NENA Development Group Guide

Introduction

This document 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 organizational structure and processes described in NENA ADM-001 NENA Development Group Organizational Structure and NENA ADM-002 Document Development and Approval Process. 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 NENA-ADM-001 NENA Development Group Organizational Structure, Section 7.3: Subcommittee and Working Group Chairs/Co-Chairs preside over their Subcommittee/Working Group, and shall coordinate their team efforts to include:

• Ensuring that procedures are followed and meetings are conducted in a fair and efficient manner.
• Understanding and following the NENA Document Development and Approval process document (NENA-ADM-002).
• Utilizing the conference bridge, web and other resources as provided, to collaborate with team members in the development of documents and resolution of Issues assigned by the Development Committee Chair.
• Upon direction from the Development Committee Co-Chairs, review NENA documents to ensure they are still applicable, in accordance with the Document Development and Approval Process document (NENA-ADM-002).
• Directing any conflicts/problems to the Development Committee Co-Chairs for resolution.
• Fulfilling the minimum requirements and direction for any task that could result in an Information, Requirement or Standard Document as established by the Development Committee Co-Chairs.
• Providing periodic updates to their Development Committee Co-Chairs and, if necessary, discuss the activities of their Subcommittee/WG in conference calls with their Development Committee leads, or with the DSC.
• Participating in all Development Committee leadership calls and activities, and participating in DSC calls when necessary.
• Working closely with other standards-setting bodies and related organizations as required.
• Responding to questions from the DSC.
• Providing leadership for and assisting in establishing the NENA Development Conference (NDC), Critical Issues Forums (CIFs), and in developing educational sessions and recruiting speakers for the NENA Annual Conference.
• Submitting Subcommittee/Working Group Scopes & Goals status reports on a quarterly basis (NENA-ADM-006).
• Upon direction from the Development Committee Co-Chairs, provide answers to questions received on nena.org in support of FAQ feature.

How to Manage a Working Group

NENA processes and procedures that govern working group functions are described in NENA-ADM-002. In this section, we’ll describe the details of the working group processes and how they are accomplished using the various NENA resources and tools. Following these guidelines will help working group chairs manage their groups fairly and efficiently.