<big> '''This Guide is a DRAFT in process '''. </big><big>If you would like to contribute and edit this material, [https://www.nena.org/page/JoinReferences_WG join the References Working Group]. If you find things here that are incorrect or could be improved, please [[Contact Us]].</big> ▼{{BannerProposedChange|date=12/29/2023|after=6780|before=6800|note=This change includes some minor formatting changes and one text change to the bottom row of the table in the column '''General Ballot''' (For Official Use). The change was reviewed and approved by the Document Management Working Group. The rest of this page is still in draft form and awaiting updates based on the approval of NENA-NDG-001.|proposedby=DGA Document Management Working Group}}
▲<big>This Guide is a DRAFT in process. </big><big>If you would like to contribute and edit this material, [https://www.nena.org/page/JoinReferences_WG join the References Working Group]. If you find things here that are incorrect or could be improved, please [[Contact Us]].</big>
== Introduction ==
This page provides guidelines to NENA working group chairs to help them lead their groups in fulfilling the charter that was developed when the group was formed. Our volunteer working group chairs assume considerable responsibilities when they agree to lead a working group. The information presented here is intended to help guide them through the tasks that are often appear to be more complicated than necessary but are required to satisfy the requirements of a Standards Development Organization (SDO) seeking standards accredited by ANSI (American National Standards Institute). ANSI has approved the Document Development and Approval Process described in NENA-ADM-001. Since our working groups play a critical role in document development and approval, it is important that they conform to those provisions when developing documents, and that the processes can be verified. Only then can NENA standards qualify to be classified as ANSI-accredited.
=== Roles and Responsibilities of Working Group Chairs ===
The roles and responsibilities of Subcommittee and Working Group Chairs are described in [httphttps://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nena.org/resource/collectionresmgr/625EAB1D-49B3-4694-B037-8E854B43CA16standards/NENA_ADMnena-001_NDG_Org_Structure_Document_03adm-26001.5b-20122022_final_2.pdf NENA Development Group Organizational Structure (NENA-ADM-001)], Section 7.3:
Subcommittee and Working Group Chairs/Co-Chairs preside over their Subcommittee/Working Group, and shall coordinate their team efforts to include:
*If edits are made to contributions or draft documents, document editor will upload updated material within 5 days using “Add a Revision” in NENA Workspace. Reviewed contributions should be updated until consensus is reached and the contributions can be incorporated into draft documents. Contributions should also be retained in the contributions folder with major contributor identified.
=== Conducting Polls - What you need to know aboutand NENA Workspace Ballots===
Polls are an important part of a working group's activity. Surveys taken during calls using the Zoom's Poll feature or a [[NENA Development Group Guide#Use the Zoom "Chat Window" for quick surveys|Chat Window]] survey only represent the opinions of the meeting's participants but chairs are permitted to make consensus calls based on them if, in the opinion of the chairs, there is overwhelming consensus on the issue. For polls that include the entire group (or the designated voters), NENA Workspace provides two types of ballots to conduct polls. They are used to determine the preferences of the members and are also used to determine whether groups have the consensus required to publish documents.
See [[Conducting Polls and NENA Workspace Ballots]] for a complete guide on using NENA Workspace Ballots.
Background and help from Higher Logic (NWS host) is available on their [https://support.higherlogic.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033057371-Working-with-Ballots Working with Ballots] page.
The "'''Approval Ballot'''" is the official ballot for approving documents. To set up an Approval Ballot see [[Help for Setting Up an Approval Ballot on NENA_Workspace]]. For polling other than official, document approval, NENA Workspace provides what it calls a "'''General''' '''Ballot'''". Those ballots may either be a Consensus Ballot or a General Ballot, depending on how they are configured.
