IEEE 802.11™
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
Policies and Procedures of IEEE Project 802.11™
www.ieee802.org/11
Date:
March
15, 2007
Author:
Stuart J. Kerry
Chair, IEEE 802.11 WLANs WG
NXP Semiconductors
Email: stuart@ok-brit.com
Approved July 16th, 2007
IEEE® Project 802 Wireless LAN Working Group 802.11™
|
Item |
Revision |
Revision Date |
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1 |
11-00-331r0-0000 |
September 2000 |
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2 |
11-00-331r1-0000 |
November 2000 |
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3 |
11-01-331r2-0000 |
February 2001 |
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4 |
11-01-331r3-0000 |
May 16, 2002 |
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5 |
11-01-331r4-0000 |
September 11, 2002 |
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6 |
11-03-331r5-0000 |
May 1, 2003 |
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7 |
11-03-331r6-0000 |
July 20, 2003 |
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8 |
11-03-331r7-0000 |
November 13, 2003 |
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9 |
11-04-0510-00-0000 |
March 15, 2004 |
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10 |
11-05-0456-00-0000 |
March 14, 2005 |
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11 |
11-06-0812-00-0000 |
May 17,2006 |
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12 |
11-06-0812-01-0000 |
May 19,2006 |
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13 |
11-06-812-02-0000 |
July 17,2006 |
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14 |
11-06-812-03-0000 |
July 21,2006 |
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15 |
11-07-0360-00-0000 |
March 12,2007 |
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16 |
11-07-0360-01-0000 |
March 14, 2007 |
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17 |
11-07-0360-02-0000 |
March 15, 2007 |
|
18 |
11-07-0360-03-0000 |
March 15, 2007 |
|
19 |
11-07-0360-04-0000 |
May 18, 2007 |
Copyright (c) 2007 by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
2.2 Precedence
of Policies and Procedures
2.3.2 Working Group Vice-Chair(s)
2.3.4 Working Group Technical Editor
2.3.6 Working
Group Officer Election Process
2.3.7 Working
Group Chair Succession
2.3.8 Public
Relations and Marketing Communications.
2.3.9.1 Liaison Roles and Responsibilities:
2.3.10 Recommended Activities for Working Group
Officers
2.4 Working
Group Chair Advisory Committee
2.7.1 Member Recommended Tools
2.8.3 Session Meeting Schedule
2.9.1 Draft Standard Balloting Group
2.9.2 Draft Standard Balloting Requirements
2.9.3 Formatting Requirements for Draft Standard
and Amendments
2.10 Maintenance
of Policies and Procedures
2.10.2 Policy and Procedure Document Number
Assignment
2.11 Working
Group Financial Operations
3.5 Task
Group Technical Editor
3.6.2 Meetings and Participation
3.7 Operation
of the Task Group
3.7.1 Task Group Chair's Functions
3.7.1.1 Task Group Chair and Task Group Vice-Chair Functions
3.7.3 Task Group Chair's Responsibilities
3.7.4 Task Group Chair's Authority
3.8 Deactivation
of a Task Group
4.4.2 Voting at Study Group Meetings
5 802.11™
Standing Committee(s)
5.5 Standing
Committee Operation
5.5.1 Standing Committee Meetings
5.5.2 Voting at Standing Committee Meetings
6.2 Number
of Sessions required to become a Voter
8 Inquiries
and Interpretations
9 IEEE®
802.11™ WG Assigned Numbers Authority.
9.1.4 ANA Revocation Procedure
10 Procedure
Section (Informative)
10.1 Overview
of the Project Process
10.1.6 Standards Board Approval
10.3 Guidelines
for secretaries of IEEE® 802.11™ groups and subgroups.
10.4 Guidelines
for Technical Editor’s of IEEE® 802.11™ WG and Task Groups
Figure 1.1 – Project 802 Organizational Structure
Figure 2.1.1 – WG 802.11™ Organizational Structure
Table 2.5.5.1 – File Naming Convention
Figure 2.7.1.1 – Typical WG 802.11™ meetings during 802
Plenary Session
Figure 6.2.1 – New Participant Starting at a Plenary Session
Figure 6.2.2 – New Participant Starting at an Interim Session
Figure 9.1.4.1 – WG ballot process
Figure 9.1.5.1 – Sponsor Group ballot process
Policies and
Procedures
[rules1]
IEEE®
Standards Board Bylaws
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/bylaws/
[rules2]
IEEE-SA®
Standards Board Operations Manual
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/opman/
[rules3]
Policies and Procedures of IEEE project 802, LAN
MAN Standards Committee (LMSC)
http://ieee802.org/policies-and-procedures.pdf
[rules4] Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (Latest Published Edition), by Henry M. Robert III (Editor), Sarah Corbin Robert, and William J. Evans (Editor), Perseus Publishing, ISBN 0‑7382‑0307‑6.
