• Evaluations and qualification of EDMS
• Workflow
• Authenticity of information

ISO, ANSI, and the U.S. TAG

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global federation of national standards bodies, with each member body having one vote.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) oversees and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standards system. ANSI represents the United States within ISO as the official U.S. member body.

ISO Voting

Each ISO working group within TC 171 SC 2 has an equivalent U.S. working group within this U.S. TAG, where U.S. positions on ISO documents are developed.  Outcomes from these working groups are shared with the overall U.S. TAG. Once finalized by the U.S. TAG, the U.S. vote or position is forwarded to ANSI for submission as the official U.S. response to ISO.

Join the U.S. TAG

U.S. domiciled individuals who are not members of the PDF Association are eligible to participate in the activities of this U.S. TAG. To begin this process, complete this application form.  Your information will be shared with the U.S. TAG for a brief period for review and approval. Once approved, experts will be added to the U.S. TAG mailing list and registered in ISO’s Global Directory.

Policies and Procedures

• ANSI International - Model Procedures - The U.S. TAG to ISO TC 171 uses ANSI’s Model Procedures, which can be found in Annex A of this document.
• Participation policy
• ISO Directives - Part 1
• ISO Directives - Part 2

Use of note-taking software

The Board of Directors has determined the organization’s policy on note-taking automation. It has decided that only PDF Association-operated note-taking automation is permitted in Working Group meetings. PDF Association staff are directed to remove other tools.

While the PDF Association uses Google Meet it will use AI note-taking tools that maintain users’ privacy according to the Google Workplace Terms of Service. At its sole discretion, the PDF Association may make available to members some or all of the output from Google’s note-taking service.