[vhdl-200x] Draft_VASG_Operating_Procedures

From: Stephen A. Bailey <stephen_at_.....>
Date: Sun Jun 12 2005 - 18:14:11 PDT
All,

Here are proposed WG Operating Procedures. We discussed this topic some time
back. It was pointed out that I had not specified some areas where the DASC
model WG procedures provided flexibility. I believe I have addressed those
concerns in this version. Please review so that we can finally make progress
on adopting the WG procedures.

Thanks,

-Steve Bailey 
  _____  


Model Operating Procedures for IEEE Computer Society


Design Automation Standards Committee


P1076 (VASG) Working Group


 


Introduction


These Operating Procedures outline the orderly transaction of business of
the VASG Working Group of the Design Automation Standards Committee (DASC)
of the IEEE Computer Society.  For the development of standards, openness
and due process must apply, which means that any individual with a direct
and material interest has a right to participate by:

 

a)      expressing a position and its basis,

b)      having that position considered, and

c)      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.

 

These Operating Procedures outline the orderly transaction of business for
this working group. Several documents take precedence in the following
order:

 

*	New York State Not-for-Profit Law
*	IEEE Certificate of Incorporation
*	IEEE Constitution
*	IEEE Bylaws (includes IEEE Standards Association Bylaws)
*	IEEE Policy & Procedures Manual
*	IEEE Board of Directors Resolutions
*	IEEE Standards Association Operations Manual
*	IEEE-SA Board of Governors Resolutions
*	IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws
*	IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual
*	Policies/Procedures of the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS)
*	Policies/Procedures of the IEEE Computer Society Standards
Activities Board (IEEE-CS SAB)
*	Policies/Procedures of the DASC
*	DASC Resolutions
*	Policies/Procedures of the Working Group (this document)
*	Working Group Resolutions
*	Robert's Rules of Order (Revised)


Working Group Scope


This project will revise and enhance the VHDL LRM by including a standard C
language interface specification; specifications from previously separate,
but releated standards 1164 and 1076.2; and general language enhancements in
the areas of design and verification of electronic systems.

 

(Reference : IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws, Subclause 4.3.1)


1 Organization of the Working Group


The Working Group shall consist of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and
members. When staff resources permit, the Working Group shall be supported
by a Standards Staff Liaison.  In the absence of a separate Standards Staff
Liaison, the Working Group Chair shall be responsible for liaising with
Standards Staff.

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclause 5.4.1)


2 Responsibilities of the Working Group


The Working Group shall be responsible for the following:

 

1.	Developing a proposed IEEE standard within the scope of the PAR
under which the Working Group was formed
2.	Maintaining the standard developed by the Working Group in
accordance with the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual
3.	Responding to requests for interpretations of the standards
developed by the Working Group
4.	Preparing PARs for revision of the standard developed by the Working
Group
5.	Acting on other matters requiring Working Group effort as provided
in these procedures
6.	Cooperating with other appropriate standards development
organizations
7.	Protecting against actions taken in the name of the Working Group
without Working Group authorization

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws, Subclauses 4.3.1 and 5.2.1 and
IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclauses 4.3.2, 4.5, and 5.1)


3 Officers


There shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair and a Secretary. These officers shall
be DASC

members and shall be appointed/elected in accordance with the procedures of
the DASC.

 

The Chair shall be a member of any grade of the IEEE and a member of the
IEEE-SA and shall organize the Working Group, oversee the Working Group's
compliance with these procedures, and submit proposed standards approved by
the balloting group with supporting documentation for IEEE-SA Standards
Board review and approval as IEEE standards.

 

The Vice-Chair shall be a member of any grade of the IEEE and a member of
the IEEE-SA and shall carry out the Chair's duties if the Chair is
temporarily unable to do so or chooses to recuse himself or herself.

 

The Secretary shall record and have published minutes of each meeting.

 

The Standards Staff Liaison may perform, as a service, administrative work
including:

 

1.	Secretarial services
2.	Making meeting arrangements
3.	Preparation and distribution of meeting notices, agendas, minutes,
ballots, and draft standards
4.	Maintenance of adequate records, including the Working Group roster

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclause 4.4.2)


3.1 Election of Officers


The Chair shall appoint a Returning Officer for the conduct of an election
of officers. The Returning Officer shall not be a nominee in the election
and shall not vote in the election.

