INCITS/RD6
All INCITS Subgroups (Technical Committees and Study Groups) are required to produce an Annual Report to INCITS in the format specified herein. The Annual Report covers the period from the previous Report to the date the current Report is being prepared.
The Annual Report begins with an Executive Summary, which gives INCITS an overview of the current status and health of the INCITS Subgroup. Each project (domestic and international) within the INCITS Subgroup's Program of Work is addressed. The report highlights the progress toward the specific completion target date established at the time the project was approved; the report also addresses committee activities, projected plans and future trends in that area of standardization, and administrative and procedural matters of note.
The Annual Report must be provided electronically to the INCITS Secretariat in a format suitable for posting to the INCITS web site. Preferred formats are HTML, ASCII text, and "pdf." Additional formats (e.g., WordPerfect, Word) may be used as long as the Subgroup Chair receives confirmation from the Secretariat that the format can be converted to "pdf."
The Annual Report is due one month in advance of the INCITS Meeting at which the report is scheduled for discussion. (Two months advance distribution is preferred to facilitate a thorough review by the INCITS liaison prior to that meeting.)
Most of the material related to the Subgroup's work activities should be maintained on a regular basis in the Secretariat's Projects database. Approximately one to two months prior to the scheduled presentation of the Annual Report, the Subgroup Chair should ensure that the Projects database accurately reflects the current status of the committee's work.
In addition, the Subgroup Chair shall validate the Membership database no less often than annually and certify that the membership database isup-to-date when the annual report is presented.
The Annual Report must be presented orally by the INCITS Subgroup Chair(or designee) at an INCITS meeting, according to the TC reporting schedule posted to the INCITS web site at http://www.INCITS.org/tcliaise.htm. Chairmen of maintenance committees no longer need to provide oral reports.
The scheduled oral presentation by the INCITS Subgroup Chair will concentrate on projects that did not reach the projected Milestone during the year and on administrative and procedural issues of concern. Other aspects of the Annual Report may also be covered as agreed upon by the INCITS Subgroup Chair and the INCITS liaison.
The remainder of this document provides specific instructions. In addition, it is set up so that it can be used as a report template, substituting the subgroup's information for the RD6 text and establishing links to web sites, as appropriate.
Annual Report for: [INCITS Subgroup]
Covering the Period from [ ] to [ ]
Title of INCITS Subgroup:
Links:
Informal Description of Work:
Brief description of the committee, which will help INCITS members remember what the TC does, but can also provide useful information for INCITS marketing materials. The description could be based on the formal program of work, but should be reviewed to determined if it needs to be updated or enhanced. For TCs with TAG responsibilities, it should incorporate a description of the program of work of the relevant WG(s).
The Executive Summary should address the overall status of the INCITS Subgroup in areas such as the current level of participation, general reasons for any delays in progressing standards activities, and any overall administrative or procedural matters of note (in addition to mentioning these matters under Section 3). This section should be written to provide INCITS an overview of the current situation within the INCITS Subgroup.
This section should address significant accomplishments since the previous annual report. This should be free form and not exceed a page. It should include a list of significant publications during the past year. A significant publication is one that, in the Chairman's judgment, contains information that could be useful to someone desiring descriptive background information not incorporated in the TC draft standards.
Significant challenges since previous annual report. What problems have been faced? Are the issues resolved? If not, what is the plan for resolving the issues? If approved milestones exist, status should be in terms of these milestones. Any delays should be explained and future plans highlighted. This should also address TAG activities, including changes to a WG’s programme of work.
Expected challenges in the next twelve months. Is controversy expected for approving a standard? Is there likely to be a huge mass of public comments? This section should also address TAG activities, if any.
This should be a list that shows the dates and locations for each meeting held during the previous 12-month period, i.e., between reports. Meetings of Task Groups, ad hoc groups, etc. should be included in the list. If the activity uses number designations for meetings they should be included. A pointer to WWW URL or accessible database may be substituted here if appropriate.
