Process Overview

The Project Scope Statement (PSS) process starts with the creation of a PSS in JIRA by the sponsoring Work Group or the project team. As of November 1, 2020, this step must be preceded by the acceptance of a Project Proposal if the project intends to create a new specification (i.e. a Release 1 Specification).  The creation of the PSS in JIRA starts the overall process that includes:

  • Creation of the PSS
  • Approval of the PSS by the Sponsoring Work Group
  • Consensus Review by Work Group Co-Chairs, identified Sponsoring Work Group Co-Chairs, applicable Management Groups, US Realm Steering Committee (or other Realms and International Council if an Affiliate project) and also for External Content and PBS Metric Review
  • Review and reconciliation of comments
  • Approval by Technical Steering Committee (TSC)

Process Flow

This process covers the PSS Creation portion of this flow.

The PSS process in JIRA includes a series of workflows that will trigger quality checks on the PSS as well the addition of sub-tasks used during the Consensus Review.  There are a number of mandatory fields that must be completed on the JIRA issue before the PSS can move from the WG Approval step to Consensus Review.

Quick Reference

  1. Create PSS in JIRA
  2. Normative Notification Sub-Task
  3. Start Approval
  4. Consensus Review
  5. Joint Copyright Letter
  6. Review and reconciliation of comments
  7. Edit the PSS
  8. TSC Approval
  9. Search for your PSS in Jira
  10. Archive a PSS

Step-by-step guide - Creating the PSS

  1. Navigate to the Project Scope Statements/Proposals Project in JIRA 
  2. Click Create in top blue tool bar


  3. Select Issue Type* = PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT


  4. Enter content - Some fields marked as * are Mandatory and other fields (Description, Project Need, Project Info) must be completed prior to moving the PSS forward to Consensus Review and will be identified as incomplete when trying to progress your PSS to WG approval.
    • * Summary - provide the Project Name
    • Description - provide a description of the project including the scope
    • Project Need - describe the purpose and rationale for this project
    • Normative Notification - Check this box if the specification is intended to be balloted as Normative in its first ballot cycle (i.e. "Direct to Normative").  If the specification will be balloted as normative (e.g. from "Informative to Normative" or "STU to Normative" in a future cycle, the Project Facilitator will come back to the PSS in Jira and edit it to check this box which will create the Normative Notification Sub-task.
      • This will create a sub-task in which the project facilitator will provide additional information required by ANSI.
    • Sponsoring Work Group - add in the Work Group that is sponsoring this project - only one WG can be designated as the sponsor.
    • Co-sponsoring Work Groups - add in the Work Groups that are known to be co-sponsors of this project - maybe be none or many.
      • NOTE:  Additional co-sponsors may be added during the Consensus Review Process
      • NOTE:  Management Groups do not need to be added as a co-sponsor unless they are actually co-sponsoring the project.  The appropriate Management Groups will be included in the Consensus Review process automatically when you select the Project Family in the Product Information.
    • Accelerators - Select all Accelerators that involved in the project by holding the "control" key (Windows) or the "command" key (OSX) when selecting
    • Project Facilitator - identify the individual that will coordinate activities related to the project - this person must have a valid Confluence/JIRA account - Request an Account
    • Other interested parties - identify interested parties or other team members and their roles for the project - maybe other Work Groups, individuals or organizations
    • Publishing Facilitator - select the individual what will manage the publication process for the project - this person must have a valid Confluence/JIRA account - Request an Account
    • Vocabulary Facilitator - select the individual responsible for managing/reviewing the terminology for the project - this person must have a valid Confluence/JIRA account - Request an Account
    • Implementers - If your project is being balloted as Standard For Trial Use (STU), two (2) implementers must be identified
    • External Drivers - identify any external drivers for the project
    • Project Info - provide the artifacts, intent of the project, lineage if you are creating a new release of a specification, intended ballot type, target year/cycle for balloting
      • If you are creating multiple products in your project, for example, a FHIR Implementation Guide and a CDA Implementation Guide, you will create one row for each artifact being created.
        • Product Family - select the product family of your artifact
        • Product - select the type of product you are creating.
          • If you select "Other", please describe
        • Project Intent for this artifact - create new specification, create new release or other
          • Create New R1 Standard - used to indicate that the specification being created is new and has never been balloted or published at HL7
          • Create New Release - used to indicate that the project is creating a new, updated version of an existing HL7 specification
        • Lineage - if you are creating a new release of an existing specification - provide the name and release of the previous version
        • Intended Ballot Type
        • Target Cycle
      • Click ADD under "Actions" to save that row



