Introduction to Sponsor Balloting using the myBallot™ system

Sponsor Balloting The process through which consensus on a proposed standard is achieved Consensus (for IEEE requirements) means agreement among the majority. It is strictly defined in the IEEE as a minimum return from the balloting group of 75% of the ballots, and a minimum of 75% approval votes from that 75% return. Consensus further implies that minority views have been heard. As such, all negative votes and their associated comments must be shared with the Balloting Group, and an attempt made by the IEEE Standards Sponsor to resolve them, or they must state their reasons for rejecting them.

The Ballot Process Formation of the Ballot Group Issuing Ballots Review and Voting Period Closing Ballot Summary Recirculation Ballots Additional Resources Bullet 1: Formation of the Balloting Group is covered in The Ballot Invitation Process presentation. The rest of these points are covered in this presentation.

The Ballot Group The Ballot Group consists of those persons who review and vote on the document (along with coordination entities) The Ballot Group must be “balanced,” i.e., not dominated by any single interest group Once formed, a Ballot Group cannot change until the close of the ballot (including any recirculations) The ballot group is formed through the invitation process in myBallot™ Bullet 1: The myBallot system automatically handles the task of coordination with the mandatory coordination entities—metric review and editorial review. Bullet 2: Balance means that no one category may comprise 50% or more of the ballot group. The Sponsor of a standard must certify balance of the ballot group prior to the opening of a ballot. Balloters are usually classified as producers, users, or general interest. Sometimes other categories, such as government, are used. Note: Participation in a Balloting Group is on a voluntary basis. Bullet 3: The membership of the Ballot Group does not change. If a member of the Ballot Group is deemed unavailable for balloting purposes, he or she may be administratively removed.

Issuing Ballots The sponsor ballot process is conducted in the myBallot™ system. The Sponsor Chair or Ballot Designee initiates the ballot after the ballot group is formed. Once initiated, the ballot opens with a automatic announcement email to the ballot group. voting, registering comments, and downloading the document all reside in the myBallot system Electronic balloting requires a valid IEEE Web Account and access to the Internet. This is required of all voters in the balloting group. The Ballot Designee is the person who is designated by the Sponsor Chair to manage the sponsor ballot process. The Ballot Designee may be the Working Group Chair or other person. The myBallot system requires that the Ballot Designee must be an SA Member. Mandatory coordination points also receive all the ballot information electronically.

Review and Voting Period A ballot will typically remain open for a 30-day period The ballot announcement will indicate a closing date, by which time the vote must be recorded in myBallot Because of the 75% return requirement, it is very important that ballots be returned Ballots with negative votes should contain comments explaining the negative vote, and a proposed resolution Bullet 1: Review periods are usually 30 days. However, review periods are determined by the Sponsor Chair. Bullet 2: If a ballot does not have a sufficient return (75%) by the closing date, it may be held open until the 75% return is achieved (up to a maximum of 60 days past the original closing date). Ballot extension is managed by the Sponsor Chair. Bullet 3: If a ballot group member does not have the time to review the draft productively, that member should still submit the ballot (abstain - due to lack of time) in the myBallot system. An abstention does, in fact, count toward the 75% return rate requirement. For obvious reasons, however, it is not counted in the voting tally to determine the 75% approval rate. However, there is an IEEE requirement that a ballot with 30% or more abstentions fails.

Closing All ballots close at 11:59pm Eastern time on the closing date indicated on the myBallot system. If a 75% return has not been achieved, the ballot can be extended for up to 60 days. In this case the ballot can close at any time after the required return rate is met. The myBallot system will note “Ballot Extended” in the close date field. Comments received after the ballot close date should be sent to the Sponsor Chair for consideration. Remember, if comments are not sent within the open ballot period or sent by those who are not part of the ballot group, they are not considered binding comments. How the Working Group handles these late submissions is entirely at their discretion.

myBallot™ Login Screen Login using your IEEE WebAccount. The log in screen uses the same authentication system that is used by the IEEE Membership system. This means you will use your IEEE Web Account to access the myBallot system. In the past (with the old balloting system) you were given a unique URL, username & password for each ballot. With the new myBallot system you will have ONE URL and ONLY ONE USERNAME & PASSWORD to remember!

myBallot Control Panel Vote & comment on documents. Once you are enrolled in a ballot group, you will get an email notification about the opening date of the ballot (voting and comment period). Manage myBallot Activity is where the voter places his/her votes & comments.

Manage myBallot Activity View the draft. Enter/review your comments. Submit your vote. The voter can view the draft document here – there is no need to remember a different password for each document! A drop down box provides your vote choices. The comment area is available for uploading bulk comments, entering single comments, attaching a file to your comments or viewing comments already submitted while the ballot period is open.

Single Comment This screen is used if you would like to submit a single comment or upload a file with comments already prepared.

Comment File Upload This screen is used to upload bulk comments. The file format provided MUST be used.

The Comments Page (File Upload) The specified file format must be used so the system can parse out the data and serve it back to the sponsor in a detailed format.

myBallot™ Sponsor Ballot Activity The Sponsor Ballot Activity allows the sponsor to view: A tally of the voting, along with a calculation of return rate and abstention rate percentages A roster of all votes Access to (view and download) all comments that were received Access to (view and download) all coordination comments Once a ballot has closed, the Sponsor Chair can view the final results of the ballot by logging onto myBallot and clicking on the “Sponsor Ballot Activity” function.

Recirculation Ballots The results of the initial ballot may require a recirculation ballot if: Comments from the Ballot Group were received that result in the Working Group making technical changes to the draft Unresolved or rejected negative votes or comments remain

Recirculation Ballots (cont.) Recirculation Ballots are conducted like the initial ballot, except Sponsor uses the “Initiate Recirculation” function in myBallot Voters may only comment/vote on changed areas of the draft The review period is typically reduced to 10 days There is no obligation to return the ballot unless voters wish to change their original vote The results of a Recirculation Ballot may produce additional recirculations for the same reasons as an initial ballot Sub-bullet 2: The reduced review time is predicated on the assumption that there is less information to review on a recirculation, since reviewers are limited to commenting on only the changes in the document. Sub-bullet 3: Despite rumors to the contrary, there are no penalties for not returning a recirculation ballot. (This is not the case with an initial ballot, however. Failure to return an initial ballot could result in removal from the Balloting Pool.) If reviewers are unsure of the status of their original votes, they should submit a new vote with the recirculation ballot.

Additional Resources Balloting Center Reports (http://standards.ieee.org/db/balloting) FAQs -Balloting Service (http://standards.ieee.org/faqs/ballotserv.html) FAQs - Ballot Formation (http://standards.ieee.org/faqs/ballotform.html) FAQs - Coordination (http://standards.ieee.org/faqs/coor.html) FAQs - Balloting (http://standards.ieee.org/faqs/ballot.html) These resources may prove valuable to you. All of them are available at the IEEE Standards website.

Additional Resources (cont.) The IEEE Standards Companion (http://standards.ieee.org/guides/companion/index.html) IEEE-SA Standards Board Operations Manual (http://standards.ieee.org/guides/opman/index.html) These resources, also available through the IEEE Standards website, offer additional details about the balloting process.

myBallot™ The better way to ballot If you have questions, please contact: myballot@ieee.org