Developing and Adopting Standards

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Company Review
3. Referencing Standards Published by Third Parties
4. Removing an Entry from the Standards Information Base
5. Technical Corrigendum Process

1 Introduction

1.1 Overview

The following table shows a taxonomy of the different classes of standards developed or recognized by The Open Group, and the defining attribute of each class:

Any standard represented by an entry in the Open Group Standards Information Base, represents consensus among the members of The Open Group that the definition is broadly adopted and suitable for use in the definition of enterprise architectures and in procurement of products.

Any standard recorded in the Standards Information Base:

• Must be an open standard as defined by the Open Group Standards Adoption Criteria
• Must be a publicly available document, under effective change control, and with fixed and referenceable content
• May be referenced in any Open Group Standard

There are two categories of standard represented in the Standards Information Base

• Open Group Standards are published by The Open Group (or by a third party under the Open Group logo)
• Open Group Referenced Standards are those published by a third party

There are two categories of Open Group Standard

• Open Group Technical Standards are detailed definitions (e.g. interfaces, protocols, formats)
• Open Group Product Standards are collections of logically related Technical Standards and usually contain additional conformance requirements such as:
  
  
  • Selection of specific options and/or alternatives contained in the underlying technical standards
  • Indicators of compliance, such as specific test requirements

The diagram shows the different ways in which a standard may be added to the Open Group Standards Information Base.

1.2 Open Group Technical Standard developed by an Open Group Forum or Working Group - "Standard Track"

Where a Technical Standard is developed as part of the work of an Open Group Forum or Working Group, the Forum or Working Group is responsible for building consensus around the detailed specification. The Company Review process is used to measure consensus as follows:

• The Open Group Manager is responsible for the execution of a Company Review
• The Forum or Working Group is responsible for the resolution of comments and issues arising during the Company Review
• On successful completion, the Open Group Manager is responsible for preparing a proposal for approval by the Governing Board as defined below

Summary Slides Summary Diagram (informative)

1.3 Open Group Technical Standard brought forward by a Platinum Member or group of Platinum Members- "Fast Track"

Where a specification is brought forward by a Platinum member, the Company Review process is used to measure consensus as follows:

• The Open Group appoints a Manager to be responsible for the correct execution of the Company Review
• If the specification falls within the scope of an Open Group Forum or Working Group, that group forms the balloting group; otherwise the Governing Board appoints the balloting group
• The submitting group or organization is responsible for the resolution of comments arising during the Company Review
• On successful completion, the Open Group Manager prepares a proposal for approval by the Governing Board as defined below.

Summary Slides Summary Diagram (informative)

1.4 Referencing a specification developed by a third party

Where an acceptable standard or specification has been developed by a third party, a reference may be added to the Standards Information Base by resolution of the Governing Board. The Open Group is responsible for preparing a proposal for approval by Governing Board as defined below.

2 Company Review

2.1 Description

The Company Review is the formal process by which The Open Group measures consensus around a document in order to become an Open Group Standard.

The Company Review process may also be applied to achieve consensus on documents that are not standards - e.g. Guides, White Papers, Business Scenarios.

A high level overview of the Company Review process showing the typical timeline is shown below:

Summary Slides (informative)

2.2 Requirements

There are three immediate requirements before a proposal to submit a document for Company Review can be approved:

1. There must be a submitting organization, that is prepared to undertake the circulation and any subsequent editing of documents. Any organization may submit a document for Company Review, including Open Group Forums and Working Groups. The copyright owner must agree to release the document to The Open Group at the end of the process, according to the approved Standards Adoption Criteria, and in an acceptable electronic format. Where the submitter is an Open Group Forum or Working Group the copyright owner is The Open Group automatically.
   
2. There must be a document available, or it must be possible to make it available within a reasonable time, and there must be the likelihood of general industry wide acceptance of the interfaces defined in the document.
   
3. Relationships with and dependencies on any existing standards must be defined.
   

2.3 Initiation

1. The submitting organization must inform The Open Group management of their intent to submit a proposal for Company Review of a document. At this stage, written confirmation of willingness to comply with the Open Group commercial and legal conditions must be supplied by the submitter (as defined in the Standards Adoption Criteria).
   
