The aim of this step is to ensure that the project team members have enough SDMX knowledge to give the project the best chance of succeeding.

There are various ways to acquire basic and expert knowledge about SDMX:

  • Consult existing documentation made available on sdmx.org (e.g. technical standards, statistical guidelines, "Learning" section, links to sponsor organisations' webpages on training) 
  • Attend webinars and training sessions, capacity building sessions, international conferences
  • Install, test and get familiar with basic tools used to produce XML files
  • One effective way of learning about SDMX and its benefits is to implement a small scale pilot study on a statistical domain using the available global Data Structure Definitions and suites of implementation tools
  • Contact and visit colleagues from other organisations and countries which have successfully implemented data and metadata exchanges

The phase is complete once the project team members have the knowledge to perform the subsequent tasks in the checklist, especially in the DESIGN phase.