Other References
[other1]
IEEE® Standards Companion
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/companion/
[other2]
Overview & guide to IEEE 802 / LMSC
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/802
overview.pdf
[other3]
Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing PDF files
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html
[other4]
ISO/IEC JTC1: International Standards
Organization / International Engineering Consortium Joint Technical Committee 1
http://www.jtc1.org
[other5]
Wireless LAN Association (WLANA) www.wlana.org and
WiFi™
http://www.wi-fi.com
[other6]
IEEE® Standards Style Manual
http://standards.ieee.org/guides/style/
802 EC LMSC
executive committee
802 LMSC Project
802, LAN/MAN standards committee
ANA Assigned
Numbers Authority
ANSI American National Standards
Institute
CAC chair
advisory committee
CSMA/CA carrier
sense multiple access / collision avoidance
CSMA/CD carrier
sense multiple access / collision detect
EC executive
committee
ID identification
IEC International
Engineering Consortium
IEEE® International
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
IEEE-SA IEEE®
Standards Association
IPR intellectual
property rights
ISO International
Standards Organization
LAN local
area network
LMSC LAN/MAN
standards committee
MAN metropolitan
area network
MTG maintenance
task group
NesCom new
standards committee (IEEE-SA)
PAR project
authorization request
PC personal
computer
PCMCIA Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association
PDF portable document format (Adobe
Acrobat file format)
RevCom review
committee (IEEE-SA)
SC standing
committee
SG study
group
TAG technical
advisory group
WLAN wireless
local area network
1 Overview
The 802.11™ Working
Group (WG) is responsible for developing Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
standards under the auspices of the IEEE® Project 802 LAN/MAN Standards
Committee (802 LMSC). The 802.11™ WG is one of several WGs reporting to the 802
Executive Committee (EC). The 802.11 WG operates under the Policies and
Procedures of IEEE® Project 802, LAN/MAN Standards Committee (ref.
[rules3]) and the hierarchy of policies under which IEEE® Project 802
operates. In the event of any conflict between the Policies and Procedures of
802.11™ and the Policies and Procedures of IEEE® Project 802, the Policies and
Procedures of IEEE® Project 802 take precedence.
The 802 LMSC is directed by the 802 LMSC EC. The 802 EC serves as the EC
for both the sponsor ballot groups as well as the Standards Development Groups.
802 LMSC has been divided into WGs, Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) and, on a
temporary basis, Executive Committee Study Groups (EC SGs) to standardize
technologies applicable to local and metropolitan area networks as shown in
Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1 – Project 802 Organizational Structure
A brief overview of
the standards development process is provided in subclause 10.1 of this document. See also refs.
[other1] and [other2].
2 Working Group
2.1 Function
The 802.11™ WG's
charter is to develop Physical layer and MAC sub-layer specifications for
wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) carried out under Project Authorization
Requests (PAR) approved by the IEEE Standards Board and assigned to 802.11™ WG.
Since the scope of standards work which comprises 802.11™ WG activity is widely
dispersed in time, technology and structure, individual standards activities
within 802.11™ WG are, at the discretion of the 802.11™ WG, carried out by Task
Groups (TG) operating under, and reporting to, the 802.11™ WG. A TG may create
sub-task groups (sub-committee) as specified in the latest version of Robert
Rules of Order as necessary to accomplish the work of the TG.
The 802.11™ WG is
chartered to:
- Maintain and revise the 802.11™ standard,
amendments and recommended practices.
- Develop new standards in a reasonable
time frame within the scope of the 802 LMSC.
- Forward these standards to
International Standards Organization / International Engineering
Consortium (ISO/IEC) JTC1.
- Maintain liaisons with other groups
within 802 LMSC, and other relevant standards setting bodies and Radio
Spectrum regulatory bodies.
The 802.11™ WG
activities are administered by the WG Chair who is assisted in this task by the
WG Chair Advisory Committee (CAC; see subclause 2.4).
The structure of
802.11™ WG is illustrated in Figure 2.1.1
Figure
2.1.1 – 802.11™ WG Organizational
Structure
2.2 Precedence of Policies and Procedures
The policies and
procedures governing WG Functions, Chair and Vice-Chair, Membership, meetings
and the operation of a WG are provided by the Policies and Procedures of IEEE®
Project 802 and the hierarchy of policies and procedures under which IEEE®
Project 802 operates. These policies and procedures are all included in this
document by reference and are not reproduced here; however the reader is
encouraged to become familiar with these policies and procedures in addition to
the policies and procedures provided in this document. If 802.11™ WG Policies and
Procedures conflicts with the 802 Policies and Procedures, then the
802 Policies and Procedures shall take precedence.
The WG has its own
Policies and Procedures and Bylaws as detailed above, and also adheres to
Robert's Rules of Order for parliamentary procedures whilst running each
session. Currently, we use the Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (Latest
Published Edition), by Henry M.
Robert (Editor), Sarah Corbin
Robert, and William J.
Evans (Editor) (ref. [rules4]). This book is
available in paperback or hardback. The WG does not solely recommend or
exclusively endorse this book, or any supplier. Other books on the subject are
available commercially.
2.3 Working Group Officers
The policies and
procedures for the election of, and the terms served by, the WG Chair and
Vice-Chair(s) are contained in the Policies and Procedures of IEEE® Project 802
(see ref. [rules3], 5.1.2). Removal of the WG Chair or
Vice-Chair(s) is also covered by this document (see ref.
[rules3], 5.1.4.5). The activities of the officers are described in
subclause 2.3.10.
2.3.1 Working Group Chair
As stated in 802.11™
WG Policies and Procedures , the Chair of the WG is responsible for presiding
over WG Plenary sessions. As specified in Robert’s Rules of Order, the Chair
only votes on matters before the WG in cases where a deciding vote must be
cast.
2.3.2 Working Group Vice-Chair(s)
In the event
that there are multiple WG Vice-Chairs, the WG Chair shall designate a first WG
Vice-Chair at the time of election of the WG Vice-Chair(s). Unlike the WG
Chair, except when acting in the capacity of the Chair, the WG Vice-Chair(s)
normally vote and comment on issues with the same rights as all other voting
members. Specific responsibilities of each WG Vice-Chair are designated by the
WG Chair.
