16 Preparation and Adoption
of Technical Reports
16.1
General
The primary duty of JTC 1 is the preparation and review of ISs.
The publication of TRs is an exception and should be considered only if
the circumstances given in 16.2.1, 16.2.2 or 16.2.3 apply.
TRs
prepared by JTC 1 are published as double logo ISO/IEC technical
reports by ITTF and copies dis tributed to NBs.
The successive stages of the technical work are referenced 1 to
5. These are defined as follows:
- Stage 1 (proposal stage): An NP is under consideration.
- Stage 2 (preparatory stage): A WD is under consideration.
- Stage 3 (committee stage): A PD TR is under consideration.
- Stage 4 ( approval stage): A DTR is under consideration.
- Stage 5 ( publication stage): An TR is being prepared for
publication.
For a given Technical Report, not all stages may apply (see 16.3.2).
16.2
Types of Technical Reports
16.2.1
Type 1
Technical Report
When, despite repeated efforts within JTC 1, the substantial support
(or necessary approval, as the case may be) cannot be obtained for
submission of an FCD for registration as an FDIS, or for acceptance of
a DIS at NB voting stage, JTC 1 may decide to request publication of
the document in the form of a TR. The reasons why the required
support could not be obtained shall be mentioned in the document.
16.2.2
Type 2
Technical Report
When the subject in question is still under technical development or
where for any other reason there is the possibility of an agreement at
some time in the future, JTC 1 may decide that the publication of a TR
would be more appropriate.
16.2.3
Type 3
Technical Report
When JTC 1 has prepared a document containing information of a
different kind from that which is normally published as an IS (for
example, a model/framework, technical requirements and planning
information, a testing criteria methodology, factual information
obtained from a survey carried out among the NBs, information on work
in other international bodies or information on the "state-of-the-art"
in relation to standards of NBs on a particular subject), JTC 1 may
propose to the ITTF that the information be published as a TR.
16.2.1 16.2.1 16.2.4 Contents of
Type 1 and Type 2 TRs
TRs of types 1 and 2 shall contain the following parts:
- Historical background;
- Explanation of the reasons why JTC 1 has considered it necessary
to publish a TR instead of an IS;
- Technical content.
16.3
Outline of Procedures
16.3.1
The procedures for
development of Technical Reports are
similar to the procedures for development of International Standards
de scribed in 12 and shall be followed unless otherwise noted.
16.3.2
All five stages
may exist for type 2 and type 3 Technical
Reports. A type 1 TR document, however, would have reached Stage
3 or 4 as a standards project before entering the TR process at Stage 3
or 4.
16.3.3
At stage 3, the
procedures for PDTRs are similar to those
in 12.6 for CDs. The
procedures relating to FCDs do not apply for
PDTRs.
16.3.4
At the conclusion
of Stage 3, the SC Secretariat shall
submit the revised PDTR to the JTC 1 Secretariat (not to the ITTF) for
further processing as a DTR.
The DTR text should also be distributed to the ITTF for editorial review. Any comments received from ISO editors shall be considered together with National Body comments received on the DTR ballot.
16.3.5
In Stage 4, the
JTC 1 Secretariat shall distribute the DTR
to JTC 1 P members for a three-month letter ballot (see Form G14)
although, in instances when the complexity of the text requires
additional time for review, this period may be extended up to six
months (see 9.10.1).
16.3.6 When the majority
of the P members of JTC 1 have agreed to
the publication of a TR (see Form G23), it shall be submitted by the
JTC 1 Secretariat to the ITTF, normally within two months.
16.4
Maintenance of Technical Reports
16.4.1
Type 1 and
Type 2 TRs
16.4.1.1
TRs of types 1
and 2 shall be subject to review by JTC 1
not later than three years after their publication. The aim of
such a review shall be to re-examine the situation which resulted in
the publication of a TR and if possible to achieve the agreement
necessary for the publication of an IS to replace the TR.
16.4.1.2
The SC
responsible for the type 1 or type 2 TR project
shall make a recommendation to JTC
1 prior to the third year after publication, stating whether the TR
should be:
- Converted to an IS without change;
- Revised and published as an IS;
- Confirmed for continuation as a TR;
- Revised for publication as a revision to the TR;
- Withdrawn.
16.4.1.3
If the type 1 or
type 2 TR is confirmed, there shall be
another JTC 1 review not more than three years later.
16.4.2
Type 3 TRs
TRs of type 3 shall be subject to review every five years in the same
manner as ISs (see 15.3).
16.4.3
Revision
16.4.3.1
If it is decided
that a TR is to be revised, the SC
Secretariat shall inform the ITTF and add an appropriate project to the
programme of work (similar to IS revision in 6.2.1.5).
