2.1.1 Ballot Group

The group of member representatives designated to vote on the resolution of Change Requests during the Company Review Process.

2.1.2 External Entity

An independent body operating totally autonomously, who have a complementary liaison, and/or working relationship, with The Open Group. Deliverables from external entities need to be approved through The Open Group Standards Process if they are to be adopted as Standards of The Open Group. Examples include ISO/IEC JTC 1 and IEEE.

2.1.3 Facilitator

An individual responsible for running a meeting.

2.1.4 Forum/Work Group

A working body internal to The Open Group, operating with a significant degree of autonomy, as required to enable them to meet their objectives, and with a lifetime that spans many projects.

A Forum or Work Group provides a neutral platform for its members to meet others with similar issues and work together on the development and adoption of industry directives and standards.

Forums and Work Groups have a significant degree of autonomy, including the development of plans and approval of deliverables, within the underlying principles established for The Open Group as a whole.

A Forum or Work Group must have a Chair, elected by the members of the Forum or Work Group. An acceptable alternative is to have two or more Co-Chairs to share the role of Chair in rotation or based on availability.

A Forum or Work Group must use the Consensus Decision-Making Process for decision-making, and not other procedures (such as Roberts Rules of Order).

A Forum or Work Group must operate within the Charter of The Open Group, and be lawful and not do anything to undermine the assets of operation of The Open Group.

Each Forum will have an Operating Charter.

2.1.5 Forum/Work Group Elected Officer – Chair, Co-Chair, Vice-Chair

The Elected Officers of a Forum/Work Group consist of the Chair, and/or Co-Chairs, and Vice-Chair(s). They are responsible for leadership of the Forum/Work Group including managing the work program, and convening and chairing meetings.

2.1.6 Governing Board

The Open Group Governing Board is responsible for overseeing the Standards Process within The Open Group.

2.1.7 Governing Board Member

An individual who serves on The Open Group Governing Board, and who is responsible for the formal approval of specifications as Standards of The Open Group, and approval of the Standards Process and principles to which all working bodies must adhere for deliverables to carry The Open Group name.

2.1.8 Interested Parties

A third party who has an interest in the activities of The Open Group.

2.1.9 Invited Expert

A third party who has been invited to participate in an activity.

See Section 9 of the Standards Process.

2.1.10 Invited Guest

A third party who has been invited to participate in an activity.

See Section 9 of the Standards Process.

2.1.11 Liaison Manager

A person appointed to manage a liaison relationship between The Open Group and an External Entity. This is usually a member of staff of The Open Group.

See Section 8 of the Standards Process.

2.1.12 Liaison Representative

A person appointed to manage a certain (sub-)aspect of a liaison relationship with an External Entity; for example, representing the consensus of a particular Forum or Work Group. This is usually an elected representative drawn from The Open Group membership.

See Section 8 of the Standards Process.

2.1.13 Consortium

An activity of The Open Group (similar in nature and function to The Open Group Forums and Work Groups), formed as a Voluntary Consensus Standards Body and operated by The Open Group staff, but with a very high degree of autonomy. A member of a Consortium shall be deemed a member of The Open Group, to the same extent as organizations joining, and participating in, such other Forums, Work Groups, and similar activities. Deliverables from a Consortium need to be approved through The Open Group Standards Process if they are to become Standards of The Open Group.

2.1.14 Member (Organization)

An organization that has signed The Open Group Membership Agreement.

2.1.15 Member Representative

An individual appointed by a member to represent the organization on a working body within The Open Group.

2.1.16 Recognized PAS Submitter

An organization recognized by ISO/IEC JTC1 as a submitter for transposition of Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) into International Standards.

2.1.17 Review Group

The individuals participating in a Company Review and providing review comments but not balloting on the document under review. This can include all members of The Open Group and, if applicable, other eligible interested parties.

2.1.18 Technical Editor

An individual responsible for preparing a document for publication.

2.1.19 The Open Group Certification Manager

An individual assigned to manage the development and introduction of a Certification Program.

2.1.20 The Open Group Director, Standards

The role of Director, Standards has overall responsibility for The Open Group Standards Process, and external liaisons.

2.1.21 The Open Group Executive Management

The President and CEO is the sole executive director of The Open Group. In the context of the Standards Process the term The Open Group Executive Management refers additionally to persons fulfilling the roles of Legal Counsel and VP Marketing.

2.1.22 The Open Group Manager/Forum Director

An individual assigned to manage a Forum or Work Group (often the role is referred to elsewhere as a Forum Director).

2.1.23 The Open Group Staff

An employee of The Open Group.

2.1.24 Third Party

A person or entity who is not involved directly in a relationship or activity with The Open Group as a member.

2.2.1 Approval Process

In the context of the Standards Development Process, this includes the Governing Board Review and Approval of a specification to become a standard of The Open Group.

See Section 3.2.3 of the Standards Process.

2.2.2 Change Request Process

The process by which requests to change a document under review are submitted, managed, and resolved.

