Editing ITU-T (section)

== "Real time" standardization ==
The rise of the [[personal computer]] industry in the early 1980s created a new common practice among both consumers and businesses of adopting "[[bleeding edge]]" communications technology even if it was not yet standardized. Thus, [[standards organization]]s had to put forth standards much faster, or find themselves ratifying [[de facto standard]]s after the fact. One of the most prominent examples of this was the [[Open Document Architecture]] project, which began in 1985 when a profusion of software firms around the world were still furiously competing to shape the future of the [[electronic office]], and was completed in 1999 long after [[Microsoft Office]]'s then-secret binary file formats had become established as the global de facto standard.

The ITU-T now operates under much more streamlined processes. The time between an initial proposal of a draft document by a member company and the final approval of a full-status ITU-T Recommendation can now be as short as a few months (or less in some cases). This makes the standardization approval process in the ITU-T much more responsive to the needs of rapid technology development than in the ITU's historical past.<ref>{{cite web|title=CCITT – 50 Years of Excellence – 1956–2006|url=http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/50/docs/ITU-T_50.pdf|page=16|publisher=International Telecommunication Union|access-date=2011-03-20|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607203152/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/50/docs/ITU-T_50.pdf|archive-date=2011-06-07}}</ref> New and updated Recommendations are published on an almost daily basis, and nearly all of the library of over 3,270 Recommendations is now free of charge online.<ref>[http://www.stanford.edu/group/eng/blog/2007/09/itut_standards_now_freely_avai.html ITU-T Standards now freely available online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517063250/http://www.stanford.edu/group/eng/blog/2007/09/itut_standards_now_freely_avai.html |date=2009-05-17 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-169930353.html|title=Free access for all to ITU-T standards.(ITU)|work=highbeam.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104175124/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-169930353.html|archive-date=2012-11-04|access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/Free+Access+For+All+To+ITUT+Standards.aspx|title=ITU-T Newslog – Free access for all to ITU-T standards|work=itu.int|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913031755/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/newslog/Free+Access+For+All+To+ITUT+Standards.aspx|archive-date=2010-09-13}}</ref> (About 30 specifications jointly maintained by the ITU-T and ISO/IEC are not available for free to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/publications/Pages/recs.aspx|title=ITU-T Recommendations|work=ITU|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825232058/http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/publications/Pages/recs.aspx|archive-date=2010-08-25}}</ref>)

ITU-T has moreover tried to facilitate cooperation between the various forums and standard-developing organizations (SDOs). This collaboration is necessary to avoid duplication of work and the consequent risk of conflicting standards in the market place.<ref>{{cite web|title=CCITT – 50 Years of Excellence – 1956–2006|url=http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/50/docs/ITU-T_50.pdf|page=17|publisher=[[International Telecommunication Union]]|access-date=2011-03-20|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607203152/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/50/docs/ITU-T_50.pdf|archive-date=2011-06-07}}</ref>

In the work of standardization, ITU-T cooperates with other SDOs, e.g., the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO) and the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF).<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf apdip.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129123232/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf |date=2007-11-29 }} (s10)</ref>

=== Development of Recommendations ===
Most of the work of ITU-T is carried out by its Sector Members and Associates, while the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) is the executive arm of ITU-T and coordinator for a number of workshops and seminars to progress existing work areas and explore new ones. The events cover a wide array of topics in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and attract high-ranking experts as speakers, and attendees from engineers to high-level management from all industry sectors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|title=Standards for better Communications – ITU-T Guide for Beginners |pages=13–16|date=March 2005|website=itu.int|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204549/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

