Article by: James M. (Mark) McCall (james.mccall@mesa.afmc.af.mil)
The forthcoming 2007 Fall Simulation Interoperability Workshop (SIW) will include, as part of the main Plenary on Monday afternoon, a Standards Plenary presentation. This presentation will provide information about the different SISO Standards Activity Committee (SAC) Groups and explain how to get involved. This presentation will also provide information about the liaisons with other Standards Organizations.
The SAC manages four different types of groups that support standards development in a variety of ways, Study Groups (SGs) conduct the initial analysis of a potential standard or guidance concept and determines if the technology is mature enough to transition to a Product Development Group (PDG). It the technology is judged to not be mature enough, the SG can recommend the formation of a Standing Study Group (SSG) continue the maturation of the technology. Once the technology is consider mature, and if there is enough support for the product, a product nomination is submitted to the SAC, and when approved, results in the formation of a Product Development Groups (PDGs) to develop the product. Once the product is balloted and approved, a Product Support Group (PSGs) is established to support the product. The SAC is currently managing present four SGs, three SSGs, twelve PDGs and four PSGs, with new groups being formed or in transition.
This year, the VV&A Overlay to the FEDEP PDG successfully completed balloting of IEEE 1516.4 and is expecting IEEE approval of the Recommended Practice Guide in December. Four other PDGs are moving toward balloting of their products. The HLA Evolved and DIS PDGs are expecting to ballot IEEE 1516, 1516.1, 1516.2 and 1278.1 using IEEE procedures over the next few months. The COTS Simulation Package Interoperability Reference Models PDG and the Military Scenario Definition Language (MSDL) PDG will be balloting products this year. The SAC is currently forming the ballot pool for the MSDL ballot.
The SAC and the Federation Development and Execution Process (FEDEP) PDG have initiated an strategic effort which promises to have a significant impact on our community in the future. While it has been generally recognized that the FEDEP could be applied to the development and execution of distributed simulations using different frameworks, e.g. Distributed Interactive Simulation, the FEDEP was closely associated with HLA, both by its text and its number. At the end of the Fall SIW, the FEDEP PDG will be renamed the Distributed Simulation Engineering and Execution Process (DSEEP) and will produce a recommended practice guide having a generic process as the main part of the product with specific annexes providing the tailoring of the process to a particular framework. The first two annexes will be DIS and HLA. The IEEE has accepted a PAR for the new series and is expected to approve the project, IEEE P1730, at the next meeting of the NESCOM.
At the Fall SIW, the SAC will again offer the Standards 101 session in parallel with the Newcomers Briefing on Monday morning. We encourage any interested in the details of standards development within SISO to attend the session. The goal is to help new (or existing) members of the Standards Activity Committee and its groups to understand the standards development processes within SISO. The session will describe the applicable Policies and Procedures (P&P), the operation of the groups, and the requirements of the Balloted Products Development and Support Process (BPDSP). I want to thank all the volunteers who are participating in these efforts; these activities would not be possible without you. Your participation ensures that the standards will meet your needs. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact one of the following SAC Officers:
| SAC Officer | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | Email | | Mark McCall | Chair | ------------- | james.mccall@mesa.afmc.af.mil | | Katherine L. Morse | Vice Chair | Chair | katherine.l.morse@saic.com | | Chris Rouget | Secretary | ------------- | cjrouget@preforce.demon.co.uk | | Jane Bachman | ------------- | Vice Chair | jane.bachman@navy.mil | | Ken Peplow | ------------- | Secretary | kenneth.w.peplow@saic.com |
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