Guidelines

The key competence needed in the liaison role is effective management of the liaison process according to the rules that have been agreed upon. The liaison acts as a representative of The Open Group and not an independent voice with respect to topics of discussion in the liaison relationship. The liaison must therefore be careful to distinguish his or her own views from documented consensus of The Open Group in dealings with the peer organization.

To this end, the liaison must be able to communicate effectively with members of the peer organization, especially in face-to-face situations. This is important both to communicate The Open Group viewpoint and to gather information about the issues in the peer organization that The Open Group needs to understand.

Liaison relationships are designed for the mutual benefit of the organizations participating in the liaison. As such, swift information flow in both directions is a firm requirement. The role of a liaison is to promote the interests of The Open Group with respect to all topics within the scope of the liaison relationship. Since the liaison “wears an Open Group hat”, it is not the task of a liaison to promote the interests of the liaised organization within The Open Group.

A liaison may not be able to maintain the required perspective if he or she is closely involved in the outcome of the work in the peer organization. A conflict of interest might arise if the liaison is involved in the management of the relevant part of the peer organization, has a close technical involvement in the work that is the subject of the liaison, or has a close interest in the outcome of the work in the peer organization through his or her employment. When appointing an appropriate person to act as a liaison, The Open Group needs to take into account any conflicts of interest that the individual being considered might have. Before a person is appointed as a Liaison Representative, he or she will be asked to explicitly state any conflicts of interest. The Open Group will not appoint a person to a liaison position if there is a strong conflict of interest. For example, an individual with an industry or organizational leadership position in the liaised organization would typically not be suitable for appointment as The Open Group liaison to that organization.

A liaison needs to be committed to addressing the issues relevant to the liaison relationship. To handle the job properly, it is necessary that the liaison be able to allocate sufficient time to the task.

It is expected that a liaison will make The Open Group aware of new developments in the subject area in a timely fashion.