1. Introduction
This section provides an introduction to The Open Group Standards
Process describing its purpose and the principles upon which it is
founded.
The Open Group Standards Process defines the procedures for key tasks
within The Open Group Standards development activities. The objectives
of having documented and observed procedures are:
Name: Openness |
Statement:
- Standards are developed in an open process.
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Rationale:
- Openness is a basic part of The Open Group raison d'être (embedded in the name) – The Open Group must be seen to be open
- Openness is a key part of the value proposition to members of The Open Group; our standards are competing in the market with vendor-specific standards; the openness of the process that produces them is a key part of the value of our standards to the market, and to the members who join us in order to help develop them.
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Implications:
- The process must not only be open, but seen to be open.
- Openness implies effective communication with and between all
relevant parties.
- Openness should be applied throughout the standards development
process, not just in the final Company Review.
- Openness implies that any member is eligible to participate in any
Forum, Work Group, or Project, and stand for election to any office
(e.g., Chair, Vice-Chair) of any such group of members, and stand for
election to represent the membership at the Governing Board, limited
only by entitlements associated with their membership type and status.
- All standards published by The Open Group must be copyright of The
Open Group.
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Name: Timely and Deterministic Process |
Statement:
- Standards are developed using a deterministic process that delivers
standards in a predictable and timely manner.
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Rationale:
- There is a continuum of standards in any industry: de jure,
industry consensus, and vendor-specific or commercial. The Open Group
uses an industry consensus-based approach in developing standards. While
consensus standards cannot be produced as rapidly as those of a single
vendor, they do have to be produced at an acceptable pace to have value
in the market, and have to be substantially faster and more deterministic
in getting to market than de jure standards, which often have other
drivers underlying them, such as health, safety, or national interests.
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Implications:
- Determinism is a means to the end of timeliness, not an end in itself.
- The inability of many de jure standards efforts to deliver
effective standards in a timely manner means that we should distinguish
ourselves from those de jure bodies in the market.
- We should be prepared for an activity to be stopped or re-constituted
if it does not reach consensus in a timely manner.
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Last updated: September 2018.