home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- W. E. Burr
- 23 MAR 1988
-
-
- X3 AND ANSI JARGON AND ACRONYMS
-
- ANS - American National Standard.
-
- ANSI - American National Standards Institute
-
- ASC - Accredited Standards Committee - A standards committee,
- such as X3, which operates under procedures accredited by ANSI.
-
- BSR - Board of Standards Review. A part of ANSI. BSR conducts a
- final review of standards after X3 approval to ensure that
- consensus has been reached, and due process followed.
-
- CBEMA - Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association. A
- trade association which holds the Secretariat for X3.
-
- Consensus - An important concept and a requirement for approval
- of an ANS. The Board of Standards Review is charged with
- deciding whether consensus has been achieved. The ANSI
- Procedures for the Development and Coordination of American
- National Standards state:
-
- 1.3.3 Consensus. Consensus is established when, in the judgment
- of the Board of Standards Review, substantial agreement has been
- reached by directly and materially affected interests.
- Substantial agreement means much more than a simple majority, but
- not necessarily unanimity. Consensus requires that all views and
- objections be considered, and that a concerted effort be made
- toward their resolution. The BSR shall base its judgment as to
- whether a consensus has been reached on the formal voting
- evidence presented by each interest category, and adherence to
- due process requirements.
-
- This requirement to achieve and document consensus colors
- everything X3T9 does, and is the reason for our apparently
- obsessive concern with addressing and attempting to resolve all
- negatives, and documenting that action. TG chairmen must keep
- comprehensive records of negatives and responses to those
- negatives, at each step from project proposal approval through X3
- approval, lest approval be compromised when X3 and BSR review the
- record.
-
- dpANS - draft proposed American National Standard. A proposed
- standard becomes a dpANS after X3T9 votes to forward it to X3.
- Hydrolevel Case - A U.S. Supreme Court case which held both the
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the officers of a
- standards committee liable for triple damages for an improper,
- anticompetitive interpretation by the committee officers who
- acted with the apparent authority of the ASME. Much of
- the recent reorganization of ANSI and X3, as well as the strong
- concern with process and procedure undoubtedly stems from this
- case and the desire to reduce vulnerability to liability for
- damages under antitrust law. For more information, see
- "Antitrust ruling chills standards setting", IEEE Spectrum,
- August 1982, pp. 52-54.
-
- IAC - International Advisory Committee, a committee which advises
- X3 on international matters. With the reorganization of TC 97
- into JTC-1, IAC will be replaced by the JTC-1 TAG, whose members
- will represent the IEEE and EIA as well as X3.
-
- JTC-1 - A joint ISO and IEC Technical Committee which will
- combine ISO/TC 97 and IEC committees working on information
- processing. JTC-1 becomes effective November 1987.
-
- SD - Standing Document, published by X3. They include:
-
- SD-1 - Master Plan - May 1987 - It gives the plans
- under which X3 and its subgroups, such as X3T9 operate.
- This is not one of the more significant SD-s.
-
- SD-2 - Organization and Procedures - October 1985 - This
- document is effectively the constitution of X3. An
- update was published in the summer of 1987.
-
- SD-3 - Project Proposal Guide - May 1987 - This
- document describes the form and contents for requests
- to start new X3 projects. The requests themselves are
- often referred to, improperly, as SD-3's.
-
- SD-4 - Projects Manual - Updated quarterly - This
- document lists all approved projects by number.
-
- SD-5 - Standards Criteria - September 1984
-
- SD-6 - Membership and Officers - Updated quarterly
-
- SD-7 - Meeting Schedule and Calendar - Updated quarterly
-
- SD-10 - Subgroup Annual Report Format - June 1987
-
- SMC - Standards Management Committee. SMC advises X3 on
- management and organization and approves appointment of TC
- officers.
-
- SPARC - Standards Planning and Requirements Committee. SPARC
- reviews project proposals and dpANS and makes recommendations to
- X3 about their disposition.
-
- TAG - Technical Advisory Groups - TAG's are assigned by ANSI to
- advise on international matters. Usually, there is a
- correspondence between ISO committees and TAG's.
-
- TC - Technical Committee. X3T9 is a TC.
-
- TG - Task Group. A TG is always subordinate to a TC. X3T9.2,
- X3T9.3, X3T9.5, and X3T9.6 are all TG's.
-
-