ALEXANDRIA, VA -  January 14, 2004 - The OFDA Technology Committee has advanced the OFDAOrder schema from Candidate Recommendation version 2.3.0 to Proposed Recommendation version 2.4.1. This Proposed Recommendation version of the schema addresses feedback received during internal testing of the candidate version 2.3.0. The OFDAOrder schema is the first OFDAxml release, and is part of the Committee’s plan to replace the current SIF text standard with a new, open XML (extensible markup language) standard for the office furniture industry. 

During a recent Committee meeting, the Order Subcommittee agreed to advance the schema from Candidate Recommendation to Proposed Recommendation. A Proposed Recommendation is a Candidate Recommendation that has benefited from implementation experience and has been sent to the full OFDA Technology Committee for review. 

This review process will be completed upon the successful testing of several structured workflow scenarios designed by the Committee to validate the schema under real world situations. The new schema is available for download at www.ofdaxml.org.

About the OFDA Technology Committee
The OFDA Technology Committee was formed in December of 1999 with a goal of creating industry standards to simplify the process of transmitting both graphical and non-graphical data across different computer platforms and software programs. The initiative presents an opportunity for dramatic productivity gains and cost-savings for all segments of the industry. 

Spearheaded by the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (OFDA) industry trade association, the OFDA Technology Committee is comprised of leading office furniture manufacturers and software developers. Committee member companies include: Allsteel Inc.; Asset Systems Inc.; Data One, Inc.; DDMS; The Global Group; Haworth; Herman Miller, Inc.; The HON Company; HON Industries; Kimball Office Group; Knoll; ProjectMatrix; Steelcase, Inc.; Team Systems, LLC; 20-20 Technologies, Inc.

The OFDA Technology Committee has four working Subcommittees: Catalog Data, Order Data, Graphics and Best Practices. In addition to the Order schema, the Committee is currently developing a Catalog schema.

For more information on the OFDA Technology Committee, please visit www.ofdaxml.org or contact Mark Duros, OFDA Director of Technology and Research, at mduros@ofdanet.org.