Characteristics of Successful Protocols

Although there are no guarantees, history shows that successful protocols tend have certain characteristics in common. By a "successful" protocol, we mean one which becomes accepted as an industry standard in the face of competing protocols, endures as an standard in the long term, and serves to promote the growth of the industry.

Some of the characteristics which improve a protocol's chances are:

1. Good Technical Design. The more a protocol satisfies the technical requirements of the industry, the better its chances. This means that the protocol must primarily be an engineering construct, not a business one.

2. Open Development and Maintenance Processes. It is preferable for the protocol to be developed and maintained by open processes. This means that mechanisms should exist for public commentary on the protocol, and the protocol maintenance process should allow the participation of all constituencies that are affected by the protocol.

3. Open Availability Process. The protocol should be published and made available in a way that ensures that it is freely, easily and permanently accessible to anyone who wishes to use it.

4. Freedom from Usage Restrictions. There should be no restrictions on the use of the protocol. Anyone who wishes to base an application on the protocol should be able to do so without legal or financial hindrance.

Not all successful protocols have all these attributes. Nevertheless, the history of protocol development demonstrates that the more a protocol conforms to these attributes, the more likely it is to become an enduring industry standard.

The characteristics of various protocols are listed in Table 1. The protocols are arranged in groups, where each group represents a set of competing protocols. The table lists the major characteristics of each protocol, along with its ultimate success or failure. Note that there is only one eventual winner in each group.

Note how certain characteristics correlate well with eventual protocol success - for example, in all cases the winning protocol was free of usage restrictions. Other characteristics do not appear to influence the eventual outcome - for example, endorsement by a standards organization does not greatly increase a protocol's chances.

Table 1: Protocol Success Stories

In the remainder of this article we provide case studies of several successful and failed protocols.