[wg11] Re: Part 28 Ballot Workshop

[Mason, Howard (UK)]

We are seeking to achieve consensus here, among the interested parties, in the most open and cost-effective manner possible.

If I might offer an opinion on Ed's comments - shown HGM>

I'm sure that a 2.5-day workshop cannot possibly resolve all the ballot
comments that are rumored to be in the works, but it can't resolve any
ballot comments if it doesn't have a quorum of NB representatives present.
HGM> We certainly need to get the key players together to build consensus among those NBs who deliver comments.  Participation in the ballot resolution meeting will be encouraged at Bath, although it is a shame that we were unable to start the ed2 ballot in time to get a resolution meeting at Bath.  Some comments may be available anyway. For some other parts, we have encouraged NSBs to submit comments earlier than the deadline in order to facilitate effective resolution at our plenary meetings, where the full range of interested parties is usually represented. 

With respect to anything resembling a plan for getting a Part 28 v2
standard, I am now completely confused.
HGM>  Not sure why complete confusion has arisen.  There is a ballot comment resolution meeting set for August, after the end of the ballot.  Certain experts wish to take advantage of their collocation in July  to take a preliminary look at some of the issues that have arisen on the basis of implementations of the draft.

What is the meeting in Bath going to accomplish?  Is the meeting in Bath
going to produce some kind of requirements document that is in addition
to the NB comments?  If not, is it going to assist the NBs in writing
comments and getting consistent positions on the changes to be made?
HGM>  I anticipate that the meeting will serve to rationalise the potential set of comments, eliminating those that may be based on misunderstanding, and may contribute to the solutions to be finalised at the ballot comment workshop.

Will these comments, whatever they may be, be represented by persons at
the editing meeting?  Is the place and time of the editing meeting a
problem in getting such representation?
HGM>  The location is not ideal, since it means an extra trip for a number of  SC4 delegates.  I will however encourage participation to represent any comments arising from the Bath meeting

Or will we not know the answers to any of these questions until after
the meeting in Bath or after we see all the NB comments (c. 26 July)?
HGM> I expect any issues raised in Bath to be a matter of public record, available to the P28 ed 2 team, and to national bodies in formulating their comments

And since we will see the NB comments only 2 weeks before the meeting in
Groton, what can be done if the meeting arrangements are then obviously
unsatisfactory for resolution of the comments?  It seems to me that this
meeting has been scheduled much too early!  (I know Heidi has good reason.)
HGM> Hopefully the session in Bath will help to simplify the tasks of the Groton meeting.

As David Loffredo says, it is the people who show up at the meetings and
conference calls that write the document.  That will be the case in
Groton.   OTOH, if the ballot comments require massive changes or new
features, there will be another meeting to discuss major changes that
can't possibly be resolved in 3 days in Groton, and some decisions that
get made in Groton will probably be undone by the later meeting (as has
occurred in other WG11 "continued" editing meetings).  So attending the
Groton meeting may then be a waste of time.
HGM>  I think we need to plan for success, and work to ensure that the editing meeting can achieve its target.  In this context, the Bath meeting offers an opportunity for facilitating the process - a risk reduction exercise.

At this point I don't have any idea what the state of Part 28 will be by
mid-September, or how NIST might best influence it, should we bother to
continue participating.
HGM> My suggestion would be to participate in the Bath discussions so that there is a clearly articulated and understood view of (at least a subset of) the issues to be addressed  in Groton.

Question:  Would there be any benefit in requesting early comments on the P28 ed 2 ballot?

Howard Mason

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