1. Preface In today's technological
environment, standards play a critical role in product
development and market share. Responsibility for how a
standard evolves begins in the working group. Every
input, behavior, and action has both a contributory and
a potential legal consequence. These procedures help
protect working group members and the IEEE. These
operating procedures outline the orderly transaction of
business by the Working Group. The working group may
amend these procedures with the approval of its Sponsor
and the IEEE-SA Corporate Advisory Group (CAG).
2. Hierarchy Several
documents take precedence over these procedures in the
following order:New
York State Not-for-Profit Law IEEE Certificate
of Incorporation
3. Fundamental Principles of
Operation For the
development of standards, openness
and due process must apply, which means that any entity
with a direct and material interest has a right to
participate by:
1) Expressing a position and its
basis,
2) Having that position considered,
and
3) Appealing if adversely affected.
Due process allows for equity and fair
play. In addition to openness, due process requires balance,
i.e., the standards development process should have a
balance of interests and shall not be dominated by any
single interest category. IEEE due process also requires
a consensus of those parties interested in the project.
Consensus is defined as a majority agreement, but not
unanimity.
4. Legal
Accountability The working group will abide by
all intellectual property policies of the IEEE,
including those for patents, trademarks, and copyright.
The working group chair shall review the IEEE patent
policy slides at the start of each meeting. The working
group is obligated to avoid discussions that could
result in an antitrust action. If health, safety and
environmental issues are raised in the standards
document developed by the working group, the chair will
inform IEEE Standards staff to ensure that the
appropriate legal review of these clauses is
fulfilled.Working group participants should always
consider the IEEE
Code of Ethics when taking action.
4.1 Indemnification IEEE
Bylaw I-300.3 discusses the IEEE policies for
indemnification. Participants must be included in the
working group roster and have signed the Copyright
Sign-Off Form to be recognized as an official
participant in IEEE standards development
activities.
5. Working
Group Responsibilities The working group shall
a) Complete the project from Project
Authorization Request (PAR) approval to IEEE-SA
Standards Board approval within 12 to 24 months as
specified by the funding level of service b) Provide
a business rationale for the development of the
standard c) Submit required documentation, for
example, a project schedule or a monthly status
report d) Schedule meetings (in person or electronic)
as appropriate, based on an agenda distributed at least
two weeks prior to the meeting e) Obtain funding to
cover dedicated support when desired to expedite the
standards development process f) Use the IEEE
FrameMakerTM document templates g)
Include the Sponsor on distribution of the standard as
it is developed and when it is ready to begin IEEE
Standards Sponsor ballot
5.1 Working
Group Constitution The following qualify as
corporate members of the working group:
-- Corporation: An entity that has a
controlling body, such as a Board of Directors, that
does not report to another controlling body. --
Government agency or subdivision: An entity that
reports to its parent or executive, legislative, or
judicial branch of a government. -- Partnership or
association: An entity comprised of two or more
principal members. In order to be a voting member, each
partnership or association shall declare that it does
not represent the interests of another member of the
working group. -- Consultant: An entity whose
principal source of revenue is derived from providing
consulting services for other institutions. In order to
be a voting member in a working group, each consultant
shall declare that it does not represent the interests
of another person in the working group. --
Academic institution: An educational entity that has
a controlling body, such as a Board of Regents or a
Board of Governors. -- Consortia, vendor-specific
user groups, professional societies, and other
standards-developing organizations: The principal
and alternate representatives for these types of
entities may be employed by other entities that have
voting membership in the working group. -- Other
institutional persons as approved by the Sponsor
In the event that, through merger or
acquisition or other similar event, a working group
member has its assets totally or substantially
transferred to another entity, working group membership
may be transferred to the new entity, provided that all
provisions of membership are maintained. Any such
transfer of membership shall be subject to the approval
of the Sponsor.
6.
Officers There shall be a
Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary. The office of
Treasurer is suggested if significant funds are involved
in the operation of the working group and/or its
subcommittees. All officers shall be IEEE members
of any grade, individual
IEEE-SA members, and must also be Designated
Representatives (DRs) of entities that are corporate
IEEE-SA members.
The Chair, for organizational
purposes, will work with the Sponsor to submit the PAR
form to the New
Standards Committee (NesCom). At the first
organizational meeting, the working group shall elect
its operating officers in accordance with the procedures
of its Sponsor, and, where necessary, Robert's Rules
of Order.
6.1 Election of Officers The
Chair shall appoint a Returning Officer to conduct an
election of officers. The Returning Officer shall not be
a nominee in the election and shall not vote in the
election. An election will seek to fill offices that are
either vacant, have an official in temporary
appointment, or when the term of office has expired.
The members shall nominate to the
Returning Officer one or more members for each office to
be filled at the election. Nominees shall be eligible to
hold the office for which they are elected. A member
shall be nominated for no more than one office. The
response period for nominations shall be at least 14
calendar days. If no nomination is received for an
office, a temporary appointment shall be made in
accordance with 6.2.
