W. E. Burr
                                                  23 MAR 1988


X3 AND ANSI JARGON AND ACRONYMS

ANS - American National Standard.

ANSI - American National Standards Institute

ASC - Accredited Standards Committee - A standards committee,
such as X3, which operates under procedures accredited by ANSI.

BSR - Board of Standards Review.  A part of ANSI.  BSR conducts a
final review of standards after X3 approval to ensure that
consensus has been reached, and due process followed.

CBEMA - Computer Business Equipment Manufacturers Association.  A
trade association which holds the Secretariat for X3.

Consensus - An important concept and a requirement for approval
of an ANS.  The Board of Standards Review is charged with
deciding whether consensus has been achieved.  The ANSI
Procedures for the Development and Coordination of American
National Standards state:

1.3.3  Consensus.  Consensus is established when, in the judgment
of the Board of Standards Review, substantial agreement has been
reached by directly and materially affected interests. 
Substantial agreement means much more than a simple majority, but
not necessarily unanimity.  Consensus requires that all views and
objections be considered, and that a concerted effort be made
toward their resolution.  The BSR shall base its judgment as to
whether a consensus has been reached on the formal voting
evidence presented by each interest category, and adherence to
due process requirements.

This requirement to achieve and document consensus colors
everything X3T9 does, and is the reason for our apparently
obsessive concern with addressing and attempting to resolve all
negatives, and documenting that action.  TG chairmen must keep
comprehensive records of negatives and responses to those
negatives, at each step from project proposal approval through X3
approval, lest approval be compromised when X3 and BSR review the
record.

dpANS - draft proposed American National Standard.  A proposed
standard becomes a dpANS after X3T9 votes to forward it to X3.
Hydrolevel Case - A U.S. Supreme Court case which held both the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the officers of a
standards committee liable for triple damages for an improper,
anticompetitive interpretation by the committee officers who
acted with the apparent authority of the ASME.  Much of
the recent reorganization of ANSI and X3, as well as the strong
concern with process and procedure undoubtedly stems from this
case and the desire to reduce vulnerability to liability for
damages under antitrust law.  For more information, see
"Antitrust ruling chills standards setting", IEEE Spectrum,
August 1982, pp. 52-54.

IAC - International Advisory Committee, a committee which advises
X3 on international matters.  With the reorganization of TC 97
into JTC-1, IAC will be replaced by the JTC-1 TAG, whose members
will represent the IEEE and EIA as well as X3.

JTC-1 - A joint ISO and IEC Technical Committee which will
combine ISO/TC 97 and IEC committees working on information
processing.  JTC-1 becomes effective November 1987.

SD - Standing Document, published by X3.  They include:  

     SD-1 - Master Plan - May 1987 - It gives the plans
     under which X3 and its subgroups, such as X3T9 operate. 
     This is not one of the more significant SD-s.

     SD-2 - Organization and Procedures - October 1985 - This 
     document is effectively the constitution of X3.  An
     update      was published in the summer of 1987.

     SD-3 - Project Proposal Guide - May 1987 - This
     document describes the form and contents for requests
     to start new X3 projects.  The requests themselves are
     often referred to, improperly, as SD-3's.

     SD-4 - Projects Manual - Updated quarterly - This
     document lists all approved projects by number.

     SD-5 - Standards Criteria - September 1984

     SD-6 - Membership and Officers - Updated quarterly

     SD-7 - Meeting Schedule and Calendar - Updated quarterly

     SD-10 - Subgroup Annual Report Format - June 1987

SMC - Standards Management Committee.  SMC advises X3 on
management and organization and approves appointment of TC
officers.

SPARC - Standards Planning and Requirements Committee.  SPARC
reviews project proposals and dpANS and makes recommendations to
X3 about their disposition.

TAG - Technical Advisory Groups - TAG's are assigned by ANSI to
advise on international matters.  Usually, there is a
correspondence between ISO committees and TAG's. 

TC - Technical Committee.  X3T9 is a TC.

TG - Task Group.  A TG is always subordinate to a TC.  X3T9.2,
X3T9.3, X3T9.5, and X3T9.6 are all TG's.