ARTS Operations Guide Version 1.0.0

Transcription

1 ARTS Operations Guide Version This version approved by ARTS Board of Directors July 18, 2013 (Replaces ARTS Consolidated Process V6.0.6) Original Authors and Contributors: Jerry Rightmer, 360Commerce Hollis Posey, IBM Ann McCool, RadioShack Tim Hood, Triversity Paul Gay, Epson Richard Mader, ARTS Richard Halter, ARTS Lynn Myers, Lowes Companies, Inc. Kirstin Wright, Retail Anywhere Chairman: Jerry Rightmer, Starmount This version revised by Richard Halter, ARTS, with assistance from: Jerry Rightmer, Starmount, Inc. Bart McGlothin, Cisco David Dorf, Oracle Karen Shunk, NRF Tom Litchford, NRF Copyright National Retail Federation All rights reserved. This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published, and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or the references to the NRF, ARTS, or its committees, except as needed for the purpose of developing ARTS standards using procedures approved by the National Retail Federation or as required to translate it into languages other than English. The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be revoked by the National Retail Federation or its successors or assigns.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ARTS Mission Overview Mission ARTS Organization ARTS Board Executive Director Executive Committee (EC) Communications Committee (CC) Charter Team (CT) Work Teams (WT) Data Subcommittee (DSC) UnifiedPOS Subcommittee (UPOS) Business Process Model Subcommittee (BPM) ARTS Governance and Processes ARTS Board Membership Board Sponsorship Responsibilities Voting Rules Meetings Officers Executive Director Executive Committee Membership Voting Rules Meetings Charter Team (CT) Lifespan Membership Leadership Voting Rules Meetings Work Teams (WT) Lifespan Membership Leadership Voting Rules Meetings Technical Subcommittees (BPM, Data, UnifiedPOS) Lifespan Membership Leadership Voting Rules Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 2

3 3.6.5 Meetings Board Committees (Communications) Lifespan Membership Leadership Voting Rules Meetings Development Processes Overview Charters Technical Specification Development Process Timing Deliverables Technical Specification Submission Process Overview Process Flow Deliverables Information Work Product Development Process Overview Process Flow Timing Deliverables Development Rules Best Practices Member and Public Comment Response Public Posting of Work Product ARTS Standards Lifecycle Managment Overview Problem/Enhancement Definition Design Development Release Sunset Policy references Policy, Charter and Process Guidelines ARTS IP Policy ARTS Charter Deliverable Artifacts Artifact Maturity Levels Versioning Guidelines Document Naming Document Formats and Templates Copyrights and Disclaimers Process Support Documents Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 3

4 6.4 Development and Publication Tools Work Product Posting Rules Definitions Appendix Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 4

5 1. ARTS MISSION 1.1 Overview The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) was established in 1993 to enable the rapid implementation of technology within the retail industry by developing standards to ease integration of software applications and hardware devices. 1.2 Mission The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the National Retail Federation is an international membership organization dedicated to reducing the costs of technology through standards. Its mission is to develop best practices, technology standards and educational programs through collaboration and partnerships that will enable retailers, their vendors and suppliers to conduct business globally. ARTS standards, products and programs are dedicated to fostering innovation, improving shopper experience, and increasing retailer efficiency. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 5

6 2. ARTS ORGANIZATION 2.1 ARTS Board Figure 1: ARTS Organization The ARTS Board is made up of executives in the retail and vendor communities. The board with input from other ARTS communities is responsible for the roadmap and strategic direction for ARTS. They monitor the budget and progress against the roadmap. The board approves work products which are ready for release as an ARTS Standard. 2.2 Executive Director The NRF will appoint an ARTS Executive Director who will be the chief administrator of ARTS for the NRF. The Executive Director will manage the day-to-day operations of ARTS and report to a senior executive of NRF. 2.3 Executive Committee (EC) The primary function of the executive committee is to function when the ARTS Board is not in session. The Executive Committee takes the strategic direction from the ARTS Board and Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 6

