Draft standard for test industry metadata (TIM)

The Test Industry Metadata (TIM) standard is being developed to aid the test and measurement industry in organizing itself. TIM will include a common means of defining a product or service using standard industry terminology. The result will be a standard way to define products and their related resources for every test and measurement company and configure products both inter and intra company. Any TIM compliant search engine can then read this information, thus allowing them to correctly identify all of the product offerings for each company. Increasing product visibility increases the chances of customers finding the correct products and services and reduces the cost to test and measurement companies. The end result is a system of information exchange, which will be beneficial to both the consumers and the test and measurement industry alike.