PAGE 2 ETSIMTS(01)TD007 EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS INSTITUTE MTS33 24

PAGE 2 ETSIMTS(01)TD007 EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS STANDARDS INSTITUTE MTS33 24






ETSI stylesheet (v.7.0)

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ETSI/MTS(01)TD007

European Telecommunications Standards Institute

MTS#33

24 to 25 October 2001

Sophia-Antipolis



Source: STF 187 (Anthony Wiles)

Title: Handling Change Requests in TTCN-3

Date: 06.10.2001

Document for: MTS#33 (Discussion/Decision)

Agenda item: 5.6



Introduction

The experience of STF187 over the last few months indicates that it is necessary to put into place a formal Change Request process for updating TTCN-3. A stable standard, with transparency concerning updates, is to the benefit of all parties. This document proposes a possible CR process and CR form.

Proposed CR Process

1) The Change Request process should be handled by the TTCN-3 maintenance STF, starting from 2002. To accommodate the overhead of this procedure the resource of the STF should be approx. 4mm in 2002.

2) Change Request submissions should be web based (and only web based), i.e., submission via a form on the ETSI website (should be open access, but with registration). Technical modification and correction to the TTCN-3 standard can not be made without a CR. This gives the possibility for anyone to follow the changes, without the need to compare different versions of the standard.

3) To reduce administrative overhead, 'collection' of the CRs should be on a periodic, not daily, basis (e.g., once every month).

4) The STF should maintain a list of all CRs showing current status and actions taken. The CR list should contain the next action and date. (eg. publication:2002 March; decision: <meeting date>; etc). Possible CR list fields could be:




5) The CRs and the list of CRs should be publicly accessable (read only).


6) Initial processing of CRs should be handled by the STF. The STF should categorize (analyse) and archive the incoming CRs and notify the senders of any immediate actions that have been taken. The STF will add the CRs to the status list.

7) The STF should be able to address editorial, clarification and possibly minor technical CRs without further referral.

8) Decision on the acceptance of (major) technical CRs should be taken by a third-party designated by MTS, for example a special group set-up for the purpose. However, membership of this group should be restricted (i.e., it cannot grow as large as the TTCN-3 mailing list, which has several hundred members. The STF should provide guidance to this group, possibly proposing alternative solutions where relevant. This group will also set priorities for implementing CRs, deciding on the availability of new editions etc.

9) Discussions on the TTCN-3 mailing list can highlight problems, propose solutions etc. but it shall not be the forum for decision.

Proposed CR Form

The following is an example form. Note that the important thing is which fields are present in this form. The exact layout and structure of the form can be decided at a later date, once MTS is agreed on which information should be present.

TTCN-3 Change Request Form

Field

Description

CR Number

This number should be created by the form application (or by the STF), not the submitter

CR Title

Short, descriptive title

CR Type

Should categorize the CR as one of the following: Editorial, Clarification, Minor Technical, Major Technical

Submitter

Name of person + company submitting the CR

Date

Date of submission

Standard ref(s)

Reference to which part(s) of the standard: ES 201 873-1, ES 201 873-2, ES 201 873-3, ES 201 873-4, TR 101 875, TR 101 874, plus version number

Clause ref(s)

Reference to major clauses related to the CR

Priority

Submitter's estimate of the priority of this CR: High, Medium, Low

Description

Full technical description of the CR

Proposed Solution

Full proposed solution to the problem, including resolving all side-effects in the complete document. This field shall propose a precise revision-marked change of the text of the ES/TR.

<background : this rule is working fine in 3GPP and makes the publication of the next version a pure editirial thing>

Other comments

Optional comments







Tags: mts33, institute, standards, telecommunications, etsimts(01)td007, european