16.4.3.2
The steps for
revision start with Stage 2. If,
however, JTC 1 (or one of its SCs) by a vote of its P members or at a
meeting decides that the proposed revision is of relatively minor
importance, it may direct the JTC 1 or SC Secretariat to submit the
revised TR directly to the ITTF for publication.
16.4.3.3
If the ITTF is
able to verify that no significant change
is made in the TR by such minor revisions, the TR is published.
16.4.4
Amendment
16.4.4.1
A published TR
may subsequently be modified by the
publication of an amendment. If it is decided that a TR is to be
amended, either an NP shall be balloted or an appropriate project
subdivision shall be added to the programme of work. Approval
shall be in accordance with 6.2.1
or 6.2.2 respectively.
Amendments are published as separate documents; the edition of the TR
affected remaining in print.
16.4.4.2
The procedure
for developing and publishing an amendment
shall be as described in 16.3. Processing is
the same as for a
technical report except for the terminology. At Stage 3, the
document is called a proposed draft amendment (PDAM). At Stage 4,
the document is called a draft amendment (DAM).
16.4.4.3
At the
publication stage, the ITTF shall decide, in
consultation with the Secretariat of JTC 1 or SC, and bearing in mind
both the financial consequences to the organisation and the interests
of users of the TR, whether to publish an amendment or a new edition of
the TR, incorporating the amendment.
16.4.5
Stabilized Technical Reports
Technical Reports that are still in use by an identifiable community may be
stabilized in a similar manner to standards. The same procedures for the
stabilization of standards as set out in clause 15.6 shall be used.
16.4.6 Withdrawal
The
procedure for withdrawal of a TR is the same as that for preparation and
acceptance; that is, an initial study shall take place in JTC 1. On the
recommendation of JTC 1 or of the ITTF, the proposal for withdrawal shall then
be submitted to NBs for approval, giving the same voting time limits as for the
approval of a TR (see 16.3.4).
16.5
Fast-Track Processing of Technical Reports
16.5.1
Any P-member of
JTC 1 or organisation in Category A
liaison with JTC 1 may propose that an existing technical report from
any source be submitted without modification directly for vote as a DTR
of Type 3. The criteria for proposing an existing technical
report for the fast-track procedure is a matter for each proposer to
decide.
Prior to submission of a document for fast-track processing, a P-member
or Category A liaison organisation of JTC 1 may request that the
document be submitted through the JTC 1 Secretariat to one or more SCs
for informal comment or discussion among the interested parties.
Any comments on format, technical content, completeness, etc. could be
considered by the requester prior to formal submission of the document
for fast-track procedure.
The proposer of a fast-track document is encouraged to make a
recommendation concerning the assignment of the document to a given
SC. The proposer of a fast-track document shall submit the name
of an individual who has agreed to serve as project editor for the
fast-track document. This recommendation (or in its absence, the
JTC 1 Secretariat's recommendation) shall be circulated to JTC 1 NBs
together with the DTR ballot. Separately from its vote on the
technical content of the technical report, NBs shall be given the
opportunity to comment on the specific assignment. However,
comments on assignment shall not influence the vote on technical
content. In cases where the SC assignment is in question or where
the fast-track document does not appear appropriate for any existing
SC, the JTC 1 Secretariat may perform the duties normally assigned to
the SC Secretariat until the final SC assignment is determined.
The JTC 1 Secretariat shall ensure that the ballot resolution meeting
is open to representation from all affected interests and is convened
in a timely manner in keeping with the spirit of the fast-track process.
[Note: For an existing project which has not yet reached Stage 3 (see
12.1), an SC may suspend the
5-stage process in favour of the
fast-track procedure (to be initiated by a P-member or a Category A
liaison organisation of JTC 1) provided that:
- The SC agrees that the intended fast-track document is suitable
to satisfy the requirements of the existing project; and
- The SC agrees to the use of the fast-track procedure and so
notifies JTC 1.]
16.5.2
The proposal shall
be received by the JTC 1 Secretariat
which shall take the following actions:
- Settle the copyright or trademark situation, or both, with the
proposer, so that the proposed text can be freely copied and
distributed within ISO/IEC without restriction;
- Assess that JTC 1 is the competent committee for the subject
covered in the proposed technical report and ascertain that there is no
evident contradiction with other ISO/IEC standards;
- Distribute the text of the proposed technical report as a DTR,
indicating that the technical report belongs in the domain of JTC
1. In case of particularly bulky documents the JTC 1 Secretariat
may demand the necessary number of copies from the proposer.
