PicaProposalLifecycle

(todo)

....

sarcastic humor

Like any idea, each PICA proposal is expected to (more or less) go through the standard idea lifecycle:

( from http://recentchanges.info/?p=67 )

• Initial proposal (on PotentialPicaProjects, right?)
• Laughter and mocking, pointing out its impossibility
• First implementation
• Laughter and mocking, pointing out its impracticality
• second implementation
• tons of "helpful" suggestions for improvement, most of them based on misunderstanding or otherwise misguided
• One person keeps insisting that a standard is needed.
• flamewars persuade that person to (reluctantly) remove the controversial parts, and add popular compatibility barnacles.
• the proposal narrowly passes the vote, and becomes a standard.
• Accusations are made of improper voting.
• Everyone claims their system implements the standard, while simultaneously claiming their system is "better" than other implementations. Too often, "better" in incompatible ways.

So who's gonna implement all these proposals?

This will happen just like it used to --- their supporters. However, with PICA, a good proposal will have more visibility, making it easier to gather supporters in the first place.

This process of proposing a new standard -- is there a standard for that?

You would not believe how many standards there are for proposing a new standard. Off the top of my head, a few such meta-standards include:

• IPC ANSI Procedure: Official IPC process for developing and approving standards and specifications. http://www.ipc.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=Standards
• "ANSI Essential Requirements: Due process requirements for American National Standards," that govern the consensus development process. http://www.ansi.org/standards_activities/overview/overview.aspx
• ISO: "Stages of the development of International Standards" http://www.iso.org/iso/standards_development/processes_and_procedures/stages_description.htm
• RFC 2026: "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision 3" http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2026
• "A proposal for an alternative standards setting process" from Jakobs, K. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1018016
• IEEE New Initiative Process http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/initiatives/rsp.html
• I hear that The Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) has several processes for developing a new standard.
• ...
• ...

The PICA has a process that is more lightweight and informal than any of these groups.