2.3.3 Working
Group Secretary
The WG Secretary is
appointed by the WG Chair and confirmed by the WG. The minutes of meetings
taken by the Secretary or designee are to be provided to the WG Chair in time
to be available to the membership one week after close of each session.
The minutes of the
meeting are to include documents produced by the voting process and document
list. See Standards Companion (ref. [other1]) for details
on content and form of minutes.
2.3.4 Working Group Technical Editor
The WG Technical
Editor is responsible for:
- Organizing,
maintaining the draft standards in the format used by the IEEE® standards
department.
- Prepare
technical drafts following the editor’s guidelines in subclause 9.4
- Prepare an
update of the draft standard as soon after a session as possible, as
directed by the WG.
- Proof read
and coordinates changes of documents edited by IEEE® staff.
- Send the WG
Chair the following:
- The Adobe
Acrobat portable document format (PDF) file of the standard. (ref. [other3])
- A word
processing document file in a format that is acceptable by the IEEE®
standards department.
2.3.5 Working Group Treasurer
The WG Treasurer is responsible for the financial operations of the Working Group and the Working Group treasury. This shall include, but is not limited to overseeing the collection, disbursal and retention of all Working Group funds, the creation and supervision of budgets for Working Groups hosted interim sessions, ensuring that disbursements are made only for approved expenses and the generation and submission of all financial reports and audit packages.
2.3.6 Working Group Officer Election Process
The election of the
IEEE 802.11 WG Officers (Chair and Vice-Chairs) is held in March of each
even-numbered year. The nominations for the election shall be held at the WG
Opening Plenary meeting. The WG Chair shall designate one of the WG Vice-Chairs
as an Acting Chair Pro Tem if the WG Chair is running for re-election. If not
running for re-election, the WG Chair shall conduct the election process. This
election process shall be used for each WG officer election.
1.
The Acting Chair shall
open the floor for nominations.
2.
The Acting Chair shall
close nominations after the nominations have been made..
3.
Each candidate shall be
given a short time (nominally, two minutes) for an introductory statement of
acceptance that should nominally contain the candidate’s:
a. Summary of qualifications
b.
Commitment to participate
and accept duties and responsibilities
c. Vision for the WG.
4. The floor shall be opened for discussion (nominally for five-ten minutes
total).
a. The Acting Chair should limit the duration of comments and promote open
participation, both pros and cons. If only one candidate is nominated, the
Acting Chair may choose to sharply limit the debate.
5. The discussion shall be repeated, with the WG Chair leading the process
for the nomination(s) of the WG Vice-Chair(s).
6. At the Mid-Plenary meeting, the WG Officers shall conduct the election,
count the votes, and notify the membership of the results.
a. Voting tokens shall be used to cast valid votes during the session.
b. In order to be elected, any candidate must receive a simple majority
(over 50%) of the votes cast in the election for the respective position.
c. Should no candidate receive a majority in the election, a runoff election
shall be held at the WG Closing Plenary meeting. The process shall be similar
to the initial election, except that:
i. New nominations shall not be permitted.
ii. In the runoff election, the nominated candidate having received the
fewest votes in the previous election round shall not be an eligible candidate
(in case a tie prevents this possibility, all the nominated candidates shall
remain eligible).
d. If the process is inconclusive, another runoff shall be held, as in the
point above.
7.
Should a runoff process
not lead to the election of a Vice-Chair, the election may be deferred to the
next WG session, at the Chair’s discretion. However, every reasonable effort
should be made to conclude the election of the Chair.
2.3.7 Working Group Chair Succession
In the event that
the WG Chair is unable to perform the duties, and has not designated a
temporary proxy from the WG Vice-Chair(s), the first WG Vice-Chair shall take
the lead and perform all duties of the WG Chair until such time that the WG
Chair can return to his post or an election is held if the WG Chair is
permanently unable to return to the post. The Acting Chair will consult with
the 802 LMSC Chair regarding the election process to verify the 802 LMSC policies
and procedures that may apply. The new election will be held for the remaining
portion of the current WG Chair’s Term at the first plenary session.
2.3.8 Public Relations and Marketing Communications
The Chair and
Vice-Chairs shall be the sole point of contact for all official IEEE
802.11 marketing communications and public relations with industry technical
journals, editors, press, other industry media bodies, and government bodies.
The Chair will be assisted in these duties by the WG Publicity Chair.
2.3.9 Liaisons
Liaison relationships are established with other groups within 802 LMSC,
other relevant standards setting bodies, industry promotional bodies, Special
Interest Groups (SIGs), and Radio Spectrum regulatory bodies (liaison groups).
Liaisons shall be recommended by the WG Chair and confirmed by the vote of the
WG. Liaisons shall be reconfirmed each year at the July 802 plenary. Liaisons
will be granted voting rights upon confirmation of their liaison status in
802.11™ and will seek to be granted voting rights in their respective liaison
groups.
2.3.9.1
Liaison
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Liaisons are responsible for providing
updates and status reports to the WG at plenary and interim sessions. If a
liaison does not provide this in two consecutive sessions, then the WG
Chair may withdraw the liaison responsibility from the concerned
individual. The WG Chair recommends a replacement as necessary.
- Liaisons cannot pass on
responsibilities, nor have other individuals represent their post without
having WG or WG Chair approval.
- Liaisons have the same voting rights,
privileges and obligations as 802.11™ voting members. Liaisons are given
802.11™ WG attendance credit for attending liaison group meetings that are
concurrent with 802.11™ WG sessions.
