POSC CGM*PIP - Petroleum Industry Profile for CGM

Resolving CGM*PIP Problems

Introduction

This document describes a systematic method for reaching consensus on interpretation of the CGM*PIP Specification published and maintained by POSC. By having an established mechanism to resolve differences in interpretation, the POSC Plot/Hardcopy Work Group hopes to minimize the cost and confusion associated with having incompatible metafile generators and interpreters in operation. The proposed resolution method is intended to be one in which the interested public may participate, but which will be managed in such a way as to reach decisions in a reasonable amount of time.

Brief Description of the Process

When a difference of opinion concerning the meaning of some part of the CGM*PIP specification document arises, a public discussion of the various interpretations will be initiated. At some point, there will be either a general concensus that one of the assertions is the best, or correct, one; or, the discussion will reach some sort of deadlock, wherein two or more assertions are defended by opposing camps.

When the discussion has evolved to either state, a Referee Process will be activated by the Resolution Committee. The Referee Process may generate questions followed by more public debate. Eventually, the Resolution Committee will select one assertion, or form a combination of the various assertions, and declare it to be the official interpretation. The official interpretation will be made publicly available. The Resolution Committee may also add to or modify the next version of the specification in order to clarify the meaning.

Modes of Discussion

It is anticipated that the public discussion will usually be conducted over the Internet via an "email reflector" maintained by POSC. In addition, there may be open forum discussions which take place in various conference venues, such as the SEG Convention `Birds Of a Feather (BOF)' sessions. In the latter case, it will be necessary for someone to transcribe the conclusions of the BOF and post them to the mail list so all interested parties will be informed.

Resolution Committee

The Resolution Committee is a small group of industry representatives, made up of individuals who are associated with oil companies, metafile generator application developers, metafile interpreter developers, and so on. Most likely, the initial Resolution Committee will be the current Plot/Hardcopy Work Group, an expert CGM consultant, and one or more POSC employees. The Committee operates under the auspices of POSC.

The Resolution Committee will be responsible for entering problem reports and their resolutions in the POSC Request Tracker system, which is the formal mechanism for tracking all POSC requests and problem reports.

Details of the Process

The following discussion portrays in a step by step manner the sequence of events that might occur during the resolution of one set of interpretations of a single statement in the CGM*PIP specification:

Two vendors each implement a feature in different ways, based on their interpretation of the specification. A customer of the two vendors discovers the conflict, and reports it to the vendors.
The customer or one of the vendors sends an email message describing the conflict to the mail list. An open discussion involving some or all the subscribers to the mail list ensues. Each vendor asserts that its interpretation is the correct way to do things.
During the discussion, someone suggests a third way to interpret the specification that is being discussed.
The members of the Resolution Committee have been reading the mail postings and ask some questions to clarify the assertions.
The Resolution Committee logs the various interpretations of the specification that have been offered during the discussion.
- If the problem is simple, the Resolution Committee discusses it, and selects one of the interpretations, or makes some combination of them, to produce the final interpretation.
- If the problem is complex, the Resolution Committee appoints an ad hoc committee to study it and make a recommendation as to the proper resolution. The ad hoc committee returns a recommendation to the Resolution Committee, which may approve the recommendation, modify it, or submit it for public discussion.
When the final interpretation is selected, a notice is posted to the mail list and on the POSC World Wide Web server.
The final interpretation is logged for incorporation into the next revision of the CGM*PIP specification.

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Updated: May 15, 1997. Send questions and comments to webmaster@posc.org
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