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Protocol Lifecycles. Protocol Lifecycles. At their meeting in May, the GSA Board approved a new policy that establishes a well-defined three-year lifecycle for GSA protocols.
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Protocol Lifecycles • At their meeting in May, the GSA Board approved a new policy that establishes a well-defined three-year lifecycle for GSA protocols. • The overall objective of the new policy is to add more transparency and predictability into the protocol development and release process. • The new policy will provide a framework for the orderly introduction of new releases assuring coordinated adoption by the industry. 2
Architectural Oversight Committee • The Architectural Oversight Committee (AOC) will be responsible for the overall management of the new policy. • Every six months, the AOC will meet to: • Assess the industry’s adoption of the current protocols. • Review the technical bulletins and extensions released by the technical committees. • Evaluate the content planned for the next version of the protocols. • As a result of this review, the AOC may adjust the content or timing of the next version of the protocols to assure timely and coordinated adoption by the industry. • Roadmaps, which identify the planned content and timing for the next version, will be posted to the GSA website.
Board of Directors • One year before a new version is planned to be released, each technical committee will prepare a list of all corrections, clarifications, and extensions planned for the new version. • Any potential incompatibilities or redundancies will be identified by the technical committee. • The technical committee will submit the list of corrections, clarifications, and extensions to the board for approval. • The Board of Directors will review the proposal and, as appropriate, approve the content for the new version. • The Board may direct the technical committee to omit certain changes. • The technical committee will then prepare next version of the protocol for review and approval by the membership.
Implementation • Following release of a new version of a protocol, it is expected that members will begin a coordinated implementation of the new version. • Test tool suppliers will update their products. • Independent test labs will update their procedures. • Manufacturers will integrate the changes into their products. • The goal is to have products, which use the new version of a protocol, available in the marketplace one year after the release of the new version.
Retirement • After two complete three-year lifecycles, old versions of the protocols will be retired. • GSA staff and technical committees will stop providing guidance on the old versions. • Manufacturers may submit products that use old versions to independent test labs for compliance testing. However, GSA will only certify products that use non-retired versions. • The AOC may defer the retirement of a version to meet industry needs.