This part of IEC 61968 is the first in a series that, taken as a whole, define interfaces for the major elements of an interface architecture for Distribution Management Systems (DMS). This part of IEC 61968 identifies and establishes requirements for standard interfaces based on an Interface Reference Model (IRM). Subsequent parts of this standard are based on each interface identified in the IRM. This set of standards is limited to the definition of interfaces and is implementation independent. They provide for interoperability among different computer systems, platforms, and languages. Methods and technologies used to implement functionality conforming to these interfaces are considered outside of the scope of these standards; only the interface itself is specified in the IEC 61968 series.