STEP, XML, and UML: Complementary Technologies

One important aspect of product lifecycle management (PLM) is the computer-sensible representation of product information. Over the past fifteen years or so, several languages and technologies have emerged that vary in their emphasis and applicability for such usage. ISO 10303, informally known as the Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP), contains the high-quality product information models needed for electronic business solutions based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML). However, traditional STEP-based model information is represented using languages that are unfamiliar to most application developers. This paper discusses efforts underway to make STEP information models available in universal formats familiar to most business application developers: specifically XML and the Unified Modeling Language™ (UML^®). We also present a vision and roadmap for future STEP integration with XML and UML to enable enhanced PLM interoperability.