16.5.3
The period for
voting shall be six months. This shall
consist of a 30-day JTC 1 National Body review period followed by a
five-month ballot. In order to be accepted the DTR must meet the
criteria of 9.6
16.5.4
Once the document has
been registered for fast-track
processing, the JTC 1 Secretariat shall inform the Secretariat of the
SC recommended for assignment of the project of the fast-track
processed DTR number, title, and ballot period dates, and shall send
the SC Secretariat a copy of the DTR.
If the JTC 1 Secretariat has received any comments during the 30-day
review period, the JTC 1 Secretariat shall circulate the comments and
the disposition of such comments among the JTC 1 National Bodies for
the transparency of the process.
During the 30-day review period, an NB may identify to the JTC 1
Secretariat any perceived contradiction with other JTC 1, ISO or IEC
standards.
If such a contradiction is alleged, the matter shall be resolved by the
ITTF and JTC 1 Secretariat in accordance with Section 16.5.2
before
ballot voting can commence. If no contradiction is alleged, the
fast-track ballot voting commences immediately following the 30-day
period.
In either case, the ballot voting period shall be five months.
16.5.5
Upon receipt of the
notification from the JTC 1 Secretariat
that its SC has been assigned the responsibility for dealing with a
fast-track processed DTR, the SC Secretariat shall so inform the SC
NBs, and shall make plans for the handling of ballot results through
the formation of a ballot resolution group, as follows. The SC
Secretariat shall:
- Schedule a ballot resolution group meeting to consider any
comments on the DTR;
- Appoint a Convener for the ballot resolution group ;
- Appoint a Project Editor for the DTR (see 13.1, third
paragraph). The Project Editor shall be responsible for producing
the final DTR text in case of acceptance;
- Notify the SC NBs of the ballot resolution group meeting date(s),
location, Convener, and Project Editor.
In some cases the establishment of a ballot resolution group is
unnecessary and the SC Secretariat can assign the task directly to the
Project Editor.
16.5.6
Upon receipt of the
ballot results, and any comments, the SC
Secretariat shall distribute this material to the SC NBs. The NBs
shall be requested to consider the comments and to form opinions on
their acceptability. The SC Secretariat shall also send
notification of the ballot resolution group meeting to any NBs having
voted to disapprove the DTR that are not NBs of the SC.
Comments received after the normal voting period will not be taken into
account, except that they will be submitted to the appropriate SC
Secretariat for consideration at the time of the next review of the TR
in question.
16.5.7
NBs of the relevant SC
shall appoint to the ballot
resolution group one or more representatives who are well aware of the
NB's position. NBs having voted negatively, whether or not an NB
of the relevant SC, have a duty to delegate a representative to the
ballot resolution group meeting.
16.5.8
At the ballot
resolution group meeting, decisions should be
reached preferably by consensus. If a vote is unavoidable the
vote of the NBs will be taken according to normal JTC 1 procedures.
16.5.9
If, after the
deliberations of this ballot resolution
group, the requirements of 9.6 are
met, the Project Editor shall
prepare the amended DTR and send it to the SC Secretariat who shall
forward it to the ITTF for publication as a TR. For its initial
publication, the document is not required to be in ISO/IEC format, but
can be published in the format of the submitting organisation.
16.5.10
If it is impossible
to agree to a text meeting the above
requirements, the proposal has failed and the procedure is terminated.
16.5.11
In either case the
Convener, in coordination with the
Project Editor, shall prepare a full report which shall be distributed
by the SC Secretariat to its NBs and to the ITTF.
16.5.12
The time period for post ballot activities by the respective responsible parties shall be as follows:
- Immediately after the vote, ITTF shall send the results of the vote to the JTC 1 Secretariat and to the SC Secretariat, and for the latter to distribute the results without delay to its NBs, to any NBs having voted that are not members of the SC and to the proposer;
- As soon as possible after the distribution of the results of the vote to its NBs but in not less than two and one-half months the SC Secretariat shall convene a ballot resolution group meeting, if required.
- In not more than one month after the ballot resolution group meeting the SC Secretariat shall distribute the final report of the meeting and final DIS text in case of acceptance.
16.5.13
If the proposed DTR
is accepted and published, its
maintenance will be handled by JTC 1.
16.5.14
Subsequent revisions
shall be in the format prescribed by
the ISO/IEC Directives Part 2. In this case, the ITTF editor
shall check the text received to ensure that it is in conformance with
the ISO/IEC Directives Part 2. If modifications are considered
necessary, the ITTF editor shall submit proposals for modification to
the Project Editor for approval. No TR shall be published without
such approval.
ITTF shall prepare a proof of the TR and send this to the Project
Editor for endorsement. The only changes permissible at this
stage are corrections of recognised errors in the revised text or of
errors introduced by ITTF in preparing the proof.
Upon receipt of the endorsed proof from the Project Editor, ITTF shall
make any final corrections required and proceed with publication of the
TR.