IT Week: You have just been reappointed to the advisory board of the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C], the body overseeing web standards. Can you explain the background to this?

Jean-Francois Abramatic: I have a peculiar relationship with the W3C. I was chairman between 1996 and 2001. In its earliest days [web pioneer] Tim Berners-Lee decided that the W3C needed an advisory board. He realised that as the organisation grows so you need a body chosen by the membership to work with it, and represent it. Therefore, we decided to create an advisory board made up of nine people, elected every year for a two-year term. Elections are staggered so as to ensure some legacy.

You've recently re-joined the advisory board. What prompted this?

When I joined [software maker] Ilog I decided to discontinue my role at the WC3. Recently I felt that the position I was enjoying - both being in an executive position in the industry and a former member - meant that I could contribute a lot to the W3C. So I rejoined and was elected to the board.

What challenges do you see ahead?

I've only been in the job for a few weeks so I cannot comment on future activities. But a standards body needs to demonstrate its relevance. Very early on it was decided that the W3C should gauge the industry on what to work on. We may not get all the community [to back particular efforts] but enough to generate significant momentum. Ultimately, it is the role of the W3C's management to assess the situation.

How have the W3C's activities altered?

In the beginning there were just a few major elements to the web: HTML, HTTP etc. But it was decided in 1994 that an organisation was needed to focus on the internet. Since then things have changed dramatically. XML, for example, is now a family of specifications that let you move anything, from documents to data in general. And the web is now so pervasive it is having a tremendous impact on society.

The W3C has generated many standards, not least for accessibility for disabled people and others. How important are developments like this?

It is one thing to develop a piece of technology but another to use it in such a way that you get all of the benefits from it. It's very important that next to a technical effort you are also able to educate the community. This is why we wrote tutorials and best practice guidelines for accessibility. Because more content goes on the web every day, our efforts with the WAI [Web Accessibility Initiative] must be permanent and amplified. All of our technology is developed with accessibility in mind.

Not all sites are very accessible. Is there a need for a body, perhaps Internet oversight body Icann, to ensure compliance with accessibility standards?

To enforce something you have to understand it. Icann already has plenty of issues and has its plate full enough. Icann and the IETF [Internet Engineering Task Force] provide the infrastructure, and must focus on what they do best. You cannot enforce standards at large, that does not make sense. I learned as chairman that enforcement should not come from an organisation.

How difficult is it to design a standard, and are you ever frustrated by the time it takes?

There is no recipe, and you have to trust the people that are part of the team. When you start an endeavour you want it to end as soon as possible so that you can move on to the next one. But for a standard to be good in the sense of being ready to be deployed, every party must be given the opportunity for input, and that takes time.

ABOUT JEAN-FRANCOIS ABRAMATIC

Jean-Francois Abramatic is head of products at software maker Ilog, overseeing product design, development, marketing and support.

He has just been reappointed to the advisory board of the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C].

Abramatic was chairman of the W3C from 1996 to 2001, and is a former director of internet oversight body Icann.