See Section 3.3.2 of the Standards Process.

2.2.3 Charter of The Open Group

The defined mission and vision for The Open Group as defined from time to time.

2.2.4 Company Review Process

The formal process by which The Open Group measures consensus around a specification in order that it may become a standard of The Open Group.

See Section 3.2.2 of the Standards Process.

2.2.5 Confidentiality

See Section 5 of the Standards Process.

2.2.6 Consensus

Consensus is defined as meaning both general agreement, and the process of getting to such agreement. Consensus decision-making is thus concerned primarily with that process.

See Section 3.3.1 of the Standards Process.

2.2.7 Consensus Decision-Making

A decision-making process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also resolves or mitigates the objections of the minority in order to achieve the most agreeable decision.

See Section 3.3.1 of the Standards Process.

2.2.8 Copyright Transfer

The assignment of copyright to The Open Group. For materials developed following the Core Process in a Forum or Work Group the assignment of copyright is automatically The Open Group and covered by the Membership Agreement. For materials developed under the Fast Track process the assignment of copyright occurs at completion of the approval of the standard.

2.2.9 Draft Development Process

Prior to the commencement of a Company Review, a draft document should be prepared by a Forum/Work Group using a document template.

See Section 3.2.1 of the Standards Process.

2.2.10 Executive Management Review

A review by The Open Group Executive Management.

2.2.11 Fast Track

A variant of the Company Review Process that allows the introduction of a specification by a Sponsor under the claim that it is self-sufficient and fit-for-purpose, to be submitted directly into Company Review with the objective of becoming a standard of The Open Group.

See Section 3.3.5 of the Standards Process.

2.2.12 Forum/Work Group Meeting

A meeting of a Forum or Work Group. Meetings must be announced in advance:

• At least four (4) weeks for face-to-face meetings
• One (1) week for teleconferences

2.2.13 Interpretations Process

A process to resolve issues raised against a standard of The Open Group that impacts certification or accreditation. The process is defined in the applicable Certification or Accreditation Policy document.

2.2.14 ISO PAS Process

A process through which Standards of The Open Group can be submitted to ISO/IEC JTC 1 for adoption as International Standards.

See Section 3.3.6 of the Standards Process.

2.2.15 Liaison Process

See Section 8 of the Standards Process.

2.2.16 Member Meeting

A meeting which is open to members of The Open Group.

2.2.17 Publication and Launch

The marketing and publicity activities upon release of a new standard or Certification Program from The Open Group.

2.2.18 Publication Process

The final stage within the Standards Development Process in which an internal review by The Open Group Executive Management occurs. Once that is complete final publication of a standard occurs.

See Section 3.2.4 of the Standards Process.

2.2.19 Recirculation Review

If the number of changes arising from a Company Review is large, The Open Group Manager, or one or more of the balloting members of the Review Group, may request that the revised document be circulated for a repeat review.

See Section 3.2.2 of the Standards Process.

2.2.20 Sanity Review

A process taken upon completion of technical editing of a draft Standard. The final proof of the standard is made available to allow for confirmation that the technical integrity of the document has not been compromised during the editing process.

See Section 3.2.2 of the Standards Process.

2.2.21 Standards Adoption Criteria

The Open Group stated requirements for adoption of a specification and inclusion in the Standards Information Base (SIB).

See Section 6 of the Standards Process.

2.3.1 Business Scenario

A description of a business problem which enables requirements to be viewed in relation to one another in the context of the overall problem.

2.3.2 Certification Policy

A description of the way in which a Certification Program will operate.

See Section 4.2 of the Standards Process.

2.3.3 Certification Register

One or more publicly accessible registers of certified and/or accredited products, individuals, or services registered under the terms of a Certification Program of The Open Group.

2.3.4 Conformance Statement

A Conformance Statement is a documented set of claims describing precisely the way in which a product, service, or individual meets a set of Conformance Requirements, including which optional features are supported, if applicable. It also provides a precise identification of the certified product, service, or individual.

2.3.5 Company Review Report

A document showing how comments and objections during a Company Review have been addressed, and including the outcome of other necessary reviews.

This document is prepared by The Open Group Manager and submitted to The Open Group Governing Board as part of the Approval Process. See Section 3.2.3 of the Standards Process.

2.3.6 Conformance Statement Questionnaire (CSQ)

A Conformance Statement Questionnaire is a template which, when completed, produces a Conformance Statement.

2.3.7 Document Template

An outline document containing required sections and examples of formatting suitable for the type of document. Example templates are available for Business Scenarios, Guides, Standards, Snapshots, and White Papers.

2.3.8 Draft Standard

A document that is being developed to become a standard of The Open Group that has not yet completed the Company Review Process and the Approval Process.

See Section 3.2.2 and Section 3.2.3 of the Standards Process.

2.3.9 Guide

A Guide is a supporting document. It is a mechanism for The Open Group to disseminate supporting information on a subject area to an interested audience. Guides have no formal status.

