I can hardly believe it. I’ve been in the EDA business since 1980 when I joined TI’s Design Automation Department after graduating from Cal Poly with my BSEE. Since 1995, much of my attention has been focused on EDA standards. I reached a moment of truth this year when I admitted, albeit reluctantly, that I could be called a standards-lifer. So, I decided it’s time to share my perspectives on what’s going on in the standards arena. Welcome to my blog - I can’t wait to hear from you! The 6th Commandment for Effective Standards
Posted by Karen B on May 14th, 2009
In my continuing series, “The 10 Commandments for Effective Standards”, the 6th commandment is:
Leverage Existing Organizations and Proven Processes
Standards begin in a variety of ways (a topic for a different post). Regardless of what motivates a standards effort, it’s important that a process is followed to ensure a successful outcome. When I say “process”, I actually mean all the ingredients required to produce a useful standard. These include: bylaws, policies, procedures, guidelines, rules of conduct, committee and governance structure, administration, websites, information management tools, PR, market acceptance, and formal accreditation. (Whew!)
Developing a new standardization environment is a monumental task. I’ve seen standards groups take 6 months or more just to get the basics in place. The best approach you can take to launching a new standards initiative is by doing so under an existing standards body – if possible – instead of creating an entirely new organization. Taking advantage of what an existing group has learned and refined over the years is a smart way to start. Existing standards bodies can offer you administrative, technical, marketing, and financial resources to expedite the standards process.
In my industry, and I’m sure that in other industries as well, there are several standards-setting and standards-development organizations to choose from. The criteria I suggest for selecting an organization to work with is finding one that you trust. Not just the one with the most money, or the biggest staff, or the fanciest website, but one that resonates with your goals. One that has a proven track record of delivering standards that are in use today by your customers. And one that has a positive reputation in your industry.
If, for whatever reasons, you can’t find an appropriate organization and decide to start your own, it’s still a good idea to leverage existing organizations. Some are quite willing to share their bylaws and policy documents that you can use as a template, if not adopting them completely. Accellera and the IEEE Standards Association, for instance, have shared their policies with other groups to help them get started or improve their existing policies. Using existing principles lowers the risk of something going wrong during the process and certainly shortens the time for your standard to be completed.
Observing the 6th Commandment for Effective Standards can save you significant time and money – both of which we could all use a little more of.
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