2. At this time, after consulting with any relevant Forum(s), Working Group(s) and if applicable the Governing Board, The Open Group will indicate its willingness to accept the submission and designate an Open Group Manager to manage the review project. This decision will take into account stated priorities of customers and vendors and the availability of resources. The Open Group management must inform the Governing Board of any Company Review submissions that it rejects from consideration, including the rationale for rejection, unless the submitters expressly request to maintain their confidentiality.
   
3. The Open Group Manager shall ensure that any notification process is completed.
   
4. If the specification forms part of a Technical Program, a proposal to carry out the review must be brought to the relevant Working Group or Forum.
   
5. If the specification does not form part of a Technical Program, a proposal to carry out the review must be brought to the Governing Board for approval.
   
   • The Open Group Manager will normally consult with any relevant Working Group(s) or Forums(s) prior to bringing a proposal to the Governing Board.
     
   • Time will be allocated on the agenda of a meeting of the Governing Board for review of the proposal. Material demonstrating that the requirements above are satisfied must be circulated to members of the Governing Board at least two weeks before the meeting, together with a stated date by which the submitter will make the document available. At this stage, the intended status of the final standard must be stated.
     
   • Based on the circulated material and the presentation of the proposal, the Governing Board will resolve whether the Company Review process should proceed.
     
6. If the proposal is approved, the submitter must make the document available. The submitter may either deliver the document to The Open Group for electronic distribution, or provide a pointer to the location of an electronic version of the document in a manner acceptable to the Open Group Manager. If there is any significant delay compared to the original plan, the Governing Board may resolve that the review has failed

2.4 Review and Approval

2.4.1 Participation

The following are entitled to participate in the Review Group for a Company Review.

2.4.2 Scope

Company Review focuses primarily on technical matters, which specifically includes agreement on the technical content of the document and the definition of parts which are considered mandatory for certification purposes. During Company Review, The Open Group editorial team may submit additional comments to ensure consistency of style and presentation of documents across the complete range of Open Group publications.

2.4.3 Notification

The Open Group manager shall provide at least two weeks notice that a document is to be submitted for Company Review. Such notice shall be sent by electronic mail to all those who are entitled to participate. The notification shall include for documents proposed to become an Open Group standard:

• The name of the document
• The start and finish of the review period
• The proposed status of the approved document (i.e. Technical Standard, Product Standard or other certification material)
• The identity of the responsible Open Group manager
• The eMail address to be used for submission of comments and change requests or details of the Document Online Review facility that should be used within The Open Group online collaboration system
• Any specific format to be used for submission of comments and change requests (not applicable if The Open Group Document Online Review system is used)
• The proposed description of the standard to be included in the Standards Information Base
• The composition of the review group; balloter (identified by name) and reviewer status shall be identified for all participants
• A statement from The Open Group explaining how the proposed submission satisfies the Standards Adoption Criteria
• The type of ballot resolution, whether its against the original change requests or the proposed resolutions put forward by the submitter.

2.4.4 Distribution

The Open Group manager is responsible for ensuring that the document is available.

All documents submitted for Company Review shall be distributed electronically. Copies of the document shall normally be placed on the Open Group WWW server, and availability announced by electronic mail to all reviewers and balloters, at least 7 days before the formal start of the review period. In all cases, the document must be available before the start of the review period.

2.4.5 Document Format

The document to be reviewed must be made available in acceptable WEB Format, and shall be formatted to be printable on both A4 and US letter (i.e. maximum area 8" x 11", 200 x 275mm). Wherever possible, page and line numbering should be applied and consistent across all delivered formats.

2.4.6 Duration

The Company Review period shall be proposed by the Open Group Manager and shall be geared to the nature of the document. The Governing Board may by resolution impose a different duration.

• For Technical Standards, the review period shall normally be four weeks
• For recirculation reviews, the review period shall normally be two weeks
• For certification materials, the review period shall normally be two weeks for Product Standards and Conformance Statement Questionnaires, four weeks for new Certification Policies, and two weeks for derivatives
• For documents other than standards, the review period shall be defined by the Open Group Manager, and be no less than two weeks.

Any shorter review period shall normally only apply to minor changes and is subject to resolution of the Governing Board.

2.4.7 Change Requests

1. All requests for modifications must be the subject of formal change requests and shall be submitted by electronic mail sent to the notified eMail address or via The Open Group Document Online Review system, whichever is applicable for the review.
   
2. At the end of the Company Review period (and after each recirculation), the submitter may prepare a proposal recommending how each submitted change request should be responded to. The submitter is free to recommend rejection of some or all change requests at this stage.
   