- Liaisons shall be empowered to report
status of the WG developments to their respective liaison groups, and
shall report back to the WG the status of the liaison group at interim and
plenary sessions.
2.3.10 Recommended
Activities for Working Group Officers
2.3.10.1 WG Chair
Before session tasks, but not limited to:
- Submit agenda items for the opening
Executive Committee meeting (a week before the meeting).
- Attend the opening Executive Committee
meeting.
- Report the status of the WG to the
plenary 802 meeting.
During session tasks, but not limited to:
- Conduct full WG meetings.
- Assign task of document control and
collection.
- Check the mailbox for Executive
Committee members regularly.
- Keep Executive Committee members
informed as early as possible about 802.11™ matters requiring approval at
their closing 802 EC night meeting.
- Submit the list of voters to the
meeting organizers.
- Submit a hard copy of the attendance
list to the meeting organizers by Wednesday’s plenary session of the WG.
- Attend the closing 802 EC meeting and
lead 802.11™ business through the meeting.
- Maintain roll call list.
After session tasks:
- Prepare a WG progress report to the 802
EC Recording Secretary within 2 calendar days after closing of the Friday
802 EC meeting.
- Prepare agenda and venue for next
meeting; publish on web site, and email notice to members
- Manage the preparation of the meeting
place as well as the venue for the next interim meeting.
- Collect ballot return forms,
acknowledge and merge into consolidation file(s) (if WG ballot active).
- Obtain ballot return forms from IEEE®
staff and merge into consolidation file(s) (if Sponsor ballot active).
- Update
public documents on web site.
- Update Draft documents in members-only
web site and send email to IEEE® staff to add to the Draft Standards
Catalogue.
- Respond to inquiries regarding the
committee.
- Be prepared to assign document numbers.
- Work with TG Chairs to prepare meeting
agendas and room requirements for next session(s).
- Update list servers.
2.3.10.2 WG Vice-Chair(s)
Before session tasks, but not limited to:
- Preparation of:
- Voters list
- Voter tokens
During session tasks, but not limited to:
- Be prepared to take over the duties of
the Chair in the event of temporary or permanent absence.
- Be prepared to assume or assign
secretary duties when required.
- Between meetings, be prepared to
respond to inquiries regarding the committee and keep the Chair informed.
- Oversee document process; obtain
computer files of the documents for web site publication
- Attend to any business that might
otherwise prevent the Chair from orderly conduct of the meetings, such as
attending to emergency messages, and inquiries from the plenary staff.
- Provide a second vote count to insure
accurate and fair voting.
- Assist the Chair during IEEE 802
Executive Committee meetings held on initial and final days.
- Assist the Chair, or be prepared to
give the plenary reports at the first and last full IEEE 802 sessions.
2.3.10.2.1
Attendance
Recording
The objective of this task is to maintain an accurate record of
attendance for voter qualification. The duties include:
- Make sure that people are accounted for
during each meeting period
o Arbitrate any attendee record discrepancies
o Make sure all 802.11™ rooms are accounted
for
o Regularly update Chair with new participants
list
- Return the attendance results to the
Chairman at session end
- Provide attendance record of the
session for tracking account purposes for meeting organizers.
- Maintain database of voter membership.
2.3.10.2.2
Document Collection and
Maintenance
The objectives of this task are:
·
After
assignment by the Chair, maintain a consistently numbered set of documents and
on the meeting server using electronic wireless Wi-FI™ medium and the IEEE
802.11 WEB site.
·
Verify
document formats before presentation and circulation of materials to membership
·
Update
document list and assign document numbers as requested.
·
Keep
meeting attendees informed about document status during plenary and interim
sessions.
2.4 Working Group Chair Advisory Committee
The 802.11™ WG
Chair Advisory Committee (CAC) functions as the coordinating body supporting
the WG Chair in formulations of policy and the performance of his duties. The
802.11™ CAC has no voting procedures, or policies. The intent is to have the
802.11™ CAC operate in a consultative manner. The 802.11™ CAC may meet during
802.11™ interim and plenary sessions.There is adequate policy and procedural
rigor imposed on 802.11™ WG by the Policies and Procedures of IEEE® Project 802
(ref. [rules3]) and its hierarchy of policies and
procedures..
2.4.1 Function
The function of the
CAC is to assist the WG Chair in performing the following tasks:
- Provide
procedural and, if necessary, technical guidance to WG, TGs, SGs and SCs
as it relates to their charters.
- Oversee WG,
TG, SG and SC operation to see that it is within the scope of 802.11™ WG.
- Review TG
draft standards proposed for submission to WG letter ballot and offer
recommendations if any, to the WG.
- Consider
complaints of WG, TG, SG and SC members and their resolution at the
Plenary, WG, TG, SG and SC meetings.
- Manage 802.11™ WG logistics, e.g. concurrent TG,
SG and SC meetings, etc.
- Call meetings, including
teleconferences, and issue meeting minutes.
2.4.2 Membership
The Membership of
the CAC is appointed at the discretion of the WG Chair. Membership of the CAC
is composed of the following 802.11™ WG officers:
- WG Chair
- WG
Vice-Chair(s)
- WG Secretary
- WG
Technical Editor(s)
- WG
Treasurer
- WG Publicity
Chair
- WG
ANA Lead
- TG
Chairs and TG Vice-Chair(s)
- SG Chairs and SG Vice-Chair(s)
- SC Chairs and SC Vice-Chair(s)
2.5 Documentation
All 802.11™ documents are disseminated in electronic format only, other than exceptional cases. Documents are only accepted if they adhere to the policies and procedures spelled out in this subclause.