7 develops the tactical plans to implement. It launches various work teams to define the requirements for the individual work products. After approving the requirements, the EC involves the appropriate technical committees to implement the requirements. Then review and approve the output for initial release to the public or promotion to the full ARTS Board. 2.4 Communications Committee (CC) The Communications Committee, working with the NRF communications and events staff, is responsible for coordinating planning and creating content for marketing, events, training and communications about ARTS to the public. 2.5 Charter Team (CT) The Charter Team is an ad hoc committee whose job is to take the guidance from the EC and create a charter to establish the content and limits for the next release of a standard around the proposed subject area and/or version. 2.6 Work Teams (WT) Launched by the Executive Committee, ARTS Work Teams focus their domain expertise to create requirements to meet the needs defined in their charter. This includes but is not limited to working with the appropriate subcommittee to add content to the ARTS Data Model, creating/updating XML Schemas, providing RFP content and Business Process Model input. Work teams are responsible for coordinating the efforts of these subcommittees. 2.7 Data Subcommittee (DSC) The mission of the ARTS Data Subcommittee is to maintain the ARTS Data Models and XML Schemas so that retail systems constructed by the ARTS membership using the ARTS work products will be able to inter-operate with reduced integration costs. 2.8 UnifiedPOS Subcommittee (UPOS) The mission of Unified Point of Service, UnifiedPOS, is to produce an Application Interface specification that is platform independent (language and Operating System neutral) for Point of Service devices used in the retail environment. This committee evaluates new technologies that are available in proprietary solutions and creates a standard definition for application function for exploiting the device category. The scope may include the programming and/or management model for the device and both local and browser access interfaces. It is the intent of this standard to allow for interoperability between standard applications and standard devices from multiple providers by defining an architecture for application interface to retail devices and a set of retail device behaviors sufficient to support a range of POS solutions. 2.9 Business Process Model Subcommittee (BPM) The Business Process Model Subcommittee is charged with creating and maintaining the ARTS Business Process Model. The BPM, in conjunction with the appropriate Subcommittee, is responsible for creating the individual BPM diagrams to support the requirements approved by the EC. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 7

8 3. ARTS GOVERNANCE AND PROCESSES 3.1 ARTS Board Membership A. The ARTS Board will consist of retailers and vendors and service providers to the industry who are members of ARTS and may be of such size as determined by the board but in any event no larger than 25 members. B. The majority of board members should be retailers. C. Board members are expected to hold a position as a decision-maker within their company that includes budgetary responsibility. D. Membership. Membership on the board is by individual. E. Term. Board members will serve a term of two years and may be reelected. F. Removal. ARTS Board members are expected to participate fully in ARTS activities, and anyone who does not attend two consecutive meetings without a valid excuse will be considered to have relinquished their position. The Board may also remove members for failure to comply with these rules or the NRF Council Guidelines. G. Vacancies. Vacancies outside the election cycle will be filled by majority vote of the existing Board. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 8

9 H. Delegates. The elected board member is expected to attend the board meetings. They are the ones who have intimate knowledge of ARTS, therefore delegates are discouraged. Accordingly any delegates require prior approval by the board. I. Elections. Board members will be elected by the existing Board from a slate of candidates prepared by the ARTS leadership with the approval of NRF Board Sponsorship Responsibilities A Board Member should sponsor at least one work team during their term. The Sponsor of a work team has the following responsibilities: A. At least monthly, discuss with the work team or work team chair progress and challenges to offer advice and counsel. B. Assist the Executive Director and chair to recruit members for team/committee where appropriate. C. Make a reasonable effort to have a representative of their company participate on the team/committee. D. Promote the adoption of the sponsored standard within their organization. E. Supplement the appropriate chair report to the Board Voting Rules A. For Proposed Recommendations to the public, a simple majority of the ARTS Board is required to approve. B. The Board may decide other matters by majority vote of the quorum. C. Voting may be conducted electronically (by phone, fax, or electronic mail). D. In the event that a member of the Board cannot attend a meeting, he or she may issue a written proxy to the Chair for any specific vote which is known to be scheduled in advance of the meeting Meetings A. The ARTS Board will meet a minimum of three times each year, including the Annual Meeting which will be scheduled as part of the NRF Annual Convention. B. Other brief audio or video meetings will be scheduled with appropriate notice to all members either by posting to the Web Site or in writing. C. NRF staff will be responsible for performing and coordinating meeting planning. D. Quorum. ARTS Board of Directors meeting may be conducted when at least 51% of the directors are present. E. Robert s Rules of Order. Current edition of Robert s Rules of Order will be used to govern all meetings Officers A. Primary leadership of the Board is provided by the Chair and Vice Chair. B. The ARTS Board will elect a chairman and a vice chairman to serve a term of no more than two years. Both positions must be filled by retail members of the Board. C. The vice chairman will be eligible to succeed the chairman, but will not automatically assume that position. D. Subcommittee chairs may be elected as needed and as determined by the Board. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 9