 

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 at the
time of nomination to hold the office for which they are elected. A Member
shall accept nomination for no more than one office. The response period for
nominations shall be at least 14 days. If no

nomination is received for an office, a temporary appointment shall be made
in accordance with 3.2.

 

The Returning Officer shall conduct the election by letter or electronic
ballot. Voting shall be by "approval", whereby each balloter may cast an
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. Write-in
candidates are permitted as specified in the IEEE Bylaws.

 

In the event of a tie, the Returning Officer shall decide between the tied
candidates by picking a candidate's name from a hat.

 

Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair shall be confirmed by the DASC-SC. If
the DASC-SC rejects election of the Chair or Vice-Chair, the Returning
Officer shall conduct a fresh election for the office not so confirmed.


3.2 Temporary Appointments to Vacancies


If an office becomes vacant due to resignation, removal, lack of nomination
at an election or other 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 Chair of the DASC. In the case of
Secretary or Treasurer, the temporary appointment shall be made by the Chair
of the Working Group. An election for the vacated office shall be conducted
at the earliest practicable time.


4 Membership


4.1 Voting Membership


Voting Membership in the Working Group shall be in accordance with the
procedures of the IEEE-CS SAB and the IEEE-SA Standards Board. A Working
Group member shall be a DASC member in order to be a voting member of  the
Working Group. A voting member shall participate in Working Group activities
as specified in Clause 4.7.1 of the

IEEE-CS SAB policies. For the purpose of interpreting that clause, a meeting
shall be deemed to include a teleconference or a Working Group ballot
conducted by letter or electronically. A member shall be counted as
participating in a meeting on the basis of email communication with the
Working Group addressing an item on the published agenda or minutes of the
meeting.


4.2 Observers


Observers shall be permitted to participate in discussions at Working Group
meetings and in email discussions in accordance with the procedures of the
IEEE-CS SAB.


4.3 Application


A request for membership shall be addressed to the Working Group Chair,
indicating the applicant's direct and material interest in the Working
Group's work, qualifications and willingness to participate actively. Please
note that all IEEE Standards meetings are open to anyone who wishes to
attend.


4.4 Review of Membership


The Working Group Chair shall review the membership list annually and before
each Working Group ballot. Members are expected to fulfill the obligations
of active participation. When a member is found in habitual default of these
obligations, the Chair shall consider the matter for appropriate action,
which may include termination of voting membership.


4.5 Membership Roster


The Working Group Secretary shall maintain a current and accurate Working
Group roster. All changes to the roster shall be forwarded to the Working
Group Chair immediately. The roster shall include the following:

 

1.	Title of the Working Group
2.	Scope of the Working Group
3.	Officers - Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, [Treasurer] [and Standards
Staff Liaison]
4.	Members: for all, list name, address, IEEE membership number and
business affiliations; for society or organizational.  Designated
Representatives (DR) and alternates (DRA), list as DR or DRA and the IEEE
Society or organization (as applicable), together with organization address.

 

The Working Group Secretary shall maintain and publish to members a list of
names and business affiliations of current Working Group Members.

 

The Working Group Secretary shall maintain an email list of current Working
Group Members and shall ensure that all Working Group Members are permitted
to post email messages to the list.


5 Meetings


5.1 Holding Meetings


Working Group meetings shall be held, as decided by the Working Group, the
Working Group Chair, or by petition of 15% or more of the Working Group
Members, to conduct business, such as making assignments, receiving reports
of work, considering draft standards, resolving differences among subgroups,
and considering views and objections from any source. A 14-day notice,
including an agenda, shall be distributed to all members and observers.
Meetings of subgroups may be held as decided upon by the members or chair of
the subgroup.

 

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.


5.2 Quorum


There shall be a quorum for conducting business at a meeting.
Notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough voting members to leave less than a
quorum, the voting members remaining at a duly called or held meeting at
which a quorum was initially present may continue to do business until
adjournment, so long as any action taken (other than adjournment) is
approved by at least a majority of the voting members required to constitute
a quorum. A quorum is considered to be 50% of the voting members of the
Working Group. If a quorum is not present at a meeting, including those
present using teleconferencing facilities, the chair may choose to conduct
certain business of the meeting via letter or electronic ballot as
appropriate.