2.5.1 Types
The document shall
be one of the following types:
- Draft Standard and Amendments
- Tentative agenda
- Tentative minutes
- Reports (from a TG, SG, SC or a liaison
meeting or a ballot), including financial reports
- Draft positions or statements (WG, TG,
SG, or SC level)
- Approved positions or statements (WG,
TG, SG or SC level)
- Submissions
(Presentations, Motions, Simulation Results, etc.)
2.5.2
Format
Documents with the exception of draft standards and amendments shall be in the current template as specified by the WG Chair. The templates are located on the 802.11™ WG website at: http://ieee802.org/11/Documents/format-rules.html.
Draft standards and
amendments shall be submitted to IEEE® in a format acceptable by the IEEE®
standards department. Draft standards
and amendments shall be made available to the WG in Adobe Acrobat format.
If a submitter is
not able to submit in Microsoft Office application format, the document shall
be submitted in Adobe Acrobat format, but only as the last resort and agreed
upon by the documentation controller, normally one of the WG Vice-Chair(s).
2.5.3
Layout
The layout of draft
standards shall be according to the IEEE® style manual (ref.
[other6]). All other documents shall be based on the current template for
Microsoft Word (portrait and landscape; which is available on the IEEE 802.11
website) including the correct document number and revision number.
Documents based on
other than Word or PowerPoint applications shall have the following layout:
·
Paper
size: letter (8.5’x11’)
·
Margins:
top = 0.6’, bottom = 0.5’, inside and outside = 0.75’, gutter of 0.5 and mirror
image, headers 0.3’ from edge.
·
The
header is as follows:
o Times (New) Roman, 14 point, bold, line
below:
o Left: the month and year of issue
o Right: the text "doc: IEEE
802.11-yy/nn", where yy are the last two digits of the year and nn are the
digits of the document number; revisions are indicated by addition at the end
of the text of “-r” followed by the revision number.
·
The
footer is as follows:
o Times (New) Roman, 12 point, line above.
o Left: the text type and status of the
document (see subclause 2.5.1)
o Center: "page n", where n is the
page number.
o Right: Primary Submitter name and company
name as point of contact.
2.5.4
Timing
of Submissions
Documents will be placed
on the tentative agenda depending on the time of the submission, the earlier
submission getting the higher priority. Documents provided at the session may
not get on agenda if no time is available.
2.5.5
Naming
conventions
The file name shall be as shown in Table
2.5.5.1. An example of a good filename that conforms to the naming convention
is 11-06-0652-00-WG-Motion-to-form-a-study-group.ppt.
Table 2.5.5.1 – File Naming Convention
|
gg-yy-ssss-rr-GGGG-HumanName.ext where |
|
|
“gg” |
is the 802 group
11 |
|
"yy" |
is the last 2
digits of the year the document is presented |
|
"ssss" |
is the sequence
number of the document “0000” is
reserved for the 802.11 WG Policies and Procedures (see subclause 2.10. |
|
“rr” |
is the revision
number |
|
"GGGG" |
is the WG, TG
(task group letter), SG (as designated by chair), or SC (as designated by
chair) to which the document assigned or presented (see the document list for
approved letters) |
|
“HumanName” |
The human name
should be as short as possible (please use either a dash or underscore for the
coupling letter). Try to avoid adding the TG in the name. |
|
ext |
Is the commonly
used 3 letter file extensions: .doc for Word, .ppt for PowerPoint, .pdf for
Adobe Acrobat compatible files. |
2.6 Motions Regarding Drafts
Motions may be made at appropriate times during the meetings (see ref. [rules3]) . However, all technical changes to a draft shall be in a submission that has been accepted by document control according to document formats specified in section 2.5 and has been made available electronically for a period of not less than four active WG session hours.
2.7 Membership
The policies and procedures governing WG membership including
establishment, retention, loss and rights are contained in the Policies and
Procedures of IEEE® Project 802 (see ref. [rules3],
5.1.3). Additional requirements for WG voting rights are defined in clause 6 below.
2.7.1
Member
Recommended Tools
As the 802.11™ WG
relies exclusively on electronic files.
Therefore, hard copies of submissions, drafts, or presentations are not
provided for session attendees. During sessions an IEEE 802.11b/a/g WLAN is
available for use by attendees to have access to all electronic session
documentation. All public documents are archived on the IEEE® 802.11 web site
soon after each session.
In addition to the
requirements for membership, the following are highly recommended for most
efficient exchange of information between members:
- An email
address capable of handling large file attachments
- A laptop computer for use at the
meetings with a PC Card Type II or PCMCIA Type II slot(s)
- An IEEE 802.11 WLAN Card that is Wi-Fi™
(ref. [other5]) certified. The WG does not recommend, nor endorse products.
- A flash memory
card for laptop computer.
2.8 Working Group Sessions
2.8.1 Plenary Session
The 802.11™ WG
plenary session is conducted three times a year as part of the 802 LMSC plenary
sessions (see ref. [other2]). The 802.11™ WG plenary
session is a meeting of individuals interested in developing and maintaining
WLAN standards. Typically the 802.11™ WG Opening and Closing plenary meetings
are held at each 802 LMSC plenary (see Figure 2.7.1.1). Occasionally there are
TG, SG, or SC meetings during the Executive committee meeting on Monday morning
and/or the weekend preceding the plenary. (Note: meetings held before the
opening of 802 plenary meeting are treated as ad-hoc meetings.)
