PILOT PROPOSAL DOCUMENT 1 Pilot Description --Please describe the proposed pilot. (Include, as appropriate, the pilot problem statement, goals, benefits to CommerceNet and block-level design of solution.) In the Internet, we are currently experiencing a proliferation of electronic payment systems and protocols targeted for electronic markets of the future. This presents a formidable challenge for the application developers and vendors alike. There needs to be a standard mechanism, using which the applications can negotiate the appropriate payment modules and interface to them. The solution is required to accommodate all payment systems in a fashion that promotes interoperability. This pilot will use an end-to-end shopping experience, with real merchants and real payment systems over the Internet. The customers will interact with the merchants to make selection and purchase for information goods. The interactions include the delivery of the information goods to the customer. The focus of this pilot, however, is in facilitating the purchase and payment phase of the interaction. In this pilot, we explore mechanisms with which to negotiate one of many available payment protocols. In addition to the negotiation mechanism, the pilot will demonstrate unifying mechanism to interface with the selected payment module. The payment module interface will explore and capture the requirements of all the known payment systems. This pilot is expected to be highly visible in the industry in the current atmosphere. Therefore, both CommerceNet and W3C are expected to gain the visibility and respect of the community by establishing a leading role in terms of their participation in initiating and maintaining the momentum of this pilot. 2 Pilot Participants --Please list all pilot participants and their role in the pilot, including the management structure for the pilot (e.g., who is project leader). The pilot project leadership will be shared by Jim Miller, of the WWW Consortium, and Alireza Bahreman, of EIT/Internet Commerce Division. Other participants include CyberCash, NetBill, and Open Market. The pilot will also require the participation of at least one Web technology provider TBD (e.g. Netscape) and one or more information venders also TBD. We would like to extend an invitation for other Payment technology providers to also participate in the pilot. For example, both Visa and MasterCard can contribute their STT and SEPP technology, respectively. Other Web server and client browser vendors are also welcome to join. 3 Success Criteria and Metrics --Please describe what criteria or metrics will be used to determine the success of the pilot. The successful pilot will demonstrate the ability for a customer to spontaneously initiate and complete a purchase transaction with an information provider over the Internet. In doing so, the consumers will pay for the information goods by choosing one of several available payment vehicles. A successful pilot will also demonstrate the ability for other Payment technology providers to integrate their modules using the standards interface defined and used in this pilot. 4 Requirements for CommerceNet --Please describe what the pilot requires from the CommerceNet consortium. CommerceNet may be required to host the pilot demonstration on their computing environment. The pilot may require the use of CommerceNet Certification Authority to establish and manage the participant credentials. In addition to the hardware/software requirement, CommerceNet will need to encourage members to join the pilot in the areas where partners have not yet been determined. For example, the merchants and the Web technology providers. 5 Deliverables to CommerceNet --Please describe the deliverables that will be contributed to the CommerceNet consortium as an output from the pilot. Note that the minimum deliverable is a "lessons learned" paper. At the end of a successful pilot, CommerceNet will receive a running demonstration and reference implementation, as well as a component document. Protocol or standard definitions/proposals detailing the negotiation mechanism and the standard interface will be submitted to the appropriate standards committees (e.g. the IETF). In addition, the documents will also be available as W3C working drafts. A "lessons learned" white paper will be produced jointly by W3C and EIT and will be made available to CommerceNet. 6 Pilot Resources --Please describe the resources required for the pilot and the source of the resources. The W3C will be designating up to four headcount for the duration of this pilot for the implementation of the reference code and libraries required. The following entities will designate one individual each: EIT, NetBill, Cybercash, and Open Market. Other TBD players will also allocate resources. The hardware/software resources will be provided by individual players. (need to be more specific if possible ???) 7 Schedule and Milestones --Please describe the schedule and milestones for the pilot. The following is the proposed scheduled milestones for this pilot: December 10, 1995 Last day to join the pilot as a technology provider March 29, 1996 First major deliverable-a running prototype June 28, 1996 Public announcements and demonstrations 8 Technologies Required --Please describe the technologies that are required for the pilot to be successful and the source of the technologies. Obviously, the individual payment technologies to support the various payment mechanisms are essential requirements. New technology introduced by the pilot is the negotiation mechanism provided by W3C. (CyberCash's UPP ???) 9 Technology Ownership --Please describe the ownership of the technology used in the pilot (both during and after the pilot). Does the pilot team have licenses and/or joint development agreements with each other to cover technology ownership? Payments systems are proprietary and owned by their respective providers, while the message formats are open specification and intended for open publications. All technology provided by W3C will be released for mass consumption 30 days after initial release to the W3C members. The released software will remain proprietary property of MIT with unlimited licence free usage. The client browser/ server technology will also remain proprietary to respective owner company. (URL www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Consortium/Agreement/Appendix.html. www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Consortium/Copyright /COPYRIGHT.html ???) 10 Proprietary Technology --If proprietary technology will be used in the pilot, what is its role and why was it chosen vs. other available technologies? Please describe who owns the proprietary technology that is being used and their relationship with CommerceNet. Owned by people providing it. Negotiation protocol is owned by W3C. 11 Risks/Obstacles to Pilot Please describe any risks or obstacles that there might be to successful pilot completion. Risks involve players not getting together, lack of agreement amongst players, and the realization that the required technology is more difficult than what has been originally thought. Resource limitations may also prove not adequate to the task at hand. We believe, however, that this pilot has realistic goals and is a simple exercise in combining existing technology together. 12 Risks to CommerceNet --Please describe any risks that the pilot may pose to the CommerceNet Consortium. None. No risk is foreseen for CommerceNet. 13 Pilot Marketing/PR --Please propose your desired marketing/PR plan for CommerceNet to discuss the pilot undertaking outside of the consortium. Initial announcement is subject to review by members. Final announcement will be a major PR effort including the demonstration of the running pilot. 14 Transition Plan --Please describe the transition plan (if appropriate) from the pilot to a production offering and any requirements from CommerceNet to support this. Nothing required from commercenet. To transition the results into real products, individual vendors will be required to integrate the pilot technology with their products.