10 E. The chairman will preside at all Board meetings at which he or she is present, and the chairman will assist NRF staff in the development of meeting agendas. In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman or other Board officer will preside at Board meetings. F. The chairman and other board officers will work with members of the Board and NRF staff to ensure the charter and policies of ARTS are upheld, the strategic plan is accomplished, and the interests of the retail industry and NRF are promoted. G. Board members will be invited to submit nominations for Chairman and Vice Chairman. Those nominations will be considered by the current Chairman and NRF in developing a slate of officers that will be presented to the existing Board for a vote. 3.2 Executive Director The Executive Director will be responsible for ensuring the efficacy of ARTS and its role as technology standards developer for the retail industry, including but not limited to the following functions: A. Ensuring the smooth, efficient working order of the ARTS' operation at all times in keeping with overall NRF objectives. B. Staffing ARTS' Executive Committee and Board meetings. C. Chairing or Staffing Sub-Committee Meetings. D. Serving as liaison with outside organizations such as the UCC, VICS, and the Open Group. E. Providing advice to NRF conferences, publications, (e.g. STORES Magazine), and other staff on issues related to ARTS' activities, as appropriate. F. Working with the NRF Communities, particularly the CIO Council, identify, plan, and develop relevant and appropriate technology standards, guidelines, best practices and educational programs to meet and anticipate the needs of the retail industry. The CIO Council or other NRF Communities such as CFO Council, LP, RAMA and Shop.org should identify the needed standards and provide the endorsement to make them standards. ARTS will develop standards through the direct involvement of both retailers and vendors which provides a forum to resolve differing views and reaching consensus. G. Providing regular reports on activities and plans to NRF communities, committees and bodies, as appropriate. 3.3 Executive Committee Membership A. The ARTS Executive Committee consists of members from the Board of Directors including the Chair, Vice Chair, and at-large members as determined by the ARTS Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 10

11 Executive Director. At Large Executive Committee Members are appointed by the Executive Director for a term of one year and may be reappointed. B. Removal. An Executive Committee member who does not attend two consecutive meetings shall have abandoned their position Voting Rules A. The Executive Committee will take actions and represent the ARTS Board as appropriate. Actions of the Executive Committee will be ratified at the next Board meeting, or by notification and response through other media if appropriate. B. A simple majority of the Executive Committee is required to approve motions, considerations and the promotion of ARTS work products Meetings A. The Executive Committee will meet on a monthly basis except for those months where the full Board is scheduled to meet and/or as the Executive Director specifies. B. Executive Committee meetings require a majority attendance to conduct formal ARTS business. C. ARTS staff will be responsible for performing and coordinating meeting planning. D. Meeting Notices. Meetings are to be scheduled in a manner that provides adequate notice to all members. E. Robert s Rules of Order.. Current edition of Robert s Rules of Order will be used to govern all meetings. 3.4 Charter Team (CT) Lifespan A. Creation. The Charter Team is an ad hoc team convened by the EC to write a charter based on a statement of work, The Charter Team must develop the team charter based on the scope defined by the Executive Committee within 90 days of the formation of the team. B. Disbanding. The Charter Team ceases to exist when the charter has been approved Membership A. Representation. All members of a charter team must be a representative of an ARTS member company in good standing or invited guests. B. Minimum Team Membership. A Charter Team will be three (3) or more participants from at least three (3) member companies, one of which should be the representative of a retailer ARTS member company Leadership A. Chair The Executive Director will appoint the chair to lead the development of the charter. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 11

12 B. Chair Responsibility - The chair shall be responsible for managing all meetings of the charter team and providing minutes of the proceedings of all meetings to the Executive Committee Voting Rules A. A simple majority of the charter team votes is required to approve motions, considerations and the promotion of the work product to the Executive Committee Meetings A. Schedules. Each charter team will be responsible for scheduling its own meetings. Virtual Meeting schedules will be determined by the work team. B. Non-Member Guest Attendance. Non-ARTS member guests may attend no more than one charter team meeting and must agree in writing to comply with all provisions of the ARTS IP Policy. 3.5 Work Teams (WT) Lifespan A. Creation. Upon the creation of an approved charter the executive committee recruits a work team. A member of the Board must agree to sponsor the work team. B. Disbanding. Work Teams will disband when their assignment is completed as indicated by ARTS Board approval of the Proposed Recommendation. The Executive Committee with the consent of the ARTS Board can disband work teams that do not meet their published timelines or follow the development process documented herein. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 12

13 3.5.2 Membership A. Representation. All members of a work team must be a representative of an ARTS member company in good standing and formally agree to participate on the work team or an invited guest. B. Minimum Team Membership. A Work Team will be three (3) or more participants from at least three (3) member companies, one of which should be the representative of a retailer ARTS member company. C. Maximum Team Membership. An ARTS member company representative may only be a member of two Work Teams within one Subcommittee concurrently. Organizations that wish serve on additional work teams may appoint additional representatives to join work teams. A member company may have a maximum of two representatives on any work team. D. Commitment. A team member must have access to the Internet and is expected to commit at least 10 hours a month to the work team. Those who wish to contribute to the project but are unable to commit that amount of time will be asked to conduct periodic reviews of draft releases when published on the web and will be identified on work products as Contributors rather than work team members. E. Participation. Members of the work teams should have retail domain expertise applicable to the charter of the Work Team. To satisfy ARTS IP requirements, each work team member must commit either in person during a face-to-face meeting or by to participate in the work team. F. Removal. Any member that does not continue to meet the requirements of membership will be removed from the Work Team. Notification - The Chair of the work team will notify the member in question of their impending removal. Probation Period - The member in question will be given three months to correct the membership issue. Vote for Removal - If the issue is not corrected the Subcommittee will vote by simple majority to remove the member. The member in question must abstain from the vote Leadership A. Chair - Each work team shall elect a chairman by majority vote of the participating members. B. Chair Responsibility - The chair shall be responsible for managing all meetings of the work team and providing minutes of the proceedings of all meetings to the Executive Committee. Meeting minutes must record motions, suggestions, contributions and agreements to join the work team by named individuals and the company they represent Voting Rules A. A simple majority of the work team votes is required to approve motions, considerations and the promotion of the work product to the Executive Committee. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 13