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Meeting Number |
Date |
Location |
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Same as above, except for the forthcoming year. Include full twelve months, if known. A pointer to WWW URL or accessible database maybe substituted here if appropriate.
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Meeting Number |
Date |
Location |
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List the groups with which the TC liaises. Comment on any significant activities. Indicate any liaison activities conducted during the year both nationally and internationally. Explain whether future work will require you to establish new liaisons. Spell out all titles, descriptions, etc. followed by the respective acronym, if applicable. Include a brief description of why the liaison was established, maintained or discontinued.
We do not need a separate list of the members, but we do need to know if there are any trends in membership or other membership issues that would affect the ability of the TC to meet its workload. The list of officers(both elected and appointed) gives some indication of who the key people are and how long they have served.
The title, name and address of each person that held
an office during the year. If an office was held by more than one person,
list each and indicate dates in office. Include the date each officer last
attended a training course held by the INCITS Secretariat. (Note - the Vocabulary
Representative is an officer and should be included in this list.) A pointer
to WWW URL or accessible database may be substituted here if appropriate.
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Position (and training date) |
Name and organization represented |
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Chair |
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Vice Chair |
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Secretary |
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International Representative |
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Vocabulary Representative |
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This attachment serves as the INCITS subgroup input to
the INCITS secretariat to keep their membership database up -to-date. Approximately
two and a half months before the INCITS subgroup annual report is due, the
INCITS secretariat will provide the INCITS subgroup chair a copy of the data
base information for that INCITS subgroup as currently on file in the secretariat.
The secretariat and the INCITS subgroup chair will then work together to
update the membership information as required to reflect
the current situation. Based on this collaboration, the secretariat will
provide an updated electronic copy of the membership data to the INCITS subgroup
chair for submission with the annual report.
If this information is available on a web site, please include a link instead
of providing the full list.
This section allows for comment on the market relevance of this area of standardization. Areas that should be addressed are the number of companies participating in the activity, new members attracted to this area of work, and survey data regarding the economic impact of this area of standardization should be cited.
The INCITS Subgroup is invited to prepare a brief analysis of technical trends leading to future standardization needs, both national and international, and how this may affect its program of work. In the interest of more proactive and strategic planning we urge you to share your insights on trends surrounding your areas of expertise. Note that these future trends are not intended to deal with future plans on projects you are about to define as described in Section 3 above. The future trends described here need not be limited to the range of your current projects but instead go beyond your present technological focus.
In considering related technical activities, it would be helpful if the report included a description of where this TC's work fits within the realm of IT, including links to other groups (if it is not too burdensome).
To aid you in your response to this future trends section these kinds of questions should be considered:
a. What is your vision of where the technology for your INCITS Subgroup is headed in the next 3-5 years from now?
b. What are the emerging technologies or user requirements that might require some level of standardization?
c. Where do you see your work growing and possibly linking (e.g. bindings, profiles) with or requiring close coordination with other INCITS Subgroups?
The INCITS Subgroup should report on its future standardization plans and briefly describe probable project proposals. It is in this section that a representation of the relationship of the INCITS Subgroup's projects would be helpful.
At minimum, this needs to include a financial statement for any subgroup with funds collection.
The report should also identify any administrative matters the INCITS Subgroup feels should be brought to the attention of INCITS. Examples might be: reports on letter ballots taken, voting patterns, document processing, or preparation issues.
This section can also be used to provide for the reporting of any procedural matters the INCITS Subgroup feels should be brought to the attention of INCITS. Examples might be: issues raised by the INCITS/RD2, interaction with other task groups, or compliance with INCITS requirements.
This section can also be used to make a recommendation to INCITS as a result of the INCITS Subgroup's experiences during the year.
The INCITS Subgroup shall include a financial statement as required by
the RD1 section 2.1.1. This report shall indicate - total receipts, receivables
outstanding, total disbursements, debts outstanding and current balance of
the fund. If the INCITS Subgroup does not collect funds, a note to that effect
should be included in the Annual Report.