From: Voldner@duncky.on.bell.ca Subject: BPG # 114; BPG background for the AG meeting. To: SC7@on.bell.ca Cc: "J. Thornton" <100010.3274@compuserve.com>, azuma@azuma.mgmt.waseda.ac.jp, babey@saturne.afnor.fr, fcoallie@on.bell.ca, isak@sdbs.dk, lltripp@kgv1.bems.boeing.com, rogoway@milcse.cig.mot.com, s.lynn@its.gu.edu.au, yama@cs.keio.ac.jp X-Mailer: Chameleon V0.05, TCP/IP for Windows, NetManage Inc. Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Length: 6541 X-Lines: 169 To:SC7 Secretariat SC7 SECRETARIAT ACTION: Please distribute to AG list. P. Voldner, L. Tripp on behalf of the BPG ============================================================== SC7/ BPG # 114: BPG briefing in preparation for the AG meeting. =============================================================== The purpose of this briefing note is to provide background to the AG Agenda item on " SC7 Business Planning". BPG will present the current status of its work, with recommedations. Several areas require the consideration and consensus of the AG members, both with regards to strategic directions, but equally improtant on some specific action items. The work in the BPG has moved forward from the Vision 2005 documents presented last year in Brisbane, and several proposals are being introduced in Prague; a Design specification, a plan for evolving the SC7 Product Plan, a new planning framework, and the concept of software engineering principles. The BPG is looking forward to discuss these items with you in Prague. PROGRESS SINCE BRISBANE. ------------------------- SC7 is now present on the ISO WWW site located in Geneva; at present the content is small - and contain a copy of the marketing brochure. Our thanks to the Secretariat for helping out on this. A new Design Specification will be proposed in Prague as a vehicle to improve our management of projects. This is one of the items that we have borrowed from TC176. With some modifications, the Design Spec would allow a more thorough plan for a given new work item to be prepared; for example, it requires that details about the relationship to other standards be provided. Along with the Product Plan, new procedures for SC7 will be proposed in Prague. To strengthen SC7's mandate and to help position SC7 as a " horizontal" committee, The BPG will be proposing that SC7 authorize work to be done in developing software engineering principles over the coming year. Plans are to contract out this work to some key people in industry and academia who have already expressed a strong interest. Principles could also help to clarify the role of SC7. Current situation. ------------------------ SC7 has/will shortly completed some significant standards that need to be recognized as strategic, and around which perhaps sets of supporting standards will be built. What are these strategic areas that will help to "put SC7 on the standards map" ?? A good start has been made in this regard, but much work remains, and many current work items are 'standalone'. What standards should SC7 not do ? It is important to have agreement on these issues, and provide the time at the annual meetings to build the consensus. A marketing strategy is needed. Internal procedures are not keeping pace with our direction. In spite of these problems, great progress is being made, and SC7's challenge is to deal more effectively with the future. Software Engineering Principles. ---------------------------------- This topic is being proposed as a valuable part of the strategic plan. The BPG feels that the establishment of software engineering principles will strengthen our mandate and clarify our relationship for users and other standards bodies. Software Engineering is not an isolated discipline, but one whose roots reach out to the engineering field, management and to quality. It is proposed that the use of principles can demonstrate the relationship of software engineering to the general principles of engineering, and to the quality disciplines. TC176 has developed their set of quality principles. Principles encourage the view that software engineering standards "reach out" across many fields; SC7 Management elements. ----------------------------- The BPG presentations will outline four proposed management 'elements' that can help to define and organize the work to evolve SC7's strategic plan. These are: 1. Framework. - ex. Vision, Principles, marketing strategy, partnership strategy. 2. Organization - BPG, Conveners Coordination & Planning group, vocabulary coordination function 3. Operating processes - ex. Design specification, transition plans 4. Conventions. - ISO/IEC Standard #s, SC7 "look and feel" Design Specification. ---------------------- The rationale for introducing this new product into the SC7 process include the following: 1. An increasing emphasis on product planning requires more control over project outcomes at least 2-3 years in advance of completion. 2. The relationships with other standards is becoming more complex and needs to be well defined.. The Design Specification encourages the analysis of currently available technology and methods and existing standards, and the formal documentation of the results. 3. Use in TC176, 4. Improved management of contents and format. While the NWI proposal takes an external 'needs' view, there is a requirement to formalize product decisions made early. 5. The NWI proposal reflects a formal document and is a snapshot of the situation at a given and early moment in time ( it is a fixed official JTC1 document). The Design Specification will enable refinement of the requirements and as a living document reflect more details about the present standards environment. Planning Timeline. ---------------------- The timescale to move SC7 to a more strategic view of its portfolio will require time. Include are the initial formulation of some product goals via the Product Plan, and the introduction of new procedures. A transition period taking SC7 into the year 2002. A first milestone will be the publication of the first Product Plan covering a 1996-12 view of SC7's standards. It is proposed that any standard to be published by December 1998 will be part of this Product Plan. This will then be updated annually, and SC7 will need to introduce procedure to manage this. Early deliverables on the timeline will be a draft view of SC7's strategic products in 1997 with a final view in 1998. This will be complemented by the annual Product Plan and associated procedures. Conclusion ----------- The BPG members look forward to discussing these items with you in Prague. Peter Voldner, Leonard Tripp on behalf of the BPG. ------------------------------------- E-mail: Voldner@mailhost Date: 05/17/96 Time: 14:26:32 This message was sent by Chameleon ------------------------------------- ----- End Included Message -----