|
 Earl J. Bass e-Business Achievement Award
Honoring Current Contributions that Advance E-Business Message Development
Purpose
The Bass award recognizes outstanding achievements and leadership in support of the development and use
of electronic data interchange (EDI) standards and eXtensible Markup Language (XML) messages during the
past year.
Earl J. Bass, known by all as "Buddy," was the principal author of the first set of EDI standards manuals
based on input from transportation industry work groups. He designed the format and specified the content
of those documents with a clear path toward continuous updates. Hailed as one of the "founding shapers of
EDI," Buddy's initial assignment was to ensure that the work group developed a comprehensive and
understandable manual. That first publication, in July of 1975, created without assistance from computer
automation and completed over three months, included forty-five transaction sets, sixty-eight segments,
and 189 data elements.
As a technologist, perhaps Buddy's most significant contribution to EDI is the simple, elegant, coded
syntax notes used to unambiguously describe the conditional requirements of data elements within a segment.
Buddy coined a significant amount of EDI terminology, such as the terms "reference designator" and
"requirement designator," as well as the use of the words "mandatory," "conditional," and "optional."
Buddy was a member of the U.S. Joint EDI committee that aligned the segment and data element directories
of several standard setting organizations, including that original transportation focus, the ASC X12
community - primarily focused on general business applications, along with the grocery and warehousing
industries. As chair of ASC X12, Buddy was instrumental in securing the U.S. role within the international
EDI community under ASC X12's control.
As he accepted DISA's Edward A. Guilbert Award in 1995, Mr. Bass expressed an essential tenet of the
standards setting process: "...leave your corporate hat at home and wear your industry hat; come to
negotiate and compromise and don't push your own company's systems and procedures-that way we'll end up
with the best standards."
Evaluation Criteria
Nominees are assessed based on:
- Stellar, Pioneering Achievements
- Leadership in the development and use of CICA documents and other components used to
construct eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schemas used to validate XML messages.
- Information on the nominee's professional career, as it relates to
significant achievements over the past year in e-business message development
- Additional Statement from the Nominee's Sponsor Regarding Qualifications
Nomination Period
The nomination period for the 2010 award has ended.
Evaluation Process
The nominations are reviewed by a panel of respected industry professionals, based on the
Evaluation Criteria, according to information presented in the individual's nomination and what
is known of the candidate.
Each nomination is given a numeric score, based on the judging criteria. The nominee with the highest
average will be selected as the recipient of the award.
Presentation of Awards
DISA's prestigious awards are presented during the General Session of the
ASC X12 Fall Trimester Meeting.
2009 Earl. J. Bass e-Business Achievement Award
Thomas H. Lyons, III, Defense Logistics Management Standards Office (DLMSO)
Thomas H. Lyons, III, 2009 Earl. J. Bass e-Business Achievement Award
Tommy is the Department of Defense (DoD) Logistics Namespace Manager. He is the XML Architect and
Contract Administration Process Review Committee Chair for the Defense Logistics Management Standards
Office (DLMSO). DLMSO prescribes logistics management policy, responsibilities, procedures, rules, and
electronic data communications standards for use in the DoD, to conduct logistics operations in the
functional areas of supply, acquisition (contract administration), maintenance, and finance. Tommy is
also the X12G Representative to X12J, the X12G/TG1 Chair and an active member of X12C and X12C/TG2
regarding EDI and XML development and documentation for government entities, primarily the US DoD.
In 2008, ASC X12 appointed Tommy as the ASC X12 Formal Liaison to the United Nations Centre for Trade
Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN-CEFACT) TBG1, TBG17 and ATG2 Work Groups, which focus on Supply
Chain, Harmonization and XML development and documentation (respectively), where he has been participating
for some time on behalf of DLMSO.
Bass Award Recipients
| 2009 |
Thomas H. Lyons, III |
| 2008 |
David Feinberg
Terry Garber |
| 2007 |
Don Bechtel |
| 2006 |
June Arnold
Lisa Shreve |
Questions?
Please contact info@disa.org or (703) 970-4480.
|
