How STAR Works

The STAR organization is operated by representatives from our member organizations who vote on all major issues. Issues that do not require a member-wide vote are decided by the STAR Steering Committee, whose members are elected from within the general member organization.

STAR Release Process

STAR is transitioning to a more agile, member-responsive release process. Instead of limiting updates to an annual cycle, STAR now develops and publishes new JSON- and API-based standards on a rolling basis as they are completed. All new content and updates to existing standards undergo technical review by the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) and are approved by the Executive Director. This ensures alignment with STAR's architecture, consistency across domains, and compatibility with broader industry needs. By accelerating the release process and incorporating ongoing member input, STAR enables faster adoption of standards that reflect current technologies and business challenges.

Creating New Standards

The development of new STAR standards is a member-driven process, open to input from any STAR member representative at any time. When a new idea or project is proposed, it’s reviewed by the Executive Director and the Technical Steering Committee (TSC) to ensure alignment with STAR’s strategic goals and technical roadmap.
Once a project is approved, technical resources can be allocated, prioritized, and set in motion. The process begins with the Enterprise Data Architect creating a project in the Jira platform, where all relevant documents and background materials are attached.
Following this, a workgroup is formed, composed of STAR members who wish to participate in the development effort. Workgroup participants are expected to contribute by completing use cases, sequence diagrams, and defining data requirements to ensure the new standard reflects real-world needs and business processes. 
Using this input, STAR’s Data Architects — in collaboration with the workgroup — will design and build the technical specifications. These are now primarily developed in OpenAPI (JSON-based) formats, though XML schemas may still be used when appropriate to support legacy systems. This collaborative, iterative approach helps ensure that every new STAR standard is technically sound, business-relevant, and built to modern integration practices.

Process For Modification of Existing Standards

The process for modifying an existing standard is as follows:
Member downloads and completes a XML Schema/BOD Modification Request form
Member creates a new issue in the issue tracking system on the STAR Member's portal and attaches the completed Modification Request form
STAR Data Architects will then set up a review session among the members to review the request
Once the workgroup has agreed to the requirements, STAR Data Architects will modify the specification based on the request
All projects and changes will be posted and made available to STAR members on the Portal in the next milestone release

Publication Schedule

STAR publishes new content once per year during the month of May. The new standards take effect on July 4th each year. Prior to publication, representatives of each member organization must vote to approve the public release of the new content.

New content is available to members throughout the year in the following forms:
Milestones: Snapshots of the repository that are published every two weeks.
Draft Releases: Draft versions of the new standards that are published four times per year. Members are permitted to implement draft versions but are cautioned that they may change between the draft and the final release in July.
Release Candidate: A pre-release draft of the standards used to validate the content and allow for necessary fixes and modifications
Final Draft: The final release of the standards to be voted on by the general membership. Members may begin implementing the new standards at the time of the Final Draft release but are cautioned that changes may be made before official vote and publication.

STAR Voting Process

STAR's Working Group finishes the Standard. The Standard is immediately circulated to ALL Members for consideration, commentary, and review for 30 days. STAR's Board of Directors then votes on approving the Standard at its next regular meeting. The date of the next meeting will be included in the review copy of the Standard circulated to the full STAR membership. Also included in the review copy of the Standard will be the due date by which all members will be required to provide any feedback for that specific Standard.
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