6 Vote


6.1 Vote Counting


Except as required by 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6, votes shall be counted by dividing
the number of affirmative votes by sum of the numbers of affirmative and
negative votes. The question shall be considered approved if the quotient is
greater than 50%.


6.2 Balloting Positions


Each voting member shall vote one of the following positions:

 

1.	Affirmative
2.	Do Not Approve (Negative With Comments - the reasons for a negative
vote shall be given and should include

1.	specific wording or actions that would resolve the objection)
2.	Do Not Approve (Negative Without Comments)
3.	Abstain

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclause 5.4 and
Subclause 5.4.3.1)


6.3 Voting By Ballot


The Working Group shall be allowed to conduct Working Group business between
meetings at the discretion of the Working Group Chair by use of a letter or
electronic ballot. The response period for an electronic ballot shall be at
least 14 days. Except as required by 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6, a letter or
electronic ballot shall require a 50% return of ballot.  Within 7 days of
the response period for an electronic or letter ballot, the Working Group
Chair shall publish to the Working Group the outcome of the ballot,
including the balloting position of each voting member who voted in the
ballot.


6.4 Actions Requiring Approval by a Majority of the Working Group Voting
Membership


The following actions require approval by a majority of the voting
membership of the Working Group either at a meeting -- provided that
notification of the action has been included on the distributed agenda for
the meeting -- or by letter or electronic ballot:

 

1.	Authorization of a letter ballot
2.	Approval of proposed revisions to a standard prior to submission of
the draft revision to the IEEE for balloting

 

6.5 Actions Requiring Approval by Two-Thirds of Those Voting of the Working
Group Voting Membership

The following actions require a letter ballot or an equivalent[1]1 formal
recorded vote with approval by at least two-thirds of those voting of the
voting members of the Working Group, excluding abstentions:

 

1.	Position Statements for Standards
2.	Adoption of Working Group procedures, or revisions thereof
3.	Approval of change of the Working Group scope
4.	Approval of termination of the Working Group

 


6.6 Actions Requiring Approval by Seventy-five Percent of Those Voting of
the Working Group Voting Membership


Approval of a draft standard or a reaffirmation of an existing standard
shall require a 75% return of ballot and approval by 75% of those voting
affirmative or negative. All negatives must be recorded and an attempt made
to resolve them.


7 Communications


All Working Group officers should use the Working Group letterhead if
available, or email notification, when corresponding on behalf of Working
Group activities.


7.1 Formal Internal Communication


If correspondence between subcommittees or between working groups of
different subcommittees involves issues or decisions (that is, non-routine
matters) affecting other subcommittees, copies shall be sent to all affected
subcommittee chairs, the Working Group Secretary, and the Working Group
officers.


7.2 External Communication


Inquiries relating to the Working Group should be directed to the Working
Group Chair, and members should so inform individuals who raise such
questions. All replies to inquiries shall be made through the Working Group
Chair.


8 Interpretations


The policies of subclause 5.9 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations
Manual shall be followed.

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclause 5.9)


9 Appeals


The Working Group recognizes the right of appeal. Technical 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 Working Group is performed in an identifiable manner.

 

(Reference: IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws, Subclause 5.4 and IEEE-SA
Standards Board Operations Manual, Subclause 5.8)


10 Parliamentary Procedures


On questions of parliamentary procedure not covered in these Procedures,
Roberts Rules of Order (revised) may be used to expedite due process.


11 Position Statements for Standards


All communications shall comply with subclause 13 of the DASC Procedures.


12 Standards Publicity


The Working Group is encouraged to prepare press releases and other forms of
publicity to promote their activities.  Please see subclause 5.1.5 of the
IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual for further instructions.

 


  _____  

[1]  "Equivalent" refers to some identifiable method of tallying the votes
and addressing the comments.

 
Received on Mon Jun 13 00:00:25 2005

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Mon Jun 13 2005 - 00:00:59 PDT