Galal Hassan Galal (Network Co-ordinator: in the Chair)

Anthony Finkelstein (Network Director)

Michael Goedicke (Chair of Research Training Committee)

Daniel Berry (Co-ordinator External nodes)

Bashar Nuseibeh (Coordinator A, S, Ge, Ir, UK)

Jose Fiadeiro (Coordinator It, Gr, Sp, P)

Kevin Ryan (Chair of Research Coordination Committee)

Janis Bubenko (Co-ordinator D, F, No, Sw)

Barbara Farbey (Industrial Liaison)

Philippe J Lefevre (Project Officer, CEC)

Wolfgang Emmerich (Infrastructure Co-ordinator)

The previous minutes were agreed as they stand.

Support for ICSE2000 doctoral symposium.

3.1. The Director reported that there has been substantial progress on the FAQ list for the purposes of the Roadshow, and that there was excellent work being done on the Industrial Liaison front.

3.2. The Director reported that GHG is to leave the RENOIR team at the beginning of October 1999 for a senior lectureship at Middlesex University, and that Andrea Zisman is to leave the RENOIR team for a lectureship at the City University. The Director pointed out that these departures are likely to complicate the task of running the project somewhat. It is expected that the BF will step in to take over the co-ordinating role, assisted by Sofia Guerra. The Board congratulated GHG on his career move and wished him luck; it was commented that RENOIR work seemed to benefit individuals’ careers.

3.3 The Director reported that Andrea Zisman has been focusing on the XML project, and that it turned out that the Roadmap task needs more experience than that which AZ has.

3.4 The Director reported that the UCL is likely to gain Olly Gotel from DERA to join as a lecturer. The exact strategy on what her input to RENOIR is yet to be fixed.

3.5 The Director reported that SG has now gained her PhD degree.

3.6 The Director reported that it is not his intention at present to apply for funds to continue the RENOIR network, as no significant benefits are longer likely to accrue since the key participating parties have funds to carry out networking activities anyway. The Director indicated that he would support any member of the Executive Board who may wish to take on the mantle, and apply for funds to continue RENOIR. KR commented that it is currently a burden to carry out RENOIR tasks rather than academic ones, but that it would be sensible to continue the Network in the light of what has been achieved. The Director commented that it was a pity that the Project Officer from the Commission was not present at the meeting, and that it would have been beneficial to have him at the Executive Board meeting. The Director indicated that he would be happy to meet the PO to brief him on the Network’s progress and achievement.

4.1 The Co-ordinator reported that with the exception of Comverse Network Systems Ltd., Israel., all new member contracts now received and admission processed.

4.2 The Co-ordinator reported that in response to his query of membership applications from Malta, the Project Officer (Philippe Lefebvre) explained that since Malta is not an associated state, it is considered under the Mediterranean partnership and legal entities may participate but only on a self-financing basis.

5.1 Bids approved by the Director since the last meeting were tabled. 12 bids had been approved, totalling approximately 11KEuro since the last Board meeting in June 1999. The Co-ordinator noted that the rate of bidding and approval had accelerated slightly, probably due to the fact that the intervening months were the summer recess of most universities, which may explain the higher than usual take up of networking activities.

5.2. The Director reported that there was a bid from Axel van Lamsweerde (Univ. Catholique de Louvain) for 5000 Euros to visit SRI in the States. The Board approved funding of up to 50% of the bid for the stated purpose.

5.3 The budget: The Co-ordinator introduced a budget proposal, pointing out that the final expenditure figures provided by the UCL Finance Office for the year to May 1999 (year 3) were a little higher than those presented in the previous meeting. He also pointed out that he reflected staffing level changes in a higher budget figure for networking activities. He indicated that a provision of approximately 82 KEuro is currently allocated to networking activities. The Co-ordinator warned that it is difficult to make exact estimates because of some bids being in the pipeline. He indicated that a small provision was made for such contingencies.

5.5 The Co-ordinator reported that an activity label for "RENOIR Ambassador" visits was created on the web site, but that there was no specific take up of that as yet.

6.1 Roadmap

The Director reported that the XML tutorial is being delivered at the ESEC’99 conference, but that there was not a great deal of progress on the Roadmap front. However, a deliverable is expected within weeks.

Action: ACWF

6.1 Roadshow

The Director reported that a FAQ for the Roadshow is in progress, and that there has been an offer from Delta to host an instantiation of the Roadshow. ACWF is to give a talk on RE in the Roadshow. A tutorial on Formal Methods is likely to be included in the show.

The Co-ordinator reported that SG has invited members of the network to make contributions to the Roadshow elements, and that there is a page describing the structure if the activity on the web.

6.2 Research training.

6.2.1 MG reported that work on the database/ search engine is continuing, and that the database has been taken temporarily off the web for refurbishment. A student will be doing more work on enhancing the database.

6.2.2 MG indicated that due to pressures on his time, he is unable to work alone on the summer school in RE initiative, and that a consortium will be needed to organise it. ACWF indicated that he was not keen on big events, and that a small training event is likely to have the same value as well as being easier to conduct. There was a discussion on what kind of event it might exactly be. It was agreed that MG will kick off a discussion over the web. GHG indicated that this type of event often has a marked impact on the networking budget and that a budget proposal needs to be submitted early in any event.

Action: MG

6.3 Industrial liaison

6.3.1 A document outlining recent industrial liaison activities was tabled. It was noted that the Nordic RENOIR workshop on RE was a success.

6.3.2 Another document carrying a statement of industrial challenges to the academia was tabled and discussed. DB said that the latter was a good example of industrial problems, which could be used in preparing research proposals and it should be put on the web. ACWF said that it was obvious there were many problems with commitment to RE, such as maintaining commitment to requirements ownership.

6.3.3 There was also a proposal for a mini-conference for RENOIR members. JF offered to put BF in touch with members from Minho Univ. who may be interested to participate.

6.4 Infrastructure and Network communications

GHG reported that the hit counter agreed during the previous meeting was implemented. The following values were accumulated between 16th July 1999 and as on 6th September 1999:

7.1 There was a discussion of a list of candidates to be approached to fill the currently vacant Chair of Ind. & Tech. Committee. ACWF commented that all four candidates were likely to refuse. He commented that what the Board needed was someone who was junior, and preferably a recent move to industry, who might wish to maintain contacts with academia. It was agreed that they should be approached in the order in which they were listed.

Action: GHG

7.2 KR reported that he has been promoted to the post of Pro-Vice Chancellor at his university, and that this meant less time for research. The Director indicated that he would very much appreciate KR seeing the RENOIR project through to its conclusion. The Board congratulated KR on his promotion.

The Board agreed a ceiling of 4KEuros for RENOIR’s support to the event. The Co-ordinator is to write to Jeff Magee asking him to make a formal bid.

Action: GHG

It was decided to hold the next (12th) meeting of the Executive Board at the UCL site in London on 24th January 1999 (Monday). This meeting will be needed to discuss the wrapping-up of the project.

It is currently an open question as to whether there will be a 13th Executive Board meeting, since the project terminated at the end of May 1999. This issue will be discussed at the next meeting