Interoperability that organisations can rely on needs shared standards. PCC is in pre-standardisation development: defining interoperability levels, domain profiles and conformance criteria openly enough to invite participation, while the programme is still forming.
The interoperability model
PCC defines eight levels of interoperability — Transport, Syntactic, Semantic, Epistemic, Temporal, Authority, Generative and Recovery. Most systems stop at transport and syntax; PCC treats authority and recovery as first-class. See the full model.
Conformance
- Domain profiles specify vocabulary, units, materiality and evidence kinds for a field.
- Platform adapters supply transport or storage without touching the semantic core.
- Conformance criteria describe what a participant must preserve at each level.
Today, semantic and epistemic conformance is evidenced within bounds; the higher levels are in active development. We describe conformance exactly and do not claim certification.
How to participate
- Contribute to profile and conformance definitions in your domain.
- Pilot interoperability against your systems in a design partnership.
- Help shape criteria before they standardise.
PCC complements and integrates existing technologies and standards rather than requiring their replacement.