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News
Two New Star Spec Leads are born
by Susan MItchell The Java Community Process (JCP) program says "Thank You" to Spec Leads in two ways, both of which came to yearly fruition on the Monday night before the JavaOne Conference, when all Spec Leads are invited to a dinner party. This gives the Spec Leads a relaxing place to hang out with their fellows, reconnect in person with the Program Management Office (PMO) staff, and realize that Executive Committee (EC) members are normal people, too. The opportunity to press the flesh with Duke is another not-to-be-missed event of the night. After going through a sumptuous buffet line of delectable meats, healthy vegetables, and other fine side dishes and desserts, everyone sat around three tables seating ten or so each. At one table, the lively conversation ranged from shop talk about licensing terms, "edge cases," and Java Specification Requests (JSRs) to less formal banter about travel, unusual foods, spontaneously combusting laptops, sci fi movies, and jewelry. Early in the evening, JSR program manager Liz Kiener said "Thank You" in a second way, by honoring the newest Star Spec Leads who have the special distinction of earning the greatest respect of the PMO, EC, and their own Expert Group. The PMO identifies those who excel in their ability to lead the Expert Group, stay on or proactively update and communicate their schedule, and issue transparency and JSR progress reports. The total number of Star Spec Leads, grows each year when new ones are recognized. At the Spec Lead dinner, Nasir Kahn of BEA Systems and Mike Milikich of Motorola Mobile Devices were introduced as the newest Star Spec Leads.  Nasir, a fairly new Spec Lead who just delivered the Early Draft Review (EDR) for JSR 289, SIP Servlet v1.1, was surprised to be honored so quickly in his tenure, but his Expert Group of more than 30 members knows how capable he is of breaking down complexities into manageable chunks. "This award is a nice gesture, and it's not just for me, but for my really great Expert Group," Nasir said.  Mike's Expert Group for Nasir, a fairly new Spec Lead who just delivered the Early Draft Review (EDR) for JSR 289, SIP Servlet v1.1, was surprised to be honored so quickly in his tenure, but his Expert Group of more than 30 members knows how capable he is of breaking down complexities into manageable chunks. "This award is a nice gesture, and it's not just for me, but for my really great Expert Group," Nasir said. Mike's Expert Group for JSR 271, Mobile Information Device Profile 3, is even bigger, with 120 participants. "My basic approach has been to be completely open and work to make sure that there are no surprises in the Expert Group," says Mike, who holds a teleconference weekly and a face-to-face meeting every ten weeks. Star Spec Leads are fair game for mentoring. According to John Rose, the star next to a Spec Lead's name means, "You can go ask them the question. I pestered Danny Coward when I needed some answers." Fujitsu alternate EC representative Mike DeNicola, approves the use of the Star Spec Lead program as common sense management. "We all realize we need to recognize the people doing the real work and doing an outstanding job of it." |