14 B. A member company may have up to two representatives on a work team but each company is limited to one vote. C. Voting Methodology. Voting may be done in person during a work team meeting or E- mail votes. If voting is done by , up to fourteen (14) days shall be allowed for votes to be cast by from the date the call to vote is issued by the applicable work team chair. Failure to vote within the 14 day period will be considered an abstention Meetings A. Schedules. Each work team will be responsible for scheduling its own meetings. Virtual Meeting schedules will be determined by the work team. Typically they will be once a week or every other week for an hour. B. Face-To-Face Meetings. Members are expected to attend the quarterly face-to-face meetings. On their own, work teams may schedule additional face-to-face meetings if they determine this is necessary to complete their work. C. Work Team Agenda. Chairs of work teams are responsible for driving agendas required to complete the necessary work. D. Quorum. ARTS work team meetings requires a minimum of 3 members to form a quorum. E. Robert s Rules of Order. Current edition of Robert s Rules of Order will be used to govern all meetings. F. Non-Member Guest Attendance. Non-ARTS member guests may attend no more than one work team meeting and must agree in writing to comply with all provisions of the ARTS IP Policy. G. Member Guest Attendance. An ARTS member representative who is not a participating member of a work team may attend up to two meetings of a work team as a guest without becoming a participating member of the work team. Work team members may attend an unlimited number of meetings of work teams organized under the work team on which they serve. Meetings are defined as scheduled conference calls or face to face, in which the business of the work team is discussed. 3.6 Technical Subcommittees (BPM, Data, UnifiedPOS) Lifespan A. Creation. Technical Subcommittees are created by the ARTS Board. B. Disbanding. Disbanding a Technical Subcommittee requires a vote by the ARTS Board Membership A. Representation. An ARTS member company including its subsidiaries may have only one voting representative on a Technical Subcommittee. B. Minimum Members. All technical subcommittees must contain a minimum of five members that should include one or more retailer representatives. The initial members of a technical subcommittee will be appointed by the Executive Committee. Additional Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 14

15 membership will be by majority vote of the then members from requests for committee membership received by the committee chair from qualified ARTS members. C. Maximum Members. The maximum number of members of a Technical Subcommittee will be established by each Technical Subcommittee. D. Participation. Members of the technical subcommittees should have detailed technical expertise applicable to support the output from the Work Team. To satisfy ARTS IP requirements, each technical subcommittee member must commit either in person during a face-to-face meeting or by to participate in the technical subcommittee. Participation on all Subcommittees is available only to members of ARTS in good standing that have accepted the ARTS IP Policy. To serve on a Technical Subcommittee the ARTS member company representative must agree to participate in writing or by declaration in approved meeting minutes and commit to attend at least 2 of every 4 committee meetings, accept work assignments beyond committee meeting of a minimum of 10 hours per month and have high speed internet access. E. Removal. Any member that does not continue to meet the requirements of membership will be removed from the Technical Subcommittee. Removal from the Technical Subcommittee for any other reason must be initiated by the Chair or by a motion from the committee. The Chair of the Technical Subcommittee will notify the member in question of their impending removal. The member in question will be given three months to correct the membership issue. If the issue is not corrected the Technical Subcommittee will vote by simple majority to remove the member. The member in question must abstain from the vote Leadership A. Each Technical Subcommittee will elect by separate ballots a chair and vice chair from its membership by majority vote of all committee members to serve a one year term, and may be re-elected to a second consecutive one year term. If willing to serve, the vice chair will automatically assume the position of chair on the resignation, removal or expiration of the second term of the chair Voting Rules A. Quorum. A simple majority of the membership of the Technical Subcommittee must be present in any meeting to conduct official business. B. Policy Vote. Matters of policy or approval of specification must be decided by a twothirds vote of Technical Subcommittee membership. C. Other Motions. A simple majority of the Technical Subcommittee is required to approve other motions and considerations. D. How to Vote. Voting may be done in person during Technical Subcommittee meetings or by . voting must be used if sufficient members of Subcommittee are not present in a meeting or conference call. For example a minimum of two-thirds of the membership must be present to vote on matters of policy or approval of specification. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 15