The 802.11™ WG
plenary is open to all registered 802 attendees. As is the case with all 802 WG
meetings only voting members have the right to participate in the discussions
(see ref. [rules3], 5.1.3.5). The WG Chair may grant the
privilege of observers to participate in discussions. Within the 802.11™ WG the privilege of observers to
participate in discussions is granted by default.
The 802.11™ WG
Plenary is conducted by the Chair or the Chair's designated delegate. The
802.11™ WG Opening plenary meeting will include the presentation of the
following information:
- The 802.11™ WG
Policies and Procedures (this document).
- The existence
of these policies and procedures and where they can be obtained.
- The existence
of the policies and procedures of IEEE® Project 802 and where they can be
obtained.
- The agenda
distributed earlier including any items requiring a vote.
- Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) and copyright notices.
The function of the
plenary meetings is to gather and disseminate information and take action as
follows:
- Status reports
from the TGs, SGs and SCs.
- Liaison
reports from other standards organizations, other IEEE® 802 WGs and TAGs.
- Reports on
schedules for future plenary meetings.
- Announcements
and general news.
- Vote on such
matters that may be brought before it such as recommendations of its TGs
and the election of 802.11™ officers.
- Make
recommendations for 802 EC action with respect to standards projects, 802
and liaison matters.
- Calls for
interest in new work items.
- Call for
relevant patents.
- Items for
subsequent meetings.
Figure 2.7.1.1 – Typical 802.11™ WG
meetings during 802 Plenary Session
2.8.2
Interim
Sessions
Interim sessions of
the WG, TGs, SGs and/or SCs are scheduled by the respective groups no later
than the end of the prior plenary meeting. There is no standing schedule for
interim sessions; however typically a WG interim session is held between 802
plenary sessions. Other interim sessions may be scheduled as needed to conduct
business of the WG, TGs, SGs and/or SCs. The date, time, and place of the
session(s) must be approved by the WG and announced at the final WG Plenary
meeting and entered in the minutes of the meeting.
Official actions of
these sessions are valid if one of the following occurs:
b) Specific empowerment that has been
pre-authorized by the WG at the time of the meeting approval.
c) If a
quorum is not present, the session is not required to immediately adjourn, and
is expected to continue business in an orderly fashion. All original main
motions (ref. [rules4], p95), voted on during that
session that is not valid for one of the reasons listed above must be
reaffirmed using one of the following methods:
a. Obtain appropriate level of approval (75%+
for technical, 50%+ for non-technical) from a WG electronic ballot that has
been pre-authorized by the WG at the time of the meeting approval.
b. Reaffirm by either a 30 day or 15 day WG
electronic ballot, at the WG Chair’s discretion.
c. Reaffirm at the next 802.11™ plenary session.
Figure
2.7.2.1 - Typical 802.11™ WG meetings during Interim Session
2.8.3 Session Meeting Schedule
802.11™ Interim and Plenary sessions start with an opening plenary
meeting followed by previously scheduled TG, SG, and/or SC meetings. Midway
through the week a mid session plenary meeting is held. TG, SG, and/or SC
meetings continue. The CAC meets typically Sunday evening and Thursday evening.
A final closing plenary meeting is held
to close the session. Start times and end times are in 24 hour format for the
session and are published at least 30 days in advance.
2.8.3.1
WG Reading Hours
Two hours are credited as active WG session hours for Thursday evening
(19:30 – 21:30). This meeting block time is used by the CAC for closing plenary
preparation and for WG members to review any documents that will be discussed
during the closing plenary.
2.8.4
Session
Logistics
2.8.4.1
Attendance
Attendance at WG, TG, SG and/or SC meetings is recorded electronically.
If electronic recording is not possible manual written documentation will be
used. Each attendee is responsible for signing in to the Attendance form for
802.11™. Each attendee shall be responsible for obtaining a Member
Identification (ID) that is valid for that session. Each attendee is expected
to only sign in for the meeting designation that they are attending in that
time slot. Timeslot is defined as WG meeting hours as defined in the approved
Agenda graphic for the interim or plenary session in progress. It is expected
that attendees have participated in at least 90% of the designated meeting they
have signed in for. Failure to sign in may impact voting rights (see subclause 6). Inability to sign in should be reported
to the WG Vice-Chair.
2.8.4.2
Meeting Etiquette
During any WG, TG,
SG and/or SC meetings cell phones and pagers must be
shut off or in the vibrate mode of operation, in order not to interrupt the
meeting. Electronic communication with the Officers conducting official
meetings shall be deferred until after the meeting; with the exception that the secretary at the head table may
receive electronic communication/transmissions of presented material for
inclusion in the minutes. The only exception to this is that the Officiers conducting a
meeting shall be permitted to record their attendance. The use of audio and/or
video recording of any 802.11™
meeting is specifically prohibited. Still photography is only permitted by a
public request and permission of the meeting membership via the WG Chair, and
is not for commercial purposes as mandated by IEEE-SASB in the OpManual.
Meetings are run in an orderly fashion, and outbursts or other
disruptions during a meeting are not tolerated. Conversations whether on cell
phones or with other individuals in a meeting should be moved outside the
meeting room.
Comments should be directed to the Chair of the meeting in accordance
with Robert’s Rules of Order and personal comments directed to individuals
should be avoided.