2.3.10 Operating Charter

A document recording the guiding principles, the roles of officers, and specific procedures for the operation of a Forum or Work Group. It supplements the standard governance processes by making specific choices; for example, defining how activities are managed (working groups, projects, and standing committees), the definition of the quorum (for a Work Group), procedures for election of officers, and elections of Chairs for specific projects or tasks.

This will be developed and approved by the Forum or Work Group and ratified by The Open Group Governing Board. It should be reviewed at least biannually by the Forum or Work Group.

A template for an Operating Charter is available from the Specification Tools and Process Support Site.

2.3.11 Preliminary Standard

These are standards, usually addressing an emerging area of technology or best practice, and consequently not yet supported by a base of conformant implementations, that are released in a controlled manner for the purpose of validation through practical implementation or prototyping. A Preliminary Standard is not a Draft Standard. Indeed, it is as stable as The Open Group can make it, and on publication has gone through the same rigorous development and review procedures as a full standard.

Preliminary Standards are analogous with the trial-use standards issued by formal standards organizations, and product development teams are intended to develop products on the basis of them. However, because of the nature of the technology or subject area that a Preliminary Standard is addressing, it is untried in practice and may therefore change before being published as a full standard. In such a case The Open Group Standard will be made as upwards-compatible as possible with the corresponding Preliminary Standard, but complete upwards-compatibility in all cases is not guaranteed.

2.3.12 Publicly Available Specification (PAS)

An ISO/IEC JTC1 transposition procedure whereby organizations accredited as valid PAS Submitters can send their specifications directly for country voting, to become ISO/IEC standards.

See Section 3.3.6 of the Standards Process.

2.3.13 Referenced Standard

A document developed and published by a third party, which is referenced by The Open Group in a Standard of The Open Group.

2.3.14 Snapshot

Snapshots are draft standards, which provide a mechanism for The Open Group to disseminate information on its current direction and thinking to an interested audience, in advance of formal publication, with a view to soliciting feedback and comment. A Snapshot document represents the interim results of an activity to develop a standard. Although at the time of publication The Open Group intends to progress the activity towards publication of a Preliminary Standard or (full) Standard, The Open Group is a consensus organization, and makes no commitment regarding publication. Similarly, a Snapshot document does not represent any commitment by any member of The Open Group to make any specific products available.

2.3.15 Standard

A document established by consensus and approved through The Open Group Company Review Process that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results.

2.3.16 Technical Corrigendum

A collection of corrections to errors or inconsistencies in an approved standard.

See Section 3.3.7 of the Standards Process.

2.3.17 White Paper

A White Paper is a discussion or position paper. It is a mechanism for The Open Group to disseminate information on its current thinking for a subject area to an interested audience, with a view to soliciting feedback and comment. White Papers have no formal status.

2.3.18 Versions and Issues of The Open Group Standards

From time to time, The Open Group Standards require revision to align with new developments and associated international standards. To distinguish between revised standards which are fully backwards compatible and those which are not:

• A new Version indicates there is no change to the definitive information contained in the previous publication of that title, but additions/extensions are included; as such, it replaces the previous publication.
• A new Issue indicates there is substantive change to the definitive information contained in the previous publication of that title, and there may also be additions/extensions; as such, both previous and new documents are maintained as current publications.

2.4.1 Certification Agreement

An agreement between an entity applying for certification and the Certification Authority. It defines the certification service and the legal commitment to the conditions of the service.

2.4.2 IPR Policy

See Section 6 of the Standards Process.

2.4.3 Patent Policy

See Section 7 of the Standards Process.

2.4.4 Trademark License Agreement (TMLA)

A legal agreement which sets out the terms under which a vendor may use one of The Open Group certification marks in association with products that conform to one or more Standards of The Open Group, or the terms under which a person may use one of The Open Group certification marks to show they have attained the required level of skill or knowledge to become certified.

2.5.1 Aardvark Comment Format

A convention for submitting review comments against a document. The format includes page and line numbers, together with a problem description and proposed change. The format can be processed automatically by a program known as the Aardvark (the bugeater).

2.5.2 Bug Tracker

A tool to manage defect reports and enhancement requests against a standard. Examples, include Mantis and Bugzilla.

2.5.3 The Open Group Document Online Review System

A web tool that allows for online review of a document, supporting placement of inline comments from multiple reviewers, with export of comments for resolution.

2.5.4 Examinations

An assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge.

2.5.5 Plato

The Open Group collaboration system used by its Forums and Work Groups to provide a structured working area for its work program. Facilities include a document repository, events, and actions.

2.5.6 Standards Information Base

A publicly accessible register of all Standards of The Open Group and Referenced Standards.

2.5.7 Test Suite

An automated application that can measure compliance for a product or tool.

2.5.8 Wiki

A collaboration system that allows for free-form development of documents amongst multiple users.

Last updated: January 2021, editorial update to Snapshot definition.