16 At least seven days shall be allowed for votes to be cast by from the date the call to vote is issued by the applicable Technical Subcommittee chair. E. Voting Requirement. Vote must be cast as Yes, No or Abstain on all motions and calls for voting to approve specifications. Comments are required on No votes indicating recommended modifications. Comments may be provided on Yes and/or Abstain votes. A member may vote Yes and suggest enhancement, but may not vote conditionally. If the call for voting to approve fails to obtain the required two-thirds Yes vote, the Subcommittee chair will take appropriate actions to enhance the specification based on comments and call for a re-vote as soon and possible Meetings A. Scheduling. Meetings of the Technical Subcommittees are called by the elected chairs of the respective Technical Subcommittee or the ARTS Executive Director. B. Face-To-Face Meetings. Members are expected to attend the quarterly face-to-face meetings. On their own, work teams may schedule additional face-to-face meetings if they determine this is necessary to complete their work. C. Attendance. All members of ARTS in good standing are invited to send representatives to these meetings. D. Robert s Rules of Order. Current edition of Robert s Rules of Order will be used to govern all meetings 3.7 Board Committees (Communications) Lifespan A. Creation. Board Committees are created by the ARTS Board. B. Disbanding. Disbanding a Board Committee requires a vote by the ARTS Board Membership A. Representation. An ARTS member company including its subsidiaries may have only one voting representative on a Board Committee. B. Minimum Members. All Board Committees must contain a minimum of five members that should include one or more retailer representatives. The initial members of a Board Committee will be appointed by the Executive Committee. Additional membership will be by majority vote of the then members from requests for committee membership received by the committee chair from qualified ARTS members. C. Maximum Members. The maximum number of members of a Board Committee will be established by each Board Committee. D. Participation. Participation on all Board Committees is available only to members of ARTS in good standing. To serve on a Board Committee the ARTS member company representative must agree to participate in writing or by declaration in approved meeting minutes and commit to attend at least 2 of every 4 committee meetings, accept work assignments beyond committee meeting of a minimum of 10 hours per month and have high speed internet access.. Membership on a Board Committee will be by Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 16

17 majority vote of the then members from requests for committee membership received by the committee chair from qualified ARTS member. E. Removal. Any member that does not continue to meet the requirements of membership will be removed from the Board Committee. Removal from the Board Committee for any other reason must be initiated by the Chair or by a motion from the committee. The Chair of the Board Committee will notify the member in question of their impending removal. The member in question will be given three months to correct the membership issue. If the issue is not corrected the Board Committee will vote by simple majority to remove the member. The member in question must abstain from the vote Leadership A. Each Board Committee will elect by separate ballots a chair and vice chair from its membership by majority vote of all committee members to serve a one year term, and may be re-elected to a second consecutive one year term. If willing to serve, the vice chair will automatically assume the position of chair on the resignation, removal or expiration of the second term of the chair Voting Rules A. Quorum. A simple majority of the membership of the Board Committee must be present in any meeting to conduct official business. B. How to Vote. Voting may be done in person during Board Committee meetings or by . voting must be used if sufficient members of Board Committee are not present in a meeting or conference call. At least seven days shall be allowed for votes to be cast by from the date the call to vote is issued by the applicable Board Committee chair Meetings A. Scheduling. Meetings of the Board Committees are called by the elected chairs of the respective Board Committee or the ARTS Executive Director. B. Face-To-Face Meetings. Members are expected to attend the quarterly face-to-face meetings. On their own, work teams may schedule additional face-to-face meetings if they determine this is necessary to complete their work. C. Attendance. All members of ARTS in good standing are invited to send representatives to these meetings. Member representative may participate as members of the Board Committee or as guests. D. Robert s Rules of Order. Current edition of Robert s Rules of Order will be used to govern all meetings Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 17

18 4. DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES This section describes the key ARTS processes that result in the publication of technical specifications, white papers, data models, and other ARTS products. The processes described in this section must be followed if an ARTS work product is to be published to members or the public. Deviating from these processes is a violation of the ARTS IP Policy. 4.1 Overview The key development processes used by ARTS work teams and sub-committees required to publish and maintain ARTS work products are described in this section. One process governs the development of Technical Specifications and the other process governs the development of informational work products such as white papers, blueprints, and technical reports. This section also defines a process for the acceptance of third-part submissions for inclusion in ARTS work products. Technical Specifications are developed by Work Teams guided by Charters and formed by the Executive Committee. Other ARTS work products intended to be published to ARTS members or the public are covered in a shorter process and may be developed by work teams or sub-committees. Processes define the steps for development, IP research and disclosure, technical review and approval for external publication and approval as a recommended standard. All review periods provided for in this section include review for technical accuracy and completeness and for identification of intellectual property within the document being reviewed. 4.2 Charters All processes must begin with a Charter approved by the ARTS Executive Committee. A charter defines the scope and intent of a work team efforts and it allows the Executive Committee to manage the work done by work teams and Subcommittees. Charters are required by the ARTS IP Policy for any work product published by ARTS. The charter must be maintained throughout the development process and posted as a separate document for downloading by members and public. 4.3 Technical Specification Development Process This section defines the steps necessary to develop an ARTS product. The steps follow the Maturity Model described in Section beginning with Working Draft, and proceeding through Last Call Working Draft, Candidate Recommendation, and Proposed Recommendation to ARTS Recommendation. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 18