2.9 Draft WG Balloting
A draft must
successfully pass a WG letter ballot
before it can be forwarded to the 802 EC for approval for Sponsor Group voting
(see ref. [rules3], 5.1.4.2.2). All letter ballots shall
be conducted by electronic balloting. The policies and procedures governing WG
letter ballots, comment resolution and confirmation letter ballots are
contained in the Policies and Procedures of IEEE® Project 802 (see ref. [rules3], 5.1.4.2.2). An overview of the process is
also provided in subclause 10.1 of this document.
The following
additional requirements are imposed within 802.11™ WG.
2.9.1 Draft Standard Balloting Group
The 802.11™ WG
balloting group consists of all voting members of the 802.11™ WG as of the
close of day the ballot distribution was completed, as determined by the WG
Chair.
2.9.2
Draft
Standard Balloting Requirements
Before a draft is
submitted to WG letter ballot, it shall meet all the following requirements:
- The TG must approve the draft by vote
with at least 75% concensus, indicating the TG has conducted a technical
review of the draft, and believes the draft is technically complete, and
ready for WG approval e.g. no place holders or notes for future action,
editing, or clarifications.
- It must be made available per subclause
2.5.
- If any changes need to be made to the draft
after posting, these changes, whether technical or editorial, shall be
approved prior to the vote for approval to go to WG letter ballot. The
editor will be instructed to incorporate these changes whether technical
or editorial into the draft prior to the release of the draft to letter
ballot.
- Any voting member can bring a motion
requesting that, after the editor has completed the draft, the editor’s
work be approved by a fifteen-day confirmation electronic ballot. This
will be a non-technical motion requiring simple majority.
- The availability of the draft must be
announced on the WG email reflector during or prior to the WG session or
regularly scheduled interim session.
- The draft must be formatted according
to subclause 2.9.3.
- The draft must be approved by a
technical motion for submittal to WG letter ballot. This approval shall be made at the
802.11™ WG closing plenary or via a fifteen-day electronic ballot.
For a WG letter
ballot to be considered valid the abstention rate must be less than 30% as per
the 802 LMSC Policies and Procedures (see ref. [rules3]). In formal votes taken via electronic
balloting, the ballot needs to receive approval from a majority of the voting
members to allow an action to be taken. (see
ref. [rules3]
The WG is
only obligated to consider comments that are received with ballots and other
comments that are received by the close of the ballot. The ballot shall close
at 23:59
2.9.3 Formatting Requirements for Draft Standard
and Amendments
The draft must be
provided in the current IEEE® electronic format (see refs. [rules1],
[rules2], [rules3]). At a minimum
this shall be completed prior to the Sponsor ballot however it is preferable
that the draft be maintained in this format for its entire life.
Areas affecting
existing clauses of IEEE® 802.11 shall be shown in the draft in underscore
and strikeout against the current standard. Note that the amended draft
standard may not be the same as the published standard due to approved but
unpublished supplements.
2.10 Maintenance of Policies and Procedures
WG Policies and
Procedures are a requirement of the Policies and Procedures of IEEE® Project
802, which state that the WG Chair shall:
"Establish WG policies and procedures beyond the WG policies and
procedures set down by the LSMC EC. These policies and procedures must be
written and all WG members must be aware of them."
2.10.1 Availability
The WG 802.11™
Policies and Procedures are to be made publicly available at the meetings and
posted in the 802.11™ WG area of the IEEE® web site.
2.10.2 Policy and Procedure Document Number
Assignment
·
Reservation
of Document “0000” as the 802.11™ WG Policies
and Procedures current document.
- Each year, at the January interim
session, the WG Vice-Chair posts the current 802. 11™ WG Policies and Procedures from the previous
year as document 11-XX-0001-00-0000.
Where XX is the current year. As the year progresses, the revision
is maintained with the normal revision policies and procedures.
- This facilitates the members ability
to obtain the current WG 802.11 Policies and Procedures consistently from
the same basic location.
2.10.3 Requesting Changes
Proposed improvements
shall be in written form and presented to the WG Vice-Chair and include:
- The purpose, objective, or problem the
proposed change is intended to address
- The specific text of the rule change
- The rationale for the chosen text.
Those proposing rule
changes are encouraged to seek the advice of the WG Chair or any member of the
CAC or other experienced members to help form the wording in a manner
appropriate for and consistent with the WG 802.11™ Policies and Procedures.
2.10.4
Change
Process
The policies and
procedures of 802.11™ WG operation can be changed by the following process:
- Suggestions for improvements are
submitted to the WG Vice-Chair(s) or WG Chair by any WG member
- WG Vice-Chair and the WG Chair compile
the submitted suggested improvements
- WG Vice-Chair presents collected
suggestions to the CAC for review
- The WG Chair or WG Vice-Chair(s) shall
prepare a submission of the proposed changes to present to the WG for
consideration at the next opening plenary meeting
- The submission shall be posted to the
WG website (www.ieee802.org/11)
one (1) session prior to WG consideration
- The submission will be discussed during
the session
- The submission may be voted on at the
closing plenary if no modifications are required to the submission.
- A request for an affirmative 802.11™ WG
letter ballot may be submitted at the closing plenary regarding this
submission. A majority approval of the members voting yes or no at the
closing plenary is required for a change to be sent out for a WG letter
ballot. This WG letter ballot has the same response requirements as any
other WG letter ballot in terms of the maintenance of voting rights. If no
such request for a letter ballot is made, or the request fails, the change
itself will be voted on at the closing plenary. A motion requesting a
letter ballot will take precedence over a motion to approve the changes. A
75% approval of the members voting yes or no shall be required to pass.
