oBIX Leadership: co-chair required

It has become increasingly clear to me that the chairmanship of oBIX requires more than I can do alone. While I am, in general, pleased with the interest we are beginning to get from other Enterprise groups, with the alliances we are beginning to see with classes of enterprises that will require an enterprise interface to controls, and our relationships with some other non-OASIS bodies interested in our progress, I also know that I need that I have let some things drift from the pressure of my day job.

I am very satisfied with our progress. That is in large part to the strong technical vision of Brian Frank and Aaron Hansen and the sure hand of Aaron Hansen on the meetings of the XML committee. Their dedication and focus have brought a similar focus to what I call the Base Protocols of oBIX that makes up the deliverables of oBIX v1.

Still, it has been obvious that while the XML subcommittee met regularly, that some of the other groups, the ones that I am more intimately involved in, could have met more. Until now, while we were waiting for the Base Protocols, this was, perhaps, OK.

As we move ahead, the challenges will change. The abstractions on top of the Base Protocols will require bringing commitments of personnel from many companies. Making useful abstractions will be hard work. We will need to gather requirements and use cases from a wider pool of demanding customers. We will need to bring in those companies who are actively basing their business around higher abstractions today to harvest their knowledge of what does and does not work. Quite frankly, I will need assistance from someone whose knowledge of the controls industry is broader and deeper than mine, who knows what projects are under way, and knows who has thought about these issues in the past.

To date, I have gotten by without this by relying on two strong advisors; Anto Budiardjo and Paul Ehrlich. Anto has, of course, a strong vision for oBIX and a deep roster on speed-dial. Paul, the original chair, had to step back a year ago while he disentangled himself from his former employer and launched out as in independent. Even during the busiest part of that transition, when he was tying up loose ends with Trane, finishing up ongoing projects as a contractor, he still made time to act as a sounding board and to offer experienced counsel, (and to consume far too much caffeine in a seedy well-pierced college-town coffee shop).

But now, to do what we need to do next, I need a co-chair, one who is focused on the Enterprise.

As an OASIS Committee Chair, I am committed to an open process. I welcome nominations from anyone on the oBIX committee, particularly self-nominations. I would like anyone who is willing to submit himself to send a letter to the list if they have the time, or to present themselves at the meeting on Monday.

When we finish up with that, one of the first orders of business will be to consider how we will structure our overall movement toward abstractions for v2. I welcome anyone who considers that they can lend some leadership or strong participation on this matter to be ready to speak up on Monday.

Looking forward to seeing most of you in Dallas...

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Toby Considine      ! "Do the right thing. It will
UNC Chapel Hill     ! gratify some people and
Chapel Hill, NC     ! astonish the rest."
Phone (919)962-9073 !
Fax (919)962-1102   !            --Mark Twain
tobias@fac.unc.edu !
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