19 The following diagram summarizes the process described below: The detailed process is as follows: A. Working Draft (see section for definition) version of the Technical Specification, defined as a work in progress document, is created according the rules specified in Section 5.1 B. The Work Team conducts the initial review for intellectual property inclusion and infringement, conformance with the approved scope specified in the charter, and technical quality and consistency with other ARTS standards and published guidelines. C. The Work Team requests input from the appropriate sub-committees for content. It is the Work Team s responsibility to ensure the content provided by sub-committees is consistent with the charter and consistent across contributions from supporting sub-committees. Examples of content include business process diagrams, XML definitions, data definitions and schemas. D. The Work Team will incorporate all contributed content into the Working Draft for review by the Work Team. E. The Work Team votes per Voting Rules section of this document to approve the Working Draft. When approved by the Work Team, the document is promoted to Last Call Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 19

20 Working Draft and is submitted by the Work Team chair to the chair of the Executive Committee for review and approval. F. The Chair of the Executive Committee will provide the Executive Committee written notice of a Last Call Working Draft review period of no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days. The Executive Committee will review the Last Call Working Draft for intellectual property inclusion; conformance with the approved scope specified in the charter, and technical quality and consistency with other ARTS standards and published guidelines. After 60 but not longer than 90 days the Chair of the Executive Committee will call for a vote to approve the Last Call Working Draft. G. The Executive Committee will vote on approving the Last Call Working Draft per Voting Rules section of this document. Approval requires a two-thirds vote of Executive Committee membership and can be conducted in meeting or allowing 7 days for voting. If the Last Call Working draft is not approved it will be returned to the work team for modification, and reprocessing beginning at step C above. H. When the Executive Committee approves the Last Call Working Draft version of the Technical Specification it is promoted to Candidate Recommendation and is posted to the member area of the ARTS web site for member comment for a period of no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days. If the Post Conditions defined below are applicable, the members and/or public review period is reduced to 30 days. I. Comments received by non-members of ARTS must be provided with a signed copy of the Form of License Agreement for Public Comment and Non-Member Feedback as provided for in the ARTS IP Policy to be received and considered. J. All comments received from the website posting are to be logged, documented and acknowledged by the ARTS staff and provided to the Work Team. K. At the end of the member and/or public comment period the ARTS staff will provide all comments to the appropriate Work Team for consideration and/or assignment to the Work Team for creation of a new version of the Technical Specification. L. The revised version of the Candidate Recommendation will be submitted to the Executive Committee for vote to promote the Candidate Recommendation to a Proposed Recommendation. If the comments had been assigned to a work team for consideration, the work team must vote to approve the revised Technical Specification to the Executive Committee per Voting Rules Section of this document. M. When the Executive Committee approves the Candidate Recommendation for promotion to the status of Proposed Recommendation, then it is submitted to the ARTS Board for approval. N. The ARTS Board will review the Technical Specification for inclusion of intellectual property and conformance to the approved scope and within 30 days vote to approve by simple majority to either publish the Proposed Recommendation or send it back to the Work Team for modification and approval beginning at step J above. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 20

21 O. If the ARTS Board approves the Proposed Standard per Voting Rules: Section the Technical Specification is posted to the public area of the ARTS website for member or public comment for a period of no less than 30 days. P. All comments are logged, acknowledged and documented by the ARTS staff for consideration by the Executive Committee. Q. At the end of the public comment period the ARTS Board will consider all comments and decide if the Work Team should be directed to make further revisions. If the Work Team is directed to make further revision the process begins again at step J above. R. When the ARTS Board approves the Proposed Recommendation per Voting Rules Section it will be promoted to an ARTS Recommendation once two or more vendors or one retailer has implemented the Proposed Recommendation. With the ARTS Board approval of the Proposed Recommendation the creating Work Team will be abolished. Post conditions: Periodically it may be necessary to modify an ARTS standard after approval by the ARTS Board or where it has been accepted as a mature standard as in the instance of the Data Model and UnifiedPOS, as on-going maintenance and enhancements are the normal course of business. In these situations since all parties, both ARTS members and the public, have had adequate time to review the standard for intellectual property and technical accuracy during the original approval process, new versions of any previously approved standard will be subject to a 30-day member or public review period prior to general release as a revised standard. To be within this post condition 30 day modification provision, the ARTS work product must be within the scope of the original charter, or a new work team will be created and the multiple review process will apply. Maintenance and enhancement of all Technical Specifications will be the provided by the associated Subcommittee either by direct involvement, creation of a new work team or assignment to ARTS staff under Executive Committee oversight Timing The following table summarized the approval timings listed above, where the first number is the minimum time allotted for review prior to vote and the second number (if given) is the maximum time allotted for review. Phase WT EC BOD Members Public LCWD 0/14 60/90 N/A N/A N/A CR 0/14 * N/A 60/90 N/A PR 0/14 * 0/30 N/A 30 * see standard voting rules Deliverables The Technical Specification Development Process results in one or more Technical Specifications adhering to the rules defined in Section Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 21

