Contents

22 November 2007
27 September 2007
17 May 2007
22 February 2007

22 November 2007

Safety Critical Liaison with IET: Martyn Thomas and the forum manager had met with the IET to consider a proposal to establish a joint group, reporting at a very senior level in both societies, to provide strategic guidance to the BCS and the IET to ensure that both societies speak with a consistent voice on computer-based systems that affect public safety, to convene joint teams to address specific tasks in the field where activity is necessary or desirable, and to ensure that the BCS and IET can provide a rapid and consistent response in the event of accidents, major incidents or parliamentary inquiries relating to safety critical computer-based systems.

It was agreed to convene a wider meeting of about a dozen senior people from industry to decide whether such a joint safety group was desirable, whether it could be effective, and what its priorities should be. [This meeting will be held on Thursday 28 February 2008]

Safety Critical Code of Good Practice: The Ethics Forum has now made comments on the draft safety critical professionalism guidelines prepared by our Safety Critical Working Party. We understand that sector specific guidelines will be published as addenda to the Code of Good Practice rather than being incorporated into a single document. We are seeking clarification of the publication process.

Thought Leadership Debate "Dealing with Complexity": This TLD, held on 8 November 2007, to mark the official launch of the Large Scale Complex IT Systems initiative, had been well received by its attendees. The panel discussed ways of improving and following up TLD events and will investigate the use of blogs and/or email discussions and stimulating debate by choosing speakers with opposing rather than complementary views.

Technology: The panel is looking to create links with the Technology Strategy Board and JISC Techwatch.

CITP: The panel continues to have questions about the detailed definition of CITP and the specification of the Core Body of Knowledge. It is hoped to work with the Qualification Standards Board to review the requirements for CITP.

Cheltenham Science Festival 2008: Following our sponsorship of last year's festival, we are hoping to find the funds to sponsor the 2008 festival. Philip Hargrave and Adrian Walmsley attended the launch event and have proposed, for our sponsored lecture, that Dave Cliff give a talk based on his BCS 50th Anniversary touring University Lecture, "The Best is Yet to Come".

27 September 2007

Follow-up to "Challenges of Complex IT Projects":  Allan Fox has assembled a high-level team drawn from the BCS, IET and RAEng for a Study into the Role of the Chartered Engineer within the IT Profession.

CITP update: Philip Hargrave summarised his study into the nature of Chartered IT Professional (CITP), and its relationship to both Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Chartered Scientist (CSci). There had been broad agreement amongst the people he consulted that CITP should be positioned to be applicable to a larger percentage of IT professionals than can currently aspire to CEng or CSci, but there were differing views as to the level at which it should be pitched and the academic qualifications that should be required.

Thought Leadership Debate: The panel is running a TLD on 8 November 2007 on "Dealing with Complexity in large-scale IT systems", in support of and in collaboration with Professor Dave Cliff, Director of the EPSRC-funded Large Scale Complex IT Systems Institute.

Safety Critical policy: We are meeting with the IET to consider establishing a joint body to succeed the IET Safety Critical Policy Advisory Group (PAG) and the BCS Safety Critical Expert Panel.

Links with other bodies: The Panel is sponsoring the BCS-FACS Christmas lecture on Formal Methods in Industry and the Safety Critical Systems Club's Symposium in February 2008.

New chair: Allan Fox handed over to the new chair, Philip Hargrave who thanked Allan for all he had done for the panel during his time as chair.

17 May 2007

CITP update: The BCS had recently announced that CITP is being refocused with "emphasis and attention .. on IT enabled business change, the application of IT and information management; not on the technology or computer science".

The panel spent some time discussing the different requirements for CEng and CITP. The re-evaluation of the relationship between CITP, CEng and CSci had drawn upon the paper produced by panel members Nic Holt and John McDermid; the redefinition of CITP is a work in progress to a short timescale to which panel members are invited to contribute.

Thought Leadership Debate: Dave Cliff, for the LSCITS, has responded positively to the suggestion of an autumn debate in support of the institute's aims. [Editor's note: the date has been set for 8 November 2007. Other details to be confirmed]

Safecomp2008: The panel has been invited to provide sponsorship for Safecomp2008, to be held in Newcastle.

Links with Safety Groups: Professor Tom Anderson, of the Safety Critical Systems Club, attended as a guest. He described the club's activities and would be happy to collaborate in join events. Rachel Burnett, as BCS President, will be the guest after-dinner speaker at their February 2008 Symposium. Panel member Philip Hargrave had spoken at the recent SCSC seminar "Professionalism Matters in Safety Engineering".

Links with BCS Specialist Groups: The secretary of the Formal Aspects of Computing Science SG attended as a guest and described their main activities which include an Evening Seminar Programme at BCS Southampton Street, contribution to international conferences such as SEFM 2007 and publication of FACS FACTS newsletter and FACS journal. FACS would be interested in collaborating on joint events with the panel.

Green IT: The Ethics Forum has invited the panel to join a planning meeting on Carbon Reduction and Green IT issues.

22 February 2007

Large Scale Complex IT Systems Institute: Five year funding has now been approved for the institute under the directorship of Dave Cliff. The EngD programme has been pushed back and a revised funding proposal is to be submitted.

Follow-on to "Challenges of Complex IT Systems" report: Allan Fox has been invited by the RAEng to report on the actions taken to implement the recommendations the joint BCS/RAEng report into Complex IT Systems. It was suggested that the panel sponsor an event in the autumn

• To build on the Complex IT Systems report
• To reinforce the aims of the LSCITS (and SEI) in particular looking at the challenges posed by "Systems of Systems".

Safety Critical Professionalism and Code of Good Practice: The panel approved the draft safety critical professionalism guidelines to be sent to the Ethics Forum for their consideration.

The Ethics Forum has already started work on a revision of the Code of Good Practice with the aim of making it simpler and more concise.

IT Architect education: Courses for the current academic year are being run at Warwick, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow.

For the following year, York and Lancaster will be included. Lancaster will be the first to make the IT Architect module mandatory for the CS degree. e-skills UK is promoting the IT Architect module as part of the ITMB degree.

Thought Leadership Debate December event feedback: Rated good or excellent by 84% of respondees. Particularly favourable personal feedback from individuals who don't usually have contact with the BCS confirms that these events can be used for real outreach.

Links with other safety groups: Since the BCS decided last summer that this Strategic Panel should become the single point of contact in the BCS for Safety Critical issues, the Forum Manager has established contacts with/attended meetings of the Hazards Forum, the Safety Critical Systems Club, the Independent Safety Assessors’ Working Group, and the IET Functional Safety TPN.

The panel sponsored the Safety Critical Club's February 2007 Symposium and agreed to provide a speaker at their seminar "Professionalism Matters in Safety Engineering" on 19 April 2007.