Welcome to the Focus Communities home site sponsored by the CIM Users Group. A focus community can be created
when there is a high priority or urgent need that would benefit from having all parties with subject matter expertise (e.g., utilities, vendors, universities, and IEC WG members) working together to establish use cases and requirements. The focus is on defining the business need and requirements to be addressed (i.e., the
what) rather than on the solution (the
how). What is unique about focus communities is the close link between CIMug members and IEC CIM WG members with similar interests as described below, thus ensuring rapid progress of updates to the CIM standards to address the focus community needs.
Purpose and Objectives
·
Produce use cases and data requirements dealing with the particular focus of the focus community to identify the system interactions that should be standardized by the IEC as part of the CIM standards. These requirements are then handed off to the appropriate IEC CIM WG for progressing as international standards. The IEC WGs would then produce standard profiles and necessary updates/extensions to the CIM UML to provide the new models required.
·
Provide a forum for exchanging information among focus community members. This includes mechanisms to post queries and comments as well as document repositories for managing working papers and artifacts produced.
CIMug Support
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Set up a secure SharePoint site for each focus community with only guest accounts required to have full access to the work of the community.
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Provide GoToMeeting web conference facilities.
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Provide an advisor from one of the CIM Working Groups (i.e., WG13, 14, or 16) to assist with the functioning of each focus community and to be the conduit for introducing requirements from the focus community into the CIM standards process within IEC TC57.
·
Provide templates for capturing use cases and requirements.
How Focus Communities Function
Focus communities may conduct business in whatever fashion works best for the particular community. Options include:
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Meeting during CIMug bi-annual meetings
·
Conducting periodic web meetings between meetings. It is expected that this would be the primary means of conducting business
·
Setting up face-to-face meetings for the focus community possibly in conjunction with other industry functions where members are already attending.
·
Collaborating via the SharePoint home site for the focus group, especially for producing drafts.
Life Cycle of a Focus Community
The steps in a proto-typical focus community are envisioned as the following:
1.
Establishment of new focus community based on urgent/important business need not currently addressed for application of CIM standards. The request could come from either (1) IEC CIM WG members or (2) CIMug members comprising utilities, vendors, consultants, universities, etc.
2.
Preparation of use cases and requirements that could culminate in:
a.
preparing a New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) for starting new work in IEC TC57 or
b.
providing input to existing work already in progress in a CIM WG
3.
Review and comment on draft standards prepared by the IEC CIM WG(s) prior to being circulated to the IEC National Committees for approval.
4.
Potential involvement in interoperability tests as test witnesses (especially for utility participants).
5.
Sharing of utility experiences in application of new CIM standards produced to address needs of the focus community.
6.
Disbandment of focus community once necessary CIM standards have been approved and products are available which support the new standards.
How to Establish a New Focus Community
A request can come from any CIMug member or IEC CIM WG member. A new focus community site can be built and customized within hours, and your members can be active on the site within 48 hours. A request form is provided on the Quick Launch bar to the left. Alternatively you can contact the CIMug Utility Co-Chair (Dean Hengst) or Vendor Co-Chair (Terry Saxton) or any member of the Process WG for further details.
A list of current focus communities are shown to the left on the Quick Launch bar with links to the home site for each community if you are logged into your account on the CIMug SharePoint site.