    • Project Common Name/Alias - provide any other names, acronyms or synonyms your specification or project is known by
    • Project Dependencies - list activities, projects or other specifications your project is dependent on.
    • HL7 Managed Project Repository URL - provide the location where your content will be managed.  
      • NOTE:  Content must be stored on an HL7 managed location.
      • NOTE:  This information must be provided before the project can move to TSC Review
    • Backwards Compatibility - select "Yes", "No", "N/A" or leave as None
    • External Code Systems - select "Yes" or "No" or  "Unknown" 
      • NOTE: If "Yes" or "Unknown" are selected, a sub-task for External Terminology Review will be added. Projects should provide more information on the external code systems that are expected to be used.  The HL7 Terminology Authority (HTA) will review and provide feedback or ask additional questions of the project team.
    • Joint Copyright - select "Yes" to indicate that joint copyright is applicable to this project or "No" to indicate joint copyright is not applicable
      • NOTE:  If "Yes" is selected, a sub-task will be created to provide additional details.  A copy of the Joint Copyright Letter must be attached to the sub-task.
      • HL7 HQ will review and provide feedback or ask additional questions of the project team.
    • External Project Collaboration - provide organizations or individuals external to HL7 that are collaborating on this project
    • >50% External Content - select "Yes" to indicate that "more than 50% of the ballotable ready content" has been developed externally. 
      • Note: this does not include initial requirements, only ballot ready content.
    • Developers of external content - indicate the organization and individuals responsible for developing external content
    • Stakeholders
      1. Select all stakeholders that apply by holding the "ctrl" key (Windows) or the "command" key (OSX) when selecting
      2. If you choose "other", fill in the "other Stakeholders" information
    • Realm - select the Realm for the project.  Options include:  Universal, US or other
      • if you choose "other", fill in the "other Realm" information
  5. Click "Create" to create the issue - the status will be "draft".  
    1. The PSS can be updated until all information is complete.
  6. When the PSS is complete, click "Start Approval" to transition the issue to the new step.

    1. In order to proceed to the "WG Approval" step, the following fields must be populated:

      1. Sponsoring Work Group

      2. Product Information


Step-by-step guide - Normative Notification Information

A sub-task called "Normative Notification" will be created when the issue is transitioned to "WG Approval" if the Normative Notification box is checked when the PSS is initially created.

If your project intends to ballot as Normative, either directly to Normative in its' first ballot cycle (Direct to Normative) or in a subsequent ballot cycle (STU to Normative), additional information must be provided that is required by ANSI.  This information is provided in the Normative Notification Subtask.

  • If your project is going direct to Normative (i.e. by skipping the STU step), check the "Normative Notification" box as you complete the initial PSS.
  • If your project is going Normative as a subsequent ballot, edit the PSS at a later date and check the Normative Notification box.
  • In both cases, a sub-task is created in the project to capture additional information for ANSI
    • The sub-task is created when the PSS transitions to WG Approval status if the box is checked when creating the PSS.
    • The sub-task is created when the PSS moves to "Consensus Review" if the PSS is edited to check the box
    • The sub-task is created when PSS is updated if the status of the PSS is Approved
  1. Click on the "Normative Notification" sub-task to open up the child issue.



  2. Click "Edit"



  3. Fill in the information required by ANSI



    1. ISO/IEC Standards to Adopt - provide the name of the standard that will be adopted or leave blank if none
    2. Does the standard include excerpted text from one or more ISO, IEC or ISO/IEC standards? - click "Yes", "No" or "N/A" 
    3. Provide the Units of Measure for the specification - "US", "Metric", "NA" or "both"
    4. Leave comment blank.
  4. Click "Update". 
  5. Once the information has been updated in the sub-task, hover over the "Normative Notification" sub-task and then click on the "..." that appear.


