IEEE Computer Society
Information Assurance
Standards Committee (IASC)

An IEEE Information Assurance Activity
http://ieeeia.org

Standards FAQ (Just Beginning)

Answer: The description of the project is fluid. Although a project authorization request (PAR) is submitted with a scope and purpose, it is not uncommon that a PAR is modified, resubmitted, and re-approved during standards development. The PAR serves as an initial direction that lets the IEEE know what work is going on, gives the IEEE a chance to exercise control over projects, and is a means for working groups to be indemnified against various liabilities.

Question: If a Document is Put Forward as the Basis for a Standard, is the Working Group Stuck with Directions Set by that Document?

Answer: A base document is nothing more than a suggested beginning, and a working group is in no way bound to use any of it. It is the working group and subsequent balloters who determine if there is a standard and what it contains.

Question: Is a Standard Always the Outcome of a Project?

Answer: Launching a standards project does not mean or require that a standard result. Sometimes the journey means as much as the destination. For example, essential issues from discussions may be captured in one or more publications of working group notes, whether or not a standard results. The community of technologists learns as much or more from standards projects that do not reach publication of an approved standard as from those that do.

Question: How Are Projects Selected?

Answer: Committees such as the IASC routinely entertain any suggested standard if there is reason to believe society will benefit and there is substantial interest.

Question: What Principles Guide Standards Development?

Answer: We not only adhere to the ISO imperative principles (Due Process Consensus, Openness, Balance, Right of Appeal), But to These As Well:

• Do No Harm
• Keep It Simple (We Are Not Out to Publish Phonebooks)