The Returning Officer shall conduct
the election by letter or electronic ballot. Voting will
conclude after 14 calendar days. Voting shall be by
"approval," whereby each balloter may cast one approval
vote for each of any number of nominees for an office.
The nominee with the greatest number of approval votes
shall win the election.
Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair
shall be confirmed by the Sponsor.
6.2
Temporary Appointments to Vacancies If an office becomes vacant due to
resignation, removal, lack of nomination at an election
or for another reason, a temporary appointment shall be
made for a period of up to six months. In the case of
Chair or Vice-Chair, the temporary appointment shall be
made by the Sponsor Coordinating Committee, with input
from the working group. In the case of Secretary, the
temporary appointment shall be made by the Chair. An
election for the vacated office shall be conducted at
the earliest practical time.
6.3 Removal
of Officers An officer
may be removed by approval of two-thirds of the voting
members of the working group and approval by the
Sponsor. Grounds for removal shall be included in any
motion to remove an officer of the working
group.
a) Be an IEEE member of
any grade, and an IEEE-SA
member b) Institute a "Call for Participation" to
the IEEE-SA corporate and organizational membership upon
initiation of the project c) "Call for Patents"
at each meeting d) Solicit "letters
of assurance" from patent holders e) Ensure
coordination with Societies as appropriate f)
Regularly attend working group meetings (including
face-to-face, teleconference, or other electronic
means) g) Notify Sponsor when document is ready for
balloting h)
Achieve ballot
resolution
The Chair also shall
a) Be objective b) Entertain
motions, but not make motions c) Not bias
discussions d) Delegate necessary functions e)
Ensure that all parties have the opportunity to express
their views f) Set goals and deadlines g) Be
knowledgeable in IEEE standards processes and
parliamentary procedures and ensure that the processes
and procedures are followed h) Study all training
materials available through IEEE
Standards Development Online i) Seek consensus of
the working group as a means of resolving issues
The Vice-Chair shall carry out
the Chair's duties if the Chair is temporarily unable to
do so or chooses to recuse him- or herself (i.e., to
give a technical opinion). The Vice-Chair shall study
all training materials available through IEEE
Standards Development Online.
a) Distribute the agendas b) Record and have
published minutes of each meeting c) Create and
maintain the membership roster d) Schedule meetings
in coordination with Chair e) Be responsible for the
management and distribution of working group
documentation f) Maintain list of unresolved issues,
action items, and assignments g) Study all training
material available through IEEE
Standards Development Online
6.4.4
Treasurer If needed, a
Treasurer shall maintain a budget and shall control all
funds into and out of the working group's bank account.
The Treasurer shall follow IEEE policies concerning bank
accounts. The Treasurer shall study all training
material available through IEEE
Standards Development Online.
7. Working
Group Membership Working
group membership is by entity. An entity shall pay any
funding services fee if established and shall fulfill
the requirements of membership determined by its Sponsor
to gain and maintain membership in the working group. An
entity shall have one Designated Representative (DR) and
may have more than one alternate (DRA) participating in
the working group. The Primary Representative of the
entity determines the DR/DRA for the working group. The
assignment of a DR/DRA can change throughout the life of
the working group. It is the entity's responsibility to
notify the Working Group Secretary of changes to the
DR/DRA assignment. Only the DR is eligible to vote on
behalf of the entity for all working group matters. If
the DR is unable to vote at a meeting, one DRA will be
recognized at the start of the meeting to vote on the
DR's behalf. Membership shall give the DR the right to
vote on all working group matters.
Each DR/DRA can vote for only
one member of the working group; no one representative
can represent the interests of more than one member of
the working group except for a temporary proxy
vote.
Membership shall be granted
automatically to those entities attending the first
working group meeting. Thereafter, membership shall be
granted after the entity attends two consecutive
meetings of the working group.
The entity (member), through its
DR or DRA, is expected to attend meetings as required by
these procedures. The Secretary records attendance for
members who attend at least 50% of a meeting's duration.
Attendance at a meeting via teleconferencing and/or
electronic means, e.g., Internet conferencing, shall
also be permitted.
Membership status is maintained
through consistent participation at meetings and through
working group votes. If a working group member misses
two consecutive meetings, its membership status shall be
revoked. The Chair shall notify, in writing, a member
who fails to attend two consecutive meetings and that
has therefore lost its membership.
A member who has lost its voting
privileges shall have its voting privileges reinstated
by attendance at two consecutive meetings of the working
group. All voting privileges and rights shall be
restored after attending the second consecutive meeting.
If, for reasons of personal hardship, an entity cannot
attend two consecutive meetings (but that entity
continues to vote in ballots taken between meetings),
the working group will be consulted on the status of the
entity.
The entity (members) within a
working group must ensure that their representatives
have a material knowledge of the project scope.
Non-members may also participate
in working group activities, following the principle of
openness at the discretion of the Chair. Non-members
cannot vote in working group actions.
7.1
Subgroups of the Working Group The working group may from time to time
form subgroups for the conduct of its business and
determine the eligibility of working group members and
observers to vote on questions within such subgroups. At
the time of formation, the working group shall determine
the scope and duties delegated to the subgroup. Any
changes to its scope and duties will require the
approval of the working group. Any resolution of a
subgroup shall be subject to confirmation by the working
group.
