AICC
dissolvedAviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee
1988–2014
N/A (industry consortium)
The Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee (AICC) was founded in 1988 as a task force of aviation industry stakeholders who needed to standardize computer-based training delivery. Airlines, defense contractors, and aircraft manufacturers were spending millions on CBT, but every vendor used proprietary formats.
AICC's most important contribution was conceptual: the separation of content from delivery system. Their CMI (Computer Managed Instruction) data model defined the fields and communication protocol (HACP) for exchanging learner data between content and management systems. This foundational work would directly influence SCORM's design.
The HACP protocol deserves special recognition. Unlike SCORM's JavaScript API, which required content and LMS to be on the same domain, HACP was HTTP-based and supported cross-domain communication from the start. This capability wouldn't return to eLearning standards until xAPI in 2013.
As SCORM gained dominance in the 2000s, the AICC's direct influence waned, but the organization found renewed purpose in its final years. Under the leadership of Bill McDonald, the AICC working group developed cmi5 — an xAPI Profile that bridges xAPI's modern architecture with the LMS interoperability that the industry demands.
The AICC officially disbanded in 2014, but its legacy is woven into every eLearning standard in use today. The "cmi" in cmi5 is a direct tribute to the organization's foundational data model.
Key Contributions
- [+]Established the first eLearning interoperability standards (1988)
- [+]Created the CMI data model — the foundation for all SCORM tracking
- [+]Developed HACP — cross-domain communication protocol
- [+]Pioneered the separation of content from delivery system
- [+]Developed the cmi5 specification as its final major project
Key People
Historical Context
In the late 1980s, the aviation industry was the largest consumer of computer-based training. The AICC emerged from the practical need to share training content across different airlines, manufacturers, and military branches. Its standards-first approach to solving interoperability would become the model for every organization that followed.