22 4.4 Technical Specification Submission Process Overview This process is used by companies or associations to submit technical materials as input to ARTS Work Teams or Subcommittees. Any materials submitted become the property of ARTS. Parties providing materials must complete a Transfer of Property Form. Software code may not be submitted for incorporation in to an ARTS Specification. All accepted submitted materials will be assigned to a work team for development into a Technical Specification. ARTS is not obligated to accept submissions. If a submission is accepted the contributor will be acknowledged on the ARTS website and in other ARTS documents and presentation unless the submitter requests to remain anonymous. Representatives of the submitting organization may participate on the work team if one is created to use the submission the development of the Technical Specification Process Flow The following section summarizes the main process flow for submitting materials for use in developing an ARTS technical specification. Preconditions: An organization has approached the ARTS Board or Executive Director with materials to submit as input into a Technical Specification. These materials must be relevant to the scope and mission of ARTS and the organization must be willing to submit them under the terms of the ARTS IP Policy. Software code may not be submitted for incorporation in to an ARTS Specification. A. The submitting organization completes a Property Transfer Form granting all rights to ARTS. B. The submitting organization submits the submission document and supporting materials to ARTS and complies with all legal transfer of ownership provisions as defined by NRF-ARTS attorneys. C. The ARTS Board reviews the submission and votes to accept the submission Deliverables The deliverable resulting from this process is the Technical Specification Submission Document, which includes the following information: Submission Overview Scope of Request IP Position Statement Artifact Inventory Contacts The submission document must be signed by an authorized agent of the submitting organization to indicate the organization s willing submission of the document to ARTS. The Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 22

23 document must include a statement regarding the intellectual property status of the work submitted. 4.5 Information Work Product Development Process Overview Information Work Products are the published output of Work Teams or Subcommittees formed by the Board or Executive Committee not classified as Technical Specifications. This Process document is an example of an ARTS Information Work Product. ARTS members do not implement based on information work products, so the governance model is less involved than the process used for Technical Specifications. The development process is described here Process Flow The following chart summarizes the main process flow for creating a new version/revision/modification of an Information Work Product: The detailed process is as follows: A. Working Draft (see section for definition) version of the Work Product, defined as a work in progress document, is created according the rules specified in Section 0. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 23

24 B. The Work Team conducts the initial review for intellectual property inclusion and infringement, conformance with the approved scope specified in the charter, and technical quality and consistency with other ARTS standards and published guidelines. C. The Work Team requests input from the appropriate Subcommittees for content. It is the Work Team s responsibility to ensure the content provided by Subcommittees is consistent with the charter and with consistent between supporting Subcommittees. Examples of content include business process diagrams, XML schemas, data models and data definitions. D. The Work Team will incorporate all contributed content into the Working Draft for review by the Work Team. E. The Work Team votes per Voting Rules section of this document to approve the Working Draft. When approved by the Work Team, the document is promoted to Last Call Working Draft and is submitted by the Work Team chair to the chair of the Executive Committee for review and approval. F. The Chair of the Executive Committee will provide the Executive Committee written notice of a Last Call Working Draft review period of no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days. The Executive Committee will review the Last Call Working Draft for intellectual property inclusion; conformance with the approved scope specified in the charter, and technical quality and consistency with other ARTS standards and published guidelines. After 60 but not longer than 90 days the Chair of the Executive Committee will call for a vote to approve the Last Call Working Draft. G. The Executive Committee will vote on approving the Last Call Working Draft per Voting Rules section of this document. Approval requires a two-thirds vote of Executive Committee membership and can be conducted in meeting or allowing 7 days for voting. If the Last Call Working draft is not approved it will be returned to the work team for modification, and reprocessing beginning at step C above. H. When the Executive Committee approves the Last Call Working Draft version of the Work Product it is promoted to Candidate Release and is posted to the member area of the ARTS web site for member comment for a period of no less than 60 days and no more than 90 days. If the Post Conditions defined below are applicable, the members and/or public review period is reduced to 30 days. I. Comments received by non-members of ARTS must be provided with a copy of the Form of License Agreement for Public Comment and Non-Member Feedback signed by an authorized agent of the submitting organization as provided for in the ARTS IP Policy to be received and considered. J. All comments received from the website posting are to be logged, documented and acknowledged by the ARTS staff and provided to the Work Team. K. At the end of the member and/or public comment period the ARTS staff will provide all comments to the appropriate Work Team for consideration and/or assignment to the Work Team for creation of a new version of the Work Product. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 24