The chair of the subgroup shall
be appointed by the Chair of the working group.
8. Working
Group Membership Roster A
working group membership roster is a vital aspect of
standards development. It serves as a record of
participants in the working group and is an initial tool
if any issue of indemnification arises during the
process of standards development. The Secretary shall
maintain a current and accurate roster for the working
group and shall distribute it to the members upon
request or at least annually. All changes to the roster
shall be forwarded to the Chair immediately. The roster
shall include the following:
5) Members a.
Entity name b. Designated
Representative (indicated by "DR") and entity
address c. Alternate(s)
(indicated by "DRA") and entity address(es)
All working group members are required
to check the roster at each face-to-face meeting and
verify its accuracy. If a working group meets only
virtually, it shall determine a schedule to check the
roster accuracy periodically.
All working group members are required
to sign off against the roster at each meeting they
attend, ensuring they are maintaining current
membership, expressing their awareness of IEEE
Standards policies, and verifying the accuracy of
their membership listing.
9. Voting Approval of an action
requires an approval vote from a majority of those votes
cast from those members entitled to vote at the time of
a vote (either at a meeting or by letter or electronic
ballot), provided a quorum is present. Those able to
vote shall be official members of the working group.
Notification of the potential for action shall be
included on any distributed agendas for meetings.
These actions include
1) Adoption of working group
procedures, interest categories, or revisions thereof
2) Formation of a subgroup,
including its procedures, scope and duties
9.1 Actions Requiring Approval by
Two-Thirds of the Voting Working Group
Membership The following actions require an
electronic ballot or an equivalent formal recorded vote
with approval by at least two-thirds of the voting
members of the working group, excluding abstentions
(provided that notification of the action has been
included on the distributed agenda for the meeting):
1) Approval of change of the working
group scope 2) Approval of termination of the
working group (subject to approval by the Sponsor) 3)
Establishment of fees 4) Removal of a working group
officer 5) Approval to move draft standards to IEEE
Standards Sponsor ballot
9.2 Proxy
Voting Proxy voting may
be allowed in the working group. If the working group
elects to permit proxy voting, the following procedures
shall apply.
The chair must be informed of
all proxies prior to the start of the meeting in which
the proxy is to be in effect. Any assignment of proxy
shall be sent to the chair and the member serving as the
proxy via fax or written communication that contains the
assigner's signature. A proxy is not valid without
written acknowledgment from the chair and member serving
as proxy of receipt of the assignment.
Any one member of the working
group may hold no more than two proxy votes in addition
to his or her vote. Proxy voting is allowed only for
those members who cannot attend the entire meeting;
proxies may not be assigned for parts of meetings. A
member can assign his or her proxy for no more than two
consecutive meetings of the working group. The chair
shall announce any proxy voting to the working group
members at the start of the period in which the proxy is
to be in effect.
Members serving as proxies may
only vote on approved agenda items announced through the
distributed agenda prior to the meeting. A member
serving as a proxy must exercise his or her judgment as
to the viability of instruction from the assigner when
announced agenda items are amended or developed through
the meeting process. Proxies may not be further assigned
by the member serving as proxy.
10.
Quorum A working group
quorum must be identified before the initiation of
working group business. A quorum shall be defined as a
simple majority of the working group membership (i.e.,
the DR or DRA of each entity). A working group vote
requires the presence of a quorum.
11.
Meetings Working Group
meetings shall be held, as decided by the working group,
the Chair, or by petition of 15% or more of the members,
to conduct business, such as making assignments,
receiving reports of work, considering draft standards,
and considering views and objections from any source.
Meetings of any ballot review group shall adhere to the
same principles as working group meetings.
A meeting shall be announced 30
days in advance to all members and observers. An agenda
shall be distributed at least 14 days in advance of a
meeting.
The working group may charge a
meeting fee to cover services needed for the conduct of
the meeting. The fee shall not be used to restrict
participation by any interested parties.
While having a balance of all
interested parties is not an official requirement for a
working group, it is a desirable goal. As such, the
officers of the working group should consider issues of
balance that may arise and discuss them with the
sponsor.
It is expected that participants
in the working group behave in a professional manner at
all times. Participants should demonstrate respect and
courtesy towards officers and each other, while allowing
participants a fair and equal opportunity to contribute
to the meeting.
12.
Appeals The working group
recognizes the right of appeal. If technical or
procedural appeals are referred back to the working
group, every effort should be made to ensure that
impartial handling of complaints regarding any action or
inaction on the part of the committee is performed in an
identifiable manner.
If the working group must
conduct an appeal, it shall model its appeals process
based on the appeals processes of the IEEE-SA
Standards Board (see clause
5.4 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws and
clause
5.8 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations
Manual).
13.
Communications Inquiries
relating to the working group should be directed to the
Chair, and all members should so inform the individuals
who raised such questions. All replies to such inquiries
shall be made through the Chair. Informal communications
shall not imply that they are a formal position of the
working group.
