I’m happy to announce that the new Embedded Systems workgroup is springing into action. We’ll have more details about their scope and meetings schedule available soon.
The Embedded Systems workgroup is the first new workgroup of the type that we’re calling User Groups, groups that will allow more people to provide ideas, solutions, and scenarios without the demands – both in time and intellectual property commitments – of creating a complete technical specification.
(We also intend to re-classify the Communications group as a User Group)
User Groups will provide a natural place for people to discuss scenarios around a specific industry or issue, especially those that cover multiple domains; for example, the Embedded Systems group will be exploring issues around Architecture Management, Automation, Change Management, and Requirements Management.
The OSLC Steering Committee approves new User Groups, and User Groups will collaborate with other workgroups to explore new scenarios in future versions of a specification.
How User Groups interact with other OSLC Workgroups
You can find some of the background discussions for User Groups on the wiki for the Steering Committee.
Joining a User Group
If you want to join any User Group, create an account and complete the OSLC Members Agreement. Once you do so, you’ll be able to participate in any User Group (and add or edit pages on their wikis).
User Groups will post meeting schedules and minutes on their wikis, just like the other Workgroups.
Because User Groups do not require the more complex intellectual property commitments of the other Workgroups, they do not have Workgroup Participation Agreements.
Keeping up with User Groups
We’re trying something new: instead of a dedicated mailing list, User Groups will have a dedicated forum space, like this area for Embedded Systems. I think a forum is a better tool for public conversations and will make it easier for new folks discover and catch up on previous discussions.
To receive an email when there’s a new post in a forum, on the home page for any forum click Subscribe (next to New Topic).
You can manage your forum subscriptions here.
Creating new User Groups
Can you think of an issue that might affect many of our technical specifications? Do you feel that your particular industry or niche is under-represented in our community? Maybe a dedicated User Group is the answer, and we absolutely want to hear about it.
Put together a a pitch and send an email to the Steering Committee to get the discussion started.