3. At the submitter's discretion, the Company Review ballot may be either
   • Whether to accept or reject the original change request, or
   • Whether to accept or reject the submitter's recommendation
     
4. The Open Group Manager shall compile and circulate to the review group a list of all comments received and submitter's proposed resolution (if any), together with a ballot form, making it absolutely clear whether it is the original change request or submitter's recommendation that is the subject of the ballot.
   
5. Balloters shall vote by electronic mail on every proposed change request or resolution within a reasonable period prescribed by the Open Group Manager (no less than 1 week). Their votes must be Yes (accept), No (reject) or Abstain (don't care). Only Yes and No votes shall be counted when deciding the result of the ballot. The votes will be counted by the Open Group Manager and the results normally circulated within 1 week after the end of the ballot period. There are no quorum requirements for Company Review ballots.
   
6. If the subject of the ballot is the original change requests:
   1. As a result of the ballot, a proposed resolution may be:
      • Clearly accepted - if approved by at least 75% of votes cast (excluding abstentions)
      • Clearly rejected - if rejected by at least 75% of votes cast (excluding abstentions)
      • Unresolved - in all other cases
   2. Where a proposed resolution is clearly accepted, it is to be incorporated into the specification with no discussion. Where a proposed resolution is clearly rejected, it is discarded with no discussion 
      
7. If the subject of the ballot is the submitter's recommendation:
   1. As a result of the ballot, a proposed resolution may be:
      • Clearly accepted - if approved by at least 75% of votes case (excluding abstentions)
      • Unresolved - in all other cases
   2. Where a proposed resolution is clearly accepted, it is to be incorporated into the specification with no discussion.
      
8. Where a proposed resolution is unresolved, reasonable effort will be made to achieve resolution through a discussion prior to and at an issue resolution meeting. This is under the lead of the Open Group manager.
   
9. If it is anticipated that unresolved change requests may remain after the ballot an issue resolution meeting shall provisionally be scheduled, by the Open Group Manager, with at least three working weeks notice, immediately following the completion of the ballot period to avoid unnecessary delays. This meeting is open to both balloters and reviewers. In issues resolution meetings, in order to achieve consensus, the unresolved change request or recommendation may be modified by the submitter of the Change Request or the submitter of the proposed resolution or the Open Group Manager with the agreement of the submitter. No new change requests may be proposed at this stage.
   
   Only balloters may vote and only those proposed resolutions which achieve 75% approval of those voting (excluding abstentions) will be accepted. This meeting may be held by video or teleconference. Proxy votes are not permitted, but E-mail votes submitted at least 24 hours in advance will be accepted. (If proposed resolutions are modified to achieve consensus, the Open Group Manager must confirm the interpretation of eMail votes with the submitter).
   
10. If the ballot or  issue resolution results in rejection of any recommendation made by the submitting group or organization, that organization has the right to withdraw the proposed standard.
    

2.4.8 Format of Change Requests

All change requests must be submitted in the following standard format (note that The Open Group Document Online Review system automatically mandates this format) :

Document:

Which document the Change Request refers to.

Reference:

A unique reference, including company name or an appropriate abbreviation thereof, which may be used to refer to the Change Request. The reference should include a sequence number to enable the Open Group Manager (and others) identify any Change Requests not delivered by electronic mail.

Source:

Name of the company submitting the request

Title:

Describing the request

Qualifier:

Nature and severity of the change requested. Possible values are:

• Severity: Minor, Major, Critical
• Nature: Editorial, Technical

Rationale:

Reason that change is needed, reason that suggested change is preferred over other possibilities, etc.

Change:

Specific changes which should be made to the document to satisfy the objections.

Sufficient information must be included to uniquely identify the location affected, including page, section and line numbers, when available.

In the case of pervasive changes, individual changes may not be feasible. In such cases, other methods to describe the changes are permitted, but must define completely the action required of the editor. However, it should be noted that such changes may be difficult to discuss at such a late stage of the specification life-cycle.

2.5 Approval

At the completion of the Company Review process, the Open Group manager shall prepare a proposal to publish the document and add a reference to the Standards Information Base for approval by the Governing Board. This must be accompanied by

• A Company Review report showing how comments and objections arising during the review have been addressed, and including the outcome of other necessary reviews.
• A statement confirming that The Open Group Standards Adoption Criteria have been satisfied.

