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Q & A WITH SEAN SHEEDY
  • Why do you want a seat on the EC?

    The Executive Committee has an important role of stewardship of Java ME. For this to be effective, developers that use the technology need to have a greater voice on the EC.

    I am a candidate because I want to bring the developer perspective to the EC. There is an urgent need for the EC to address issues facing mobile developers, and to grow the environment to meet challenges created by newer platforms. I would like to leverage my experience representing Sprint on the JCP to represent "the rest of us" on the Executive Committee as an individual JCP member.
  • What changes would you like to make happen during your three-year tenure on the EC (if elected)?

    The first change will be to open a communication channel between the EC and mobile developers. This will help the EC identify and prioritize the work that needs to be done to achieve the goal of developing an open, ubiquitous platform.

    What happens after that will depend on the issues that emerge from this discussion. The agenda would include items such as:
    • Step back and examine Java ME and other industry platforms - application, browser, and widget-based. What is the vision for an "open, ubiquitous mobile platform"?
    • Help solve longstanding problems in fragmentation and interoperability that continue to challenge Java ME
    • Encourage the EC to play a leading role in bridging Java ME with newer mobile technologies
    • Work with community leaders to create a dialog between the community and the EC
    • Help the JCP evolve from a generator of standards to a generator of platforms, with the EC as its steward
    • Support the drive to increase transparency of JCP processes
    • Help the EC maintain our collective investment in Java
    • Use the JCP's example to encourage other standards organizations to lower their barriers to access
  • The majority of EC members seem to represent big corporations. How can we ensure that the interests of the broader development community are represented?

    The first step is to elect candidates whose interests are shared by the broader developer community.

    Past election results suggest that the members get elected because of how familiar they are to voters. Corporations have a natural advantage in this regard.

    This election, JCP members should consider voting from the "bottom up" - look at what interests a candidate represents and look at their goals for the EC.
  • How should the JCP adapt to the Open Source movement?

    Standardization is as much political as it is technical. While a lot of standardization is about discussing, Open Source is about making.

    I feel the EC should be focused on a goal of keeping Java ME moving towards providing open environments that are available ubiquitously on target systems. Spinning off the management and development of missing pieces as open source projects could help quickly address issues and fill in gaps in the platform.

    This would require ensuring that these projects are properly defined, funded and staffed. It also means that the JCP should not necessarily reinvent the wheel, but be willing to embrace existing open source projects - up to and including platforms that might currently be considered "competition" to Java ME.
  • If you are elected on the JCP EC which will be your top priorities over your term:
    • energize your company's participation in the community: submit new JSRs, actively participate in EGs, motivate spec leads to become mentors ...
    • evangelize the importance of standards
    • improve the process
    • other


    There is a lot to be done, but the main enablers will be to:
    • Encourage the EC to create a vision for Java ME's future and the drive to achieve it
    • Improve the process so that current developer issues are effectively surfaced and addressed
  • What role do you think standards and standards development will have in the future (if any)?

    I think the JCP needs to go beyond seeing itself as a standards body and instead a creator of compelling platforms. In the highly competitive mobile space, it is not enough for an organization to standardize what somebody has already built. With some changes to the process, the JCP can put itself in a position to leverage its experience and investment in Java ME into a highly compelling, ubiquitously available mobile environment for the future. What better place to do this than in a process with a low barrier to entry, that allows individuals, small companies and large corporations to participate as peers.