To help the Terminology Release & Modeling Advisory Groups function effectively, this document presents a number of recommended “ways of working” which can be summarised at a high level in the following workflow:

Advisory Group Workflow

This diagram is a representation of suggested Advisory Group (AG) workflow. It does not account for all possible scenarios, but accounts for those we expect to be used frequently.

The following recommendations can be taken from the diagram:

• The “Work List” is a set of topics on which the Chair requests advice.

• It is the Chair’s responsibility to drive the work list and the Advisory Group (AG) members are invited to supply advice on the work list topics.

• AG members should document their advice using the appropriate IHTSDO Confluence areas for the group.

• Work might have to be performed as a prerequisite to the AG delivering their advice.

• IHTSDO staff and/or AG members might perform work on worklist topics, thereby producing work product. IHTSDO recognises that Advisory Groups consist of volunteers, whose time is limited and appreciated.

• Work products should also be documented in Confluence.

• Where communication is also documented, it should again be stored in Confluence.

• The Chair will close a work item when the AG has delivered their advice on the particular topic.

• IHTSDO may optionally provide updates in future meetings as to the impact of that advice.   

In addition to the points made by the diagram, the following are also noted:

• Any AG member may suggest topics.  The Chair will prioritize suggested topics in the light of ongoing AG and internal IHTSDO work items.

• AG Meetings are held once per quarter:

• Two conference calls - in January and late June or early July.

• Two face to face meetings coinciding with, and colocated at, IHTSDO conferences in April and October.

• Interim meetings might be scheduled where required, subject to the availability of IHTSDO staff and AG members.

• Ultimately IHTSDO Business Decisions are made by the Management Team who may receive advice from multiple Advisory Groups.  Where decisions related to advice given by AGs appear incongruous, the Chair will clarify where feasible.

Recordings, minutes & actions

• Meetings are recorded and archived. Archives can be used to obtain information where there are well-articulated business cases to do so.

• The purpose of the meetings is not, in general, to solve particular issues during the meeting or call.  Rather it is for everyone to reach a full understanding of the issues, with the expectation that work will be done between between meetings.

• There is no requirement for meeting minutes or transcripts. Transparency exists in the documentation (in Confluence) of:

• The topic brought to the Group

• Work products produced

• Written advice received from the AG

• Action items taken by members of the AG

• Advice should be submitted by the Advisory Group in writing:

• If the advice is a document, the document is generated by a subgroup of the AG, delivered in writing and attached or copied into Confluence.

• If the advice is verbal, it should be expressed and written down in Confluence, preferably during AG meetings.

• Key actions will captured in Confluence (by Peter, Yong :-)

• Advisory Group Actions are for AG members, not for IHTSDO staff or AG Chairs.

Annual work plan

The Chair will submit the annual work plan to the IHTSDO CEO by the end of January 2016.

• Plans for 2016 will be simple. They will contain few items and will not detail budget or paid deliverables.