The proposal shall be considered by the Governing Board at the next appropriate meeting or teleconference. The Governing Board may either

• Resolve to approve publication and the addition of the reference to the Standards Information Base
• Resolve not to approve publication
• Refer the proposal to an appropriate Forum or Working Group for further consideration

All decisions not to publish a standard which has successfully completed Company Review shall be reported to the Governing Board.

2.6 Publication

For documents that are to be published as Open Group Standards:

Sanity Check:

• Upon completion of technical editing the final proof of the standard will be made available to allow for confirmation that the technical integrity of the document has not been compromised during the editing process
• At least one week's notice will be given to all balloters by electronic mail of the start of the final proof check
• The document will be made available via the Open Group WEB server
• A two week period will be allowed for the review
• Comments, which must be restricted to the incorrect application of agreed change requests, must be submitted to the responsible Open Group manager, and circulated to the mailing list(s) used for the review

Check that the Standards Process have been followed:

• Resolutions to approve publication shall be notified to the Board via the Open Group Corporate Secretary by eMail
• If any member of the Governing Board believes that there has been a failure to adhere to the approved Standards Process, they shall bring that to the attention of the Open Group Corporate Secretary within two weeks, in which case the matter will be referred to a meeting or teleconference of the Governing Board, and publication shall not proceed until the matter is resolved.
• The meeting or teleconference of the Governing Board shall take place within four weeks

2.7 Recirculation Reviews

If the number of changes arising from a Company Review is large, one or more of the balloting members of the Review Group may request of the Open Group manager that the revised document be circulated for a repeat review. If the Open Group manager does not accede to this request, this shall be reported to the Governing Board as part of the Company Review report described above.

Where such a repeat review is necessary, the following special procedures apply:

1. The revised document shall annotate all changes made
2. The formal notice period required for the review is two weeks.
3. The standard review period is two weeks
4. Objections are restricted to unresolved issues remaining from the previous review cycle and any changes introduced since the previous review round (or the impact of such changes elsewhere in the document).

There is no limit to the number of Company Review cycles. However, the Governing Board may resolve not to continue the review if it appears that consensus cannot be achieved in a timely manner.

3 Referencing Standards Published by Third Parties

3.1 Introduction

All standards approved for publication as Open Group Standards are automatically added to the Standards Information Base.

References to documents developed and published by other standards bodies, consortia or companies may also be added to the Standards Information Base.

Any standard to be referenced in the Standards Information Base must satisfy the relevant Open Group Standards Adoption Criteria.

3.2 Process

Any individual or organization may propose that a document be adopted as an Open Group Referenced Standard by inclusion of a reference in The Open Group Standards Information Base. Such a proposal must include all the necessary information to create a record in the Standards Information Base.

All such proposals must be made by electronic mail to ogsib@opengroup.org. The Open Group will, jointly with the proposer, prepare a proposal for review and approval by the Governing Board, containing at least the following information:

• The name of the organization or company that developed the document and/or holds the copyright for the document
• Any supporting rationale
• Confirmation that the relevant Standards Adoption Criteria are met, and details of any agreements required with the copyright holder to achieve this

The proposal shall be considered by the Governing Board at the next appropriate meeting or teleconference. The Governing Board may either

• Resolve to approve addition of the reference to the Standards Information Base
• Refer the proposal to an appropriate Forum or Working Group for detailed consideration

4 Removing an Entry from the Standards Information Base

From time to time it will be necessary to remove entries from the Standards Information Base (for example when specifications or standards are superseded or not implemented in products within a reasonable period of time). This applies equally to Open Group Standards and Open Group Referenced Standards.

Proposals to remove entries from the Standards Information Base may be submitted by any individual or organization by electronic mail to ogsib@opengroup.org . The Open Group will, jointly with the proposer, prepare a recommendation for approval by resolution of the Governing Board.

Such proposals must include an assessment of the anticipated commercial impact of withdrawal and a plan for

• withdrawal of any Product Standards which reference the standard
• withdrawal of related publications from The Open Group publications catalogue

5 Technical Corrigendum Process

From time to time errors or inconsistencies will be found in Open Group standards. These can be corrected through production of a Technical Corrigendum, detailing a list of corrections to the standard.

A Technical Corrigendum against an approved standard changes the normative meaning of the standard upon its approval and thus must be developed through the Company Review process. Once approved the Technical Corrigendum will be made available on The Open Group web site.

Last updated: May 7 2008

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