- A modified submission must have an
affirmative 802.11™ WG letter
ballot requested. A majority approval of the members voting yes or no at
the closing plenary is required for the change to be sent out for a WG
letter ballot. This WG letter ballot has the same response requirements as
any other WG letter ballot in terms of the maintenance of voting rights.
If no such request for a letter ballot is made, or the request fails, the
changes shall be posted to the WG Website, and considered at the next WG
plenary session.
- The 802 EC must approve all changes to
become effective.
Balloting
requirements for the changes to the policies and procedures shall meet those
for WG drafts (see subclause 2.9.2).
2.11 Working Group Financial Operations
802.11™ may operate with a Treasury providing that the following conditions are met:
1) Operation with treasury requires the approval of the Working Group and the approval of the 802 EC.
2) The Working Group shall have a Treasurer.
3) The Working Group treasury shall
be operated in compliance with all applicable requirements of the IEEE®, the
Computer Society and 802 EC.
3 Task Groups
3.1 Function
The function of the
Task Group (TG) is to produce a draft standard, recommended practice,
guideline, supplement, or portion of a draft standard to the WG. These shall be
within the scope of the 802 LMSC, the charter of the WG and under an approved
PAR as established by the 802 EC and approved by the IEEE® Standards Board.
After the publication by the IEEE® of the standard, recommended practice or
guideline, the function of the TG is complete and its charter expires (see
subclause 3.8). It is a function of the 802.11™ WG to
maintain published 802.11™ standards (see clause 7). All business brought to the floor of the
WG that deals with a topic assigned to a TG shall be automatically referred to
the TG by the WG Chair, without discussion on the floor of the WG.
3.2 Task Group Chair
The TG Chair shall
be appointed by the WG Chair and confirmed by a WG majority approval. The TG
Chair is re-affirmed every 2 years: one session after the WG Chair is elected.
The TG Chair is
required to confirm that the function of secretary is performed for each TG
meeting. TG meetings are not allowed to function without a secretary.
3.3 Task Group Vice-Chair
TG Vice-Chair is
elected by a WG majority approval. The
TG Vice-Chair is reaffirmed every 2 years; one session after the WG Chair is
elected.
3.4 Task Group Secretary
The TG Secretary
shall be appointed by the TG Chair and confirmed by a TG motion that is
approved with a minimum 50% majority. The TG Secretary is re-affirmed every 2
years; one session after the WG Chair is elected.
The minutes of
meetings taken by the Secretary (or designee) are to be provided to the TG
Chair in time to be available to the WG Chair for publication one week after
close of the session.
The minutes of the
meeting are to include documents produced by the voting process and document
list. See IEEE® Standards Companion for details on content and form of minutes.
3.5 Task Group Technical Editor
The TG Technical
Editor shall be appointed by the TG Chair and confirmed by a TG majority
approval.
The TG Technical
Editor is responsible for:
·
Organizing,
maintaining the draft standards for the TG in the format used by the IEEE®
standards department.
·
Prepare
technical drafts following the editor’s guidelines in subclause 9.4
·
Preparing
an update of the draft standard as soon after a session as possible, as
directed by the TG.
·
Proof
reading and coordinating changes of documents edited by IEEE® staff.
·
Send
the TG Chair the following:
o The Adobe Acrobat PDF file of the standard (ref. [other3]).
o A word processing document file in a format
that is acceptable by the IEEE® standards department.
3.6 Task Group Membership
Members and
observers from 802.11™ WG make up the TG membership. The TG shall follow the operating policies under
the 802.11™ WG.
3.6.1 Rights
The rights of the
TG participants include the following:
- To receive a
notice of the next meeting and agenda.
- To receive a
copy of the meeting minutes.
- To vote at
meetings if present providing the participant is qualified under the WG
voting policies and procedures.
- To examine all
working draft documents during WG Sessions.
- To lodge
complaints about TG operation with the WG Chair.
3.6.2 Meetings and Participation
All TG meetings are
open to members and observers. Attention is however drawn to the registration
requirements for all members and observers attending the 802 Plenary where TG
meetings also occur. WG members have the right to participate in decisions. In
this case, the TG Chair may grant observers the privilege of participating in
discussions.
A TG will normally
meet during the week of the 802.11 WG Session. The WG Chair determines, taking
into account TG status, if this plenary week TG meeting is required. Depending
on the workload, Ad-Hoc TG meetings can
be held between the 802.11 WG Sessions as often as required and as recommended by the TG membership with approval by the WG
Chair. A meeting notice and agenda must be distributed to all 802.11™ WG members
and observers at least 30 days prior to any meeting. This notice will include
as a minimum the date, time, location, host, hotel details, travel details if
necessary and a stated purpose. TG meetings that take place adjunct to and
co-located with the 802.11 WG Session do not count towards 802.11™ WG voting
rights.
3.6.3 TeleConferences
Teleconferences are a means to prepare input for sessions provided that the teleconference date, time, agenda, and arrangements are announced 10 calendar days prior to the teleconference date and that the minutes (Agenda, List of Attendees, and proceedings) are kept and published as WG documents within 7 days of the teleconference. Teleconferences may not be held more frequently than weekly.
3.7 Operation of the Task Group
The TG's primary
responsibility is to produce a draft standard, recommended practice, or
guideline in a reasonable amount of time for review and approval by the WG.
Democratic procedures are to be implemented using Robert's Rules of Order (ref. [rules4]) in combination with 802.11™ WG Policies and
Procedures. At no time will the IEEE®'s Policies and Procedures, which are
based upon the procedures of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for
openness and fairness, be compromised.