  6. Click "Complete" to change the status on the sub-task to "Done"

Add Normative Notification by Editing the PSS

If you forget to check the Normative Notification box as the PSS is created or the project is moving to Normative status after STU, you can edit the PSS to check the box as a separate step.

Step-by-step guide - WG Approval of PSS

  1. Once the content of the PSS is complete, it is ready for WG Approval.

  2. Complete the review within the WG. There are 3 options for a WG:

    1. Approve being the Sponsor - Click "Agree"
    2. Do not approve being the Sponsor - Click "Disagree" or "Opt Out"
  3. Agree - if the WG approves being the Sponsor for the PSS
  4. Disagree - if the WG does not agree to Sponsor the PSS
  5. Opt-out - if the WG doesn't believe they are the correct Sponsor for the PSS
    1. NOTE:  If the Sponsoring WG disagrees or opts out, the PSS can not proceed and the project team must seek an alternate sponsor.  This should occur rarely since the WG accepted being a sponsor during the Project Proposal step of the PSS.

  6. When ready, there are two ways to record the WG decision:


    1. Click to the right of "Review" on the Sponsoring WG sub-task on the "..." and options will appear.


      1. NOTE: Do not click "Edit" as this option edits the actual PSS

      2. Click on the appropriate decision to bring up a box where the date of the decision and link to WG Minutes are recorded. (See Step 4)

        1. NOTE: if you choose "Disagree" or "Opt Out" as the decision, the PSS can not proceed to the next step and must look for an alternate sponsor!

    2. Click on the name of the Sponsoring WG to bring up the sub-task


      1. Click on the appropriate decision to bring up a box where the date of the decision and link to WG Minutes are recorded. (See Step 4)


        1. NOTE: Do not click "Edit" as this option edits the actual PS

        2. NOTE: if you choose "Disagree" or "Opt Out" as the decision, the PSS can not proceed to the next step and must look for an alternate sponsor!

  7. Record the date of the WG decision and include a link to the minutes in Confluence where the vote is recorded.  Click "Agree" or "Disagree" or "Opt Out" to save your decision.


  8. If the WG make a mistake when recording the decision, there are 2 options to correct

    1. Approved or Rejected

      1. Click to the right of "Approve" or "Rejected" on the Sponsoring WG sub-task on the "..." and options will appear.

      2. Click on "Ready for Review" which will return the status of the sub-task to "Review"

        1. Click on the appropriate decision
    2. Opt out
      1. Click to the right of "Opt-out" on the Sponsoring WG sub-task on the "..." and options will appear.
        1. Click on "admin reset" which will return the status of the sub-task to "Review"



        2. Click on the appropriate decision

Step-by-step guide - Consensus Review

Once approved by the Sponsoring Work Group (and the Normative Notification sub-task is completed if appropriate), the status of the PSS changes to Consensus Review.  At this point, sub-tasks for any group identified in the PSS (for example, Co-sponsoring Work Groups, Product Management Group, US Realm Steering Committee or other Realm, PBS Metric Review and for external content review).  Notifications are sent to responsible groups based on the sub-tasks created and an announcement email is sent to all Work Group co-chairs and is posted on Zulip.

If your group has been identified in the PSS (for example, as a co-sponsor) or because the project is developing artefacts in a specific product family, you will need to review the PSS and record your agreement or concerns with the PSS.  Work Groups and Management Groups are invited to review and comment on the PSS to identify your acceptance or concerns. The Sponsoring Work Group or Project team will respond to the comments and may update the PSS based on the feedback.  This is a consensus review step rather than an approval step by individual groups.  Approval by all groups is not necessary to move the PSS forward to the TSC.

 The following checklists have been created to guide groups in the review of the PSS:

  • Are projects underway in other Work Groups that are similar to this one that may overlap?

  • Are you aware of projects outside of HL7 that may overlap with this project?

  • Who else should be involved?

  • For identified co-sponsoring Work Group(s)

    • Does this project fit into my Work Group's Mission and Charter? 

    • Is my Work Group be willing to co-sponsor this project?

  • For identified Management Group(s)

    • Are there concerns about this project from a product management perspective

  • PBS Metric Review (completed by TSC Working Group Reps)

    • Are the PBS Metrics for the sponsoring Work Group in the green based the last PBS metrics report?