The technical work, the development of Recommendations, of ITU-T is managed by Study Groups (SGs), such as [[ITU-T Study Group 13|Study Group 13]] for network standards, [[ITU-T Study Group 16|Study Group 16]] for multimedia standards, and [[ITU-T Study Group 17|Study Group 17]] for security standards, which are created by the [[World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly]] (WTSA) which is held every four years. As part of the deliberations, WTSA has instructed ITU to hold the [[Global Standards Symposium]], which unlike WTSA is open to public for participation. The people involved in these SGs are experts in telecommunications from all over the world. There are currently 11 SGs. Study groups meet face to face (or virtually under exceptional circumstances) according to a calendar issued by the TSB.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|title=Standards for better Communications – ITU-T Guide for Beginners |pages=17|date=March 2005|website=itu.int|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204549/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> SGs are augmented by Focus Groups (FGs), an instrument created by ITU-T, providing a way to quickly react to ICT standardization needs and allowing great flexibility in terms of participation and working methods. The key difference between SGs and FGs is that the latter have greater freedom to organize and finance themselves, and to involve non-members in their work, but they do not have the authority to approve Recommendations. Focus Groups can be created very quickly, are usually short-lived and can choose their own working methods, leadership, financing, and types of deliverables.<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf itu.int] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129123232/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf |date=2007-11-29 }}, (s23-24), [http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/focusgroups/index.html ITU-T Focus Groups] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101042003/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/focusgroups/index.html |date=2007-11-01 }}</ref> Current Focus Groups include the [[ITU-WHO Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Health]] (FG-AI4H) as well as [[ITU Focus Group on Machine Learning for 5G|Machine Learning for 5G]] (which developed [[Y.3172]]), [[ITU Focus Group on Quantum Information Technologies for Networks|Quantum Information Technologies for Networks]], and [[ITU Focus Group on Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous and Assisted Driving|Artificial Intelligence for Assisted and Autonomous Driving]].

=== Alternative Approval Process ===
The Alternative Approval Process (AAP) is a fast-track approval procedure that was developed to allow standards to be brought to market in the timeframe that industry now demands. The AAP is defined in ITU-T Recommendation A.8.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-A.8 |title=A.8: Alternative approval process for new and revised ITU-T Recommendations |website=ITU |date=August 2010 |access-date=2021-11-19}}</ref>

This dramatic overhaul of standards-making by streamlining approval procedures was implemented in 2001 and is estimated to have cut the time involved in this critical aspect of the standardization process by 80 to 90 percent. This means that an average standard that took around four years to approve and publish until the mid nineties, and two years until 1997, can now be approved in an average of two months, or as little as five weeks.

Besides streamlining the underlying procedures involved in the approval process, an important contributory factor to the use of AAP is electronic document handling. Once the approval process has begun the rest of the process can be completed electronically, in the vast majority of cases, with no further physical meetings.

The introduction of AAP also formalizes public/private partnership in the approval process by providing equal opportunities for both sector members and member states in the approval of technical standards.

A panel of SG experts drafts a proposal that is then forwarded at an SG meeting to the appropriate body which decides if it is sufficiently ready to be designated a draft text and thus gives its consent for further review at the next level.

After this Consent has been given, TSB announces the start of the AAP procedure by posting the draft text to the ITU-T website and calling for comments. This gives the opportunity for all members to review the text. This phase, called ''last call'', is a four-week period in which comments can be submitted by member states and sector members.

If no comments other than editorial corrections are received, the Recommendation is considered approved since no issues were identified that might need any further work. However, if there are any comments, the SG chairman, in consultation with TSB, sets up a comment resolution process by the concerned experts. The revised text is then posted on the web for an ''additional review'' period of three weeks.

Similar to the last call phase, in ''additional review'' the Recommendation is considered as approved if no comments are received. If comments are received, it is apparent that there are some issues that still need more work, and the draft text and all comments are sent to the next Study Group meeting for further discussion and possible approval.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|title=Standards for better Communications – ITU-T Guide for Beginners |pages=28–29|date=March 2005|website=itu.int|access-date=6 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204549/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

Those Recommendations considered as having policy or regulatory implications are approved through what is known as the Traditional Approval Process (TAP), which allows a longer period for reflection and commenting by member states. TAP Recommendations are also translated into the six working languages of ITU (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish).<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf itu.int] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129123232/http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/0A/0F/T0A0F0000090001PDFE.pdf |date=2007-11-29 }}, (s27), [http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/e-flash/022-jan06.html ITU-T e-FLASH – Issue No. 22] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103092145/http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/e-flash/022-jan06.html |date=2007-11-03 }}</ref>