This table describes the primary differences between the three (3) ballot types and how they are used in [https://www.nena.org/page/NENAOrgStructure ADM-001 NENA Development Group Organizational Structure and Operational Procedures]:
====A ballot type comparison table.====
{| class="wikitable"
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;" |
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;" |'''Approval Ballot'''
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;" |'''General Ballot'''
(For Official Use)
| align="center" style="background:#f0f0f0;" |'''General Ballot'''
(For Unofficial Use)
|+NENA Workspace Ballot Type Comparison
|Ballot Type Summary
| '''Approval Ballot'''<br>
Used to determine consensus required to move a document forward in the document approval process.
|'''Consensus Ballot'''<br>
Used for matters other than document approvals requiring consensus.
|'''General Ballot'''<br>
Used for informal agreement of non-document matters.
|-
|Can ballot be used to determine official consensus?|| colspan="2" align="center" |Yes.
|No
|-
| When '''must''' the ballot be used?
|
When the candidate document is ready for publication.
|To determine official consensus on matters other than document approvals.
|Not required.
|-
| When '''should''' the ballot be used?
|When the candidate document is ready for publication.
|
*To gain official consensus on matters other than document approval or
*When consensus on an issue or disputed text is required and it is possible that the opinions expressed on a call may not be representative of the entire consensus body or
*Deciding on whether or not to accept disputed responses to review comments.
|
*To sample the entire group's opinion.
*To get the group's preferences in choosing from multiple options.
*To get opinions on non document-related issues.
|-
|Who can create the ballot?|| colspan="3" align="center" |Committee Resource Manager (CRM), Working Group Chair, or Committee Chair
|-
|Who can vote?|| colspan="2" |Officially designated voters as defined in [https://www.nena.org/page/NENAOrgStructure NENA-ADM-001]. The [[Consensus Body]] for NENA document approvals is made up of the independent individuals and Participating Entities whose Working Group representatives participate in the Official Ballots, including the Approval Ballots to approve the content of an ANS standard and whose vote demonstrates evidence of agreement..
|Anyone on the roster.
|-
|How to select in Workspace?||
# Select "Documents" in the left menu.
#Navigate to the document requiring approval.
#In the "Edit" drop-down menu, select "Create Approval Ballot."
#Complete the form(s).
|
#Select "Ballots" in the left menu.
#Click on the green "Add" button. (Not the drop-down arrow).
#Check "Official Ballot" check box.
#Complete the form(s).
|
*Select "Ballots" in the left menu.
*Click on the green "Add" button. (Not the drop-down arrow).
*Uncheck "Official Ballot" check box.
*Complete the form(s).
|-
|Answer Options||Restricted to "Yes"/"No"/"Abstain"|| colspan="2" align="center" |Flexible. May be "Yes"/"No"/"Abstain" or Multiple Choice
|-
|Is there a minimum required participation?||Yes, 50% of eligible entities must vote for a valid decision on approval. A vote may be "Yes," "No." or "Abstain."||Yes, 50% of eligible entities must vote for a valid decision on approval. A vote may be "Yes," "No." or "Abstain" or multiple choice.
|No. The interpretation of the ballot results are left to the Working Group members and may guide the WG leaders.
|-
|What happens if participation does not reach 50%?
| colspan="2" |If 50% participation is not reached, the ballot should be [[Recirculation Ballot|recirculated]] so that voters who have not voted may vote, and voters may change their vote. Otherwise, existing votes remain valid. Participation may be increased by encouraging members to use the "Abstain" option and by removing members who did not vote.
|Discretion on accepting ballot results and participation level is left to the ballot originator with consideration given to the importance of the ballot.
|-
|What is threshold of votes to indicate consensus and approval?||A document is approved when 2/3 of designated voters casting ballots vote to approve (not counting abstentions).
|If two options appear on a ballot, consensus is achieved when one option gains two-thirds of the vote. If more than two options appear on the ballot and no one position gains two-thirds of the votes, the top two options determined by the votes cast will be used in a second ballot.
|Official consensus is not determined using an unofficial ballot.
|}
==How Issues are Processed==
Every comment, no matter how it is submitted, must be entered into the NENA Workspace "Comment Manager". The Comment Manager tracks the process by which the comment is received, reviewed by the working group, and the resolution communicated back to the comment submitter. The Comment Manager also captures the submitter's response to the working group's action.
When completing fields in the NENA Workspace Comment Manager, the field names should be interpreted as described in the [[Help for NWS Comment States Resolutions and ResponsesResponse]].
==Reporting Status==
| 