      • If not, please comment with the action that they need to take.

  • All Co-Chairs

    • Does this project fit into my Work Group's Mission and Charter?

    • Should my Work Group co-sponsor this project or become and interested party?

  • Realm Review

    • Are there concerns about this project from the realm perspective?

The Consensus Review is open for comments to all members of HL7. 

To complete your review:

  1. Complete the review within the group  When ready, there are two ways to record your feedback:


    1. Click to the right of "Review" on the appropriate sub-task on the "..." and options will appear. 


    2. Click on the appropriate decision to bring up a box where the date of the decision and link to Minutes are recorded. (See Step 2)

  2. Click on the name of the appropriate sub-task to bring up the issue.




      1. Click on the appropriate decision to bring up a box where the date of the decision and link to Minutes are recorded. (See Step 2)



  3. Record the date of the review and include a link to the minutes in Confluence where the vote is recorded.  Click "Agree" or "Disagree" or "Opt Out" to save your decision.


  4. If the WG make a mistake when recording the decision, there are 2 options to correct:

    1. Approved or Rejected

      1. Click to the right of "Approve" or "Rejected" on the Sponsoring WG sub-task on the "..." and options will appear.

        1. Click on "Ready for Review" which will return the status of the sub-task to "Review"


        2. Click on the appropriate decision

    2. Opt out

      1. Click to the right of "Opt-out" on the Sponsoring WG sub-task on the "..." and options will appear.

        1. Click on "admin reset" which will return the status of the sub-task to "Review"



        2. Click on the appropriate decision

Step-by-step guide - Adding in additional Co-Sponsors

During Consensus Review, a Work Group may be identified as a potential co-sponsor for the project.  This may be done by the Work Group itself self-identifying as a co-sponsor or by another group that believes that a particular Work Group should consider co-sponsoring.

To add new co-sponsors to a PSS issue:

  1. Click Edit on the top left of the PSS issue


    1. Do not click add a new sub-task by clicking the "+" button under Sub-tasks or clicking "Create sub-task" under "More"
  2. Scroll down to the "Co-sponsoring Work Groups" section and check the box next to the Co-sponsoring Work Group(s) that you wish to add.


  3. Click "Update" to save.  This will add subtasks to the issue for these groups and will send out an email notification to the Co-chairs of those groups.

Step-by-step guide - Add comments to PSS Issue or Sub-task

Additional comments for consideration by the sponsoring Work Group or project team can be added to the PSS Issue.  If the comments are related to the PSS in general, they should be added to the PSS issue.  If the comments are related to a particular sub-task, they should be added to the sub-task.

There are 2 ways to add a comment to the PSS or a sub-task.

  1. Click on the Comment Button at the top of the issue or scroll to the bottom of the PSS issue

          OR 


  2. Click on the Comment Button
  3. In the comment box, add the details of the comment



  4. Click Add.

Step-by-step guide - Joint Copyright Letter

As part of the PSS creation, a sub-tasks is created when the PSS indicates that there is a requirement for joint copyright with an external organizations.  The sub-task is a reminder for the Project Facilitator to ensure that there is a joint copyright letter or Statement of Understanding (SOU) in place with the organization.  HL7 HQ will reach out to the Project Facilitator to ensure the requirements are in place.

  1. HQ will reach out to the project facilitator to ensure that the joint copyright letter of SOU are in place.
  2. To attach a Joint Copyright letter to the PSS, open the Joint Copyright Letter sub-task and drop the file to attach or browse to attach the letter/document in the "Attachments" section of the PSS.



