Although a large number of ICTs standards define the minimum requirements of (for
example) biometric systems exist, attention should be drawn to the fact that – in the
context of electoral processes – EMBs and other national institutions, UNDP and other
international development partners believe that these standards are not mandatory and
therefore do not assert compliance with standards.
This creates an environment which is not conducive to convergence of the procured
solutions with other needs within the country, e.g. public administration. Furthermore,
many EMBs, UNDP offices and other actors do not perform acceptance testing of provided
solutions beforehand. These issues, which impact upon sustainability, should ideally be
carefully revised in the specifications phase.
As an example of how using standards can simplify long term planning, standards specified
in 1984 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 9303 can be used to specify the layout of the civic ID or voter card. The same standard can be used to
specify photo sizes to be used on these cards. This ICAO 9303 document also specifies how
the photo should look like with regards to lighting, distance, coverage, etc. This standard
will ensure that future electoral cycles will have the same look and feel, same standard
layout, no matter which vendor is used. This will reduce costs (same graphics design, same
printing facilities, etc.) and reduce confusion with election officials on Election Day.
ICAO 9303 also specifies the electronic information standards to be used on e-voter or
e-citizen ID’s. ICAO also recommends that the fingerprints image should be stored in the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed compression format called Wavelet Scalar
Quantization (WSQ). This ensures that the captured fingerprints could be re-used when a
new biometric vendor is selected in following electoral cycles. The WSQ standard is also
the most effective compression format for fingerprints. The same goes for the photos,
recommended to be stored in the JPEG 2000 (J2K) format. This will reduce storage size
(and therefore costs) and ensure sustainability.
The technical specifications sections of the ICAO 9303 document, Parts 1, 2 and 3, have
received the endorsement of the International Organisation for Standardization as ISO
Standards 7501-1, 7501-2 and 7501-3, respectively. Such endorsement is made possible
by means of a liaison mechanism through which manufacturers of travel documents,
readers and other technologies provide technical and engineering advice to the
Technical Advisory Group/Machine Readable Travel Document (TAG/MRTD) under the
auspices of ISO. Through this working relationship, the ICAO specifications have achieved
the status of worldwide standards by means of a simplified procedure within ISO. The
liaison mechanism with ISO has been successfully applied not only to the endorsement
of new specifications for travel documents as ISO Standards but also to the approval of
amendments to the specifications. Subsequent revisions to Doc 9303, Parts 1, 2 and 3, will
therefore be processed for ISO endorsement in the same manner as previously.
Risks involved increase even further if, in addition to not requesting compliance with
practises and/or standards, EMBs choose not to perform acceptance testing of provided
solutions. Because of the importance of the software component of the biometric solution,
EMBs (and national authorities in charge of civil registration) should adapt common
standards in procurement of software products and services as described in IEEE 12207.
This standard presents the commonly accepted practices for ensuring a well-defined and
persistent assurance process for acquired software. The 12207 framework describes a
complete set of practices for software, which range all the way from conceptualization
through retirement.
This translates into the following activities:
- Prepare a concept or a need to procure, develop, or enhance a product or
service
- Prepare a set of requirements including relevant design, testing and compliance
standards
- Prepare a set of acceptance criteria and criteria for evaluation
- Prepare a procurement activity plan, including milestones
- Establish plans for supplier sourcing
- Launch of expression of interest and preparation of tender documents
- Solicitation period, tender evaluation period
- Validation/acceptance testing
- Manage contract, supervision
- Allow sufficient time for a comprehensive procurement process
- Perform acceptance reviews and validation-testing
Formal acceptance of the solution includes preparation and performance of test cases,
test data, test procedures, and a test environment. Inspections and audits are rigorous
but they require resources and have concomitant costs. It means that when drafting the
Request for Proposal (RFP) for procuring a biometric voter solution, the RFP has to be
both feasible and cost justifiable. In this way, EMBs and Procurement Officers will have
the adequate decision-making tools when it comes to ICTs, especially for biometric voter
registration projects.