25 L. The revised version of the Candidate Release will be submitted to the Executive Committee for vote to promote the Candidate Release to a Final Release. If the comments had been assigned to a work team for consideration, the work team must vote to approve the revised Work Product to the Executive Committee per Voting Rules section of this document. M. When the Executive Committee approves the Candidate Release for promotion to the status of Final Release, then it is submitted to the ARTS Board for approval. N. The ARTS Board will review the Work Product for inclusion of intellectual property and conformance to the approved scope and within 30 days vote to approve by simple majority to either publish the Proposed Release or send it back to the Work Team for modification and approval beginning at step J above. O. If the ARTS Board approves the Final Release the Work Product is posted to the public area of the ARTS website Timing The following table summarized the approval timings listed above, where the first number is the minimum time allotted for review prior to vote and the second number (if given) is the maximum time allotted for review. Phase WT EC BOD Members Public CR 0/14 30 N/A 30 N/A FR 0/14 * * N/A N/A * see standard voting rules Deliverables The Informational Work Product Development Process results in one or more Work Products adhering to the rules defined in Section Development Rules The following rules apply to all work teams and can only be overridden by the Executive Committee with a vote according to the Voting Procedures for "policy" matters as defined in Section Best Practices All Technical Specifications produced by Work Teams should adhere to industry accepted Best Practices or those developed by ARTS. The rationale for any known exceptions should be documented as issues during the review process so that approval decisions will be fully enlightened Member and Public Comment Response Work Teams and Sub-Committee that publish artifacts for public comment must record all accepted comments in a separate Comment Tracking Document and respond to those Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 25

26 comments in the same Comment Tracking Document. Comments from non-arts member companies will only be accepted if submitted with a Comment Form as prescribed in the ARTS IP Policy. The comment, originator, comment date and response must appear in the Comment Tracking Document. The Comment Tracking Document must be posted on the public web site with the document under review by the end of the review period for the document under review Public Posting of Work Product Technical reports may be published to the public only upon approval of the Executive Committee and or ARTS Board of Directors. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 26

27 5. ARTS STANDARDS LIFECYCLE MANAGMENT ARTS Standards Lifecycle Management defines the process of updating ARTS standards as a continuously repeating cycle of inter-related steps: definition, design, development and release. Each of these steps needs to be carefully monitored and controlled. 5.1 Overview The ARTS Standards Lifecycle Management Process establishes the policy to control changes to the ARTS standards thereby providing implementers a vehicle to plan corresponding changes to applications built on the standards. The Data Model, UnifiedPOS and Board approved ARTS XML specifications are now mature standards developed over many years by more than a hundred contributors and have been implemented in applications and data architecture by many companies around the world. This Lifecycle Management policy recognizes that these standard specifications are now production products and ARTS must utilize great care to control change so that implementers will not be adversely impact with new releases. The intent is to encourage additional implementations while continuing to enhance the standards to support all retail segments. 5.2 Problem/Enhancement Definition All proposed changes to the ARTS standard specifications will be documented, reviewed and provided a disposition. Bugs, problems, comments and enhancement requests are submitted to ARTS following the process defined in Section 4.3 and logged into the ARTS Issue Management System. The appropriate ARTS Subcommittee will perform an Impact Analysis by reviewing the issues in the ARTS Issue Management System and make a determination as to their impact following the versioning guidelines identified in Section Based on the Subcommittee Impact Analysis, the issue will be assigned to be included in the appropriate future releases of the standard specification and documented in the ARTS Issue Management System. This list of proposed changes will be available to ARTS members for comments. The Roadmap Report will be generated from the ARTS Issue Management System showing open issues and their assignment for future releases of the standard specification. The Roadmap Report will be provided to the Executive Director for presentation to the ARTS Board for approval of issue to be included in the subsequent release of the standard. New releases will be classified as Major (Section ), Minor (Section ), or Fix versions (Section ). The proposed list of enhancement to for each release and the version will be posted for member review and comment. The normal development time for a new release is 9 to 12 months. Thus members will in most instances have 9+ months from the time the list of proposed enhancements are publish until the last call working draft is posted for the required 30 day review. Minor fix releases will take significantly less time. Copyright 2013 NRF. All rights reserved. Page 27