  3. If a comment is necessary, follow the Step-by-Step guide: Add comments to an issue or sub-task
  4. Click "Complete"

Step-by-step guide - Review and Reconciliation of Comments

The review and reconciliation of comments for the PSS is the responsibility of the Project Facilitator who should be monitoring and responding to comments during the 4 week Consensus Review Period.  This will prevent delays at the end of the review period before final approval by the TSC.  The Project Facilitator should monitor the following:

  • Completed sub-tasks - status will change to "Agree", "Disagree" or "Opt-out" or "Done"
  • Comments added to sub-tasks
  • Comments added to PSS

To complete the reconciliation of comments on the PSS parent task:

  1. Review all comments in the parent issue
  2. Click on "Reply" below the comment, add in the response and click "Add"
  3. Review the comments associated with the individual sub-task - Note: the comments from all sub-tasks will appear on the parent issue indicating that it was "Copied" from a sub-task - for example, "Copied from "External Content Review""
    1. Click on "Reply" below the comment, add in the response and click "Add"

Step-by-step guide - Edit the PSS

Based on the review and reconciliation of comments, it may be necessary to edit the PSS.

  1. Click "Edit" on the Parent Task for the PSS


  2. Update as needed
  3. For Product Information, change information as needed by clicking the "Pencil" icon in the relevant field



    1. Update the content and click "Save"
      1. NOTE:  The "Save" button appears grayed out, but allows saving of the content.
  4. Once all changes and corrections have been made, click "Update" at the bottom of the form.



Step-by-step guide - Adding the Project Repository URL

  1. The identification of an HL7 managed project repository is required before the PSS will transition to TSC Review.
  2. To enter the repository URL, Edit the PSS 


  3. Enter the URL in the "HL7-Managed Project Document Repository URL" field
  4. Click "Update"


Step-by-step guide - Linking to a Project Proposal

Once the Project Scope Statement is created, a link to an existing Project Proposal can be added.  Project Proposals must be accepted BEFORE a project scope statement is created for all projects for new specifications that have not been published or balloted.  If the project is for an update to an existing specification, a project proposal is not required.

  1. Open an existing PSS Jira Issue and click the down arrow beside "More" at the top of the issue to open the menu



  2. Select "LINK" from the dropdown menu

  3. "This issue" field - select "relates to" from dropdown


  4. In the Issue field, there are 3 ways to find the Project Proposal Issue ID:


    1. Click the down arrow to find a recent search and select the Project Proposal
    2. Click "Search for an issue" and enter the title or Jira Id for the project proposal
    3. Start typing the title of the Project Proposal (as entered in Jira) or the Jira ID for the Project Proposal
  5. Select the correct Project Proposal
  6. Click "Link"
  7. Once linked, the Project Proposal will show under "Issue Links" 

Step-by-step guide - TSC Approval

Once all of the sub-tasks have transitioned to "Agree" or "Disagree", "Opt-Out" or "Done", the PSS issue will transition to TSC Review.

The TSC Leadership will review the PSS issue to ensure that all comments and sub-tasks have been completed and reconciled.  If necessary, the PSS may be referred back to the sponsoring Work Group to complete this step before review by TSC members.

  1. When the TSC has reviewed and completed their eVote on the PSS, the issue will be updated based on the final decision.

  2. To approve, click "Approve" button.
  3. Enter the Approval date and relevant comments



  4. Status will change to "Approved"
  5. To reject, click "Reject" button



  6. Enter the date of the decision and any relevant comments.
  7. Status will change to "Rejected"

Step-by-step guide - Searching for your PSS in Jira

To find your PSS in Jira,

  1. Once your PSS has been saved and has a status of "draft", an issue has been created the Project Scope Statements/Proposals Project in Jira
  2. To find your project, go to the Jira Project
  3. Click on "Type" and select "Project Scope Statement" and "return" - this filters the list to just Project Scope Statements



  4. You can click on any of the labels at the top of the list to sort
    1. Created - sorts by date created
    2. Updated - sorts by date last updated
    3. Status - sorts by the status of the PSS - a PSS just created will have a status of "Draft"
    4. Reporter - sorts by who reported or created the PSS
  5. Once you find the PSS you are interested in, click on "Key" or "Summary" to go to the PSS

Step-by-step guide - Archiving a PSS

If your project is no longer moving forward, the PSS can be archived.

  1. WG co-chair sends an email to PMO@hl7.org to request the archiving of a PSS
  2. Provide the following information:
    1. PSS Id from Jira
    2. Link to WG minutes with vote to archive
    3. Project Insight ID (if applicable)
  3. The PMO will archive the PSS and update relevant information in Project Insight

If there is a need to re-activate the project at some point in the future, a new Project Scope Statement should be created.