STANDARDS-BASED IETMS - THE KEY TO INTEGRATED WEAPON SYSTEM SUPPORT

This paper describes the role of the DOD Interactive Electronic Techni cal Manual (IETM) standards in the application of electronic documenta tion to the TRIDENT II Strategic Weapon System (SWS) Program. The SWS Program integrates IETMs with SWS data providing automated operational and maintenance procedures and reference documentation at the SWS ope rator consoles. Integrated ship's logistics, administration, and onboa rd training can also be supported. An operational environment is provi ded that supports multiple ''views'' of a MIL-D-87269 compliant databa se, including a legacy view of the database used to minimize the opera tor impacts of the transition from paper to electronic documentation. An IETM database development process is described that includes: Estab lishing the Baseline, the one-time low cost legacy technical manual co nversion; Exploiting the Media, the incorporation of Class 4 IETM capa bilities; and Maintaining the Baseline, an integrated IETM maintenance environment used for recurring maintenance of the IETM database. Auth oring capabilities of the IETM Maintenance System are discussed as are other capabilities supporting workflow management, configuration cont rol, electronic review and approval, and IETM database verification an d validation. Finally, programmatic experience is described including Navy/contractor coordination, adoption of standards, and suitability o f the standards to the SWS application.