WG 14 Standing Document 2

Informal Study Group Organization Information

Overview

A Study Group is a mechanism that allows the Working Group to evaluate a subject by a small group of experts. The major benefits of a Study Group are:

• Identify a group of technical experts to focus on a subject that might be suitable for standardization.
• Encourage experts not currently involved to participate, which could expand the committee participation.
• The light weight nature of the Study Group will allow the group to meet frequently and independently of the Working Group.

Organization

A Study Group chairperson is appointed by the Working Group. This chairperson is then responsible for setting up the Study Group. Setting up the Study Group consistes of:

• Calling for technical experts. The call should go out to all technical experts and not be limited to ISO. Simply posting a message to the Working Group e-mail reflector is not sufficient in most cases.
• Setting a document storage facility for the Study Group documents.
• Setting up teleconferencing facilities for the Study Group.
• Identify an individual to act as a secretary to record meeting minutes.
• Generate a charter for the Study Group, this will help the Study Group to stay on course.
  Note: the Working Group Charter from the C1X revision effort should be used as a reference, see N 1250. In particular, taking C++ compatibility into account is an important part of the Working Group Charter and should be a goal of Study Groups as well.
• Develop a schedule for the Study Group. The schedule should have a timeline that indicates milestones that the Study Group can use to measure progress.

Goal

The goal of an Study Group is to create a proposal suitable for consideration by the Working Group and a suggested direction for the proposal. It is the Working Group that will then decide how to progress or not progress the work.

Meetings

A Study Group should hold meetings independent of the Work Group. The schedule the Study Groups sets to complete the the assigned task should help determine the meeting schedule. The Study Group should produce a preliminary agenda that contains the meeting location or teleconference information at least two (2) weeks prior to the meeting. It would be best to have a set schedule set as early as possible.

Agenda

The agenda should contain at least the following information.

1. Opening Activities

1.2 Introduction of Participants/Roll Call
1.3 Procedures for this Meeting
1.4 Approval of Previous Minutes
1.5 Review of Action Items and Resolutions
1.6 Approval of Agenda for this meeting

2. Reports on Liaison Activities
3. Future meetings
4. Action Item Review
5. Document review
6. Decisions reached and Action Items assigned

Documents

All documents that are not sent to the Working Group for review do not need an N numbered reference. The Study Group should determine a naming convention that works best for the purposes of the Study Group and name all document accordingly.

Completion

A study group can finish one of several ways:

• concluding that subject under study is not ready for standardization, or
• concluding that the subject is ready for a TR, TS, or IS and a new work item is been proposed, or
• concluding that the subject needs to be expanded.