LSR Pocket Guide

LSR Pocket Guide is now available from the OMG Document Archive as lifesci/00-12-18. It can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.omg.org/pub/docs/lifesci/00-12-18.[ doc | pdf | ps | rtf | txt ]. Please send your comments and corrections to David Benton.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why is the group called "Life Sciences Research"?
  2. What is the difference between this group and the BioWidget Consortium?
  3. Why do we need standards in life sciences?
  4. Won't standards restrict the way life scientists work?
  5. Does the LSR group develop standards itself?
  6. Why should this standardisation effort succeed when others have failed?
  7. How do I subscribe to the life sciences mailing list?
  8. Is there an archive of the life sciences mailing list?
  9. How do I join the LSR group?
  10. What are the benefits of joining the LSR group?
  11. Do I need to become an OMG member to join the LSR group?
  12. What are the benefits of becoming an OMG member?
  13. How do I become an OMG member?
  14. Is it still worth responding to an RFI if I'll miss the due date?
  15. What's all this about 50 paper copies?
  16. I have some relevant information for an RFI but don't have time to write it up in a response?
  17. What will be done with my RFI response?

Frequently Given Answers

The following answers have been supplied by members of the life sciences group, if you can come up with something better, or would like to comment please contact us. 

Why is the group called "Life Sciences Research"?

This name was chosen after considerable discussion amongst the participants at the initial organizational meeting as the name that most effectively expressed the scope that the group intends to cover. Other possible names did not seem to adequately represent all the sub-domains and disciplines that should be included within the work of the group. These include, but are not limited to: 

What is the difference between this group and the BioWidget Consortium?

The BioWidget Consortium is focused on the use of Java for graphical user interface components (widgets), primarily for the display of genomic maps and sequences. The LSR group is focused on the use of CORBA for objects at all levels of software systems for life sciences research. CORBA is implementation language- and platform-independent, so specifications adopted by the LSR group can be implemented in the most appropriate language(s) on a variety of hardware and operating systems. 

Why do we need standards in life sciences?

The life sciences community has long recognized the need for component-based software for life sciences research. Just as standard hardware interfaces make it possible to purchase the various components of a hardware system from different vendors, component-based software allows system builders to choose components from a variety of vendors and assemble them to meet the unique needs of each customer (researcher or research team). This will free life science researchers from reliance on a single vendor's monolithic software solution. In practice, these monolithic systems seldom offer the optimal software solution for all of a researcher's needs and usually include features that the researcher does not need or want to pay for. Componentry allows the best software solutions to be chosen for each requirement, while paying only for the functionality that is needed. 

Won't standards restrict the way life scientists work?

In fact, by promoting component-based software solutions (see: Why do we need standards in life sciences?), standard object interfaces free life science researchers from reliance on single-vendor monolithic solutions and open many more options to them. They can choose software components based on the functionality, quality, and cost of each component, without being (too) concerned whether vendor-x's component will interoperate with vendor-y's. 

The use of CORBA to define the interfaces to life sciences components means that object oriented techniques such as inheritance can be used to extend standard LSR OMG interfaces to provide access to extra functionality to those who need it whilst still conforming to the standard for those who don't. 

Does the LSR group develop standards itself?

No, in fact you, the life sciences community, develop and define the standards by submitting responses to an RFP in the form of specifications for the areas of life sciences research that you have expertise in. The LSR group itself is merely a mediator that collects these responses, reviews them and through discussion, drives the submitters to form a consensus, it is only at this stage that a standard becomes possible. Clearly many submitters will also be involved in the group, but decisions can only be made by majority vote. 

Why should this standardisation effort succeed when others have failed?

It is based on a strong and very widely accepted technology (OMA and CORBA) and will follow a process (the OMG technology adoption process) that has already proven itself in helping to standardize object interfaces in a variety of areas. 

How do I join the LSR group?

There is no formal joining procedure for the group as such, you are always welcome to come along to meetings and express your opinion. However, if you wish to become fully involved (e.g. voting on whether a standard is adopted) then you will find OMG membership beneficial. 

The best way to join in with the group's activities is simply to get involved: attend the group's meetings, respond to the general RFI, monitor the mailing list and these web pages, volunteer your services to one of the LSR working groups. 

What are the benefits of joining the LSR group?

You can have a direct impact on the direction taken by the LSR group in using the OMG technology adoption process to establish and promote standard interfaces for software objects in life sciences research. This impact can take many forms, but the most significant are probably influencing the overall domain architecture and roadmap (this establishes the group's priorities for issuing RFIs or RFPs and adopting interface definitions), drafting and reviewing responses to RFI/RFP documents, discussing and voting on standards specifications submitted to the group. 

Do I need to become an OMG member to join the LSR group?

No - the group will always be open to anyone who wishes to be involved. However, if you become heavily involved and wish to vote within the OMG technology adoption process then you will find OMG membership beneficial, if not essential. The OMG is a non-profit organisation, membership is available for different levels of involvement and membership fees are not expensive. 

OMG Membership

To fully participate in LSR activities you will find OMG membership beneficial. Information about OMG membership, including pricing and benefits, can be found here. 

Is it still worth responding to an RFI if I'll miss the due date?

[answer based on text from a former co-chair of CORBAmed] 

Some people may not see the RFI until it's too late to respond by the deadline. It is unusual for late submissions to RFIs not to be accepted by the OMG. However, if there are more responses than can be reviewed at a single meeting the ones that met the deadline will have first priority and some of the others may wait until the next meeting before presenting their response. The deadline is set three weeks before meetings so that attendees can have time to review the response beforehand. 

What's all this about 50 paper copies?

OMG meetings are held all round the world and the OMG staff do not have the resources to print out and transport paper copies of responses, this is why you are requested to send 50 paper copies to the meeting site. However, interested people can download your documents from the web and print them themselves if they wish, so the paper copies are not always essential - especially for short responses. Clearly it's your response itself that is valuable to the group - so please send it in electronically anyway (we'll bill you for the paper later ;-)! 

[answer based on text from a former co-chair of CORBAmed] 
With the due date pressing many people will have the concern that the required 50 copies may not be delivered in time. Not to worry. A common way to respond is by sending it via email by the due date (to juergen@omg.org). The fifty hard copies can either be sent later or brought to the meeting at which you present your response. Most attendees will have pulled the response off the OMG web/ftp server beforehand anyway. 

I have some relevant information for an RFI but don't have time to write it up in a response?

[answer based on text from a former co-chair of CORBAmed] 

The best responses can be the short ones that reference other information. A one or two page response that references some web pages, articles, papers, standards, etc. can be very effective. If only a small portion of the referenced information is relevent it helps to point out those areas in the reference. 

What will be done with my RFI response?

[answer based on text from a former co-chair of CORBAmed] 

The responses are put on the OMG ftp site for members to review. People responding to OMG RFIs are encouraged to attend the OMG meeting(s) to present their response and to hear other response presentations and discussion. From this input OMG members draft Request For Proposals (RFPs) in areas (of small scope) they are interested in and they think standard IDL specifications are useful and timely. A task force must vote to recommend issuing the RFP before it is voted on by the Architecture Board and the Domain Technical Committee. At each of these three levels there is often discussion and comments that can likely change the RFP before it is issued. For example, at the task force level the original RFI responses are often reviewed for relevant information (requirements, standards, etc.) that should be included in the RFP. 

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Last modified: Mon Jan 15 16:05:33 2001