1. Proper use of verbs in ASC C63® standards
C63 meeting
Frederick, Md
May 2017
Presented by
Don Heirman,
Don HEIRMAN Consultants
Chairman of C63.4 (full revision) and C63.4a (NSA test site validation) and C63.15 (Immunity Testing) Working Groups
Use of Verbs

2. Verbs have specific meanings
Verbs are important because particular verbs denote normative (requirements) or informative (recommendations)
Guidance on the use of verbs is found in the IEEE style Manual:
See clauses (shall, should, may, and can) and (that, which)
and the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 Principles and rules for the structure and drafting of ISO and IEC documents
See Clauses 7.2 (shall), 7.3 (should), 7.4 (may), and 7.5 (can)
Use of Verbs

3. Checking “shall” and “should”
The C63.4 full revision WG wanted to be sure that all requirements used the word “shall” and that all recommendations used the word “should”.
There needed to be clarification of the applicability of the these verbs as well:
May
Can
which are not used to denote mandatory provisions
Review of the above was done with three teams breaking up the clauses in the standard:
Team 1: Clauses 1 through 5 Team Leader: Don Heirman
Team 2: Clauses 6 through 11 Team Leader: Horia Popovici
Team 3: Clauses 12 through all annexes Team Leader: Tim Harrington
Use of Verbs

4. Why the concern for verbs
ISO/IEC Directives general statement in clause 7.1
The user of the document needs to be able to identify the requirements he/she is obliged to satisfy in order to claim compliance with a document. The user also needs to be able to distinguish these requirements from other types of provisions where there is a choice (i.e., recommendations, permissions, possibilities and capabilities).
It is essential to follow rules for the use of verbal forms so that a clear distinction can be made between requirements, recommendations, permissions, possibilities and capabilities.
Use of Verbs

5. Why the concern for verbs
IEEE Style Manual general statement in clause —Homogeneity
Uniformity of structure, style, and terminology should be maintained not only within each standard, but also within a series of associated standards. The structure of associated standards and the numbering of their clauses should be identical, as far as possible. Analogous wording should be used to express analogous provisions; identical wording should be used to express identical provisions.
The same term should be used throughout each standard or series of standards to designate a given concept. The use of an alternative term (synonym) for a concept already defined should be avoided. As far as possible, only one meaning should be attributed to each term used.
Use of Verbs

6. “Shall” is critical
From Directives 7.2 table 3—”shall” denotes a requirement and in some cases can be expressed as;
shall is to
is required to
it is required that
has to
only … is permitted
it is necessary
needs to
EXAMPLE: Connectors shall conform to the electrical characteristics specified by IEC
Do not use "must" as an alternative for "shall". (This will avoid any confusion between the requirements of a document and external constraints – see 7.6). Do not use "may not" instead of "shall not" to express a prohibition.
Use of Verbs

7. “Shall” From IEEE Style Guide 10.2
shall indicates mandatory requirements strictly to be followed in order to conform to the standard and from which no deviation is permitted (shall equals is required to).
Note that the use of the word must is deprecated and shall not be used when stating mandatory requirements; must is used only to describe unavoidable situations.
Use of Verbs

8. “Should”
From Directives 7.2 table 4—”should” denotes a recommendation and in some cases can be expressed as;
it is recommended that
ought to
EXAMPLE: Wiring of these connectors should take into account the wire and cable diameter of the cables defined in IEC
Use of Verbs

9. “Should”
From IEEE Style Guide 10.2
The word should indicates that among several possibilities, one is recommended as particularly suitable without mentioning or excluding others; or that a certain course of action is preferred but not necessarily required (should equals-- is recommended that).
Use of Verbs

10. “Will” From IEEE Style Guide 10.2
The use of the word will is deprecated and shall not be used when stating mandatory requirements; will is only used in statements of fact.
From Directives 7.2:
”will” is not described.
Use of Verbs

11. “Can” be able to there is a possibility of it is possible to
From Directives 7.2
be able to
there is a possibility of
it is possible to
Use of Verbs

12. “Can”
From IEEE Style Guide 10.2
can is used for statements of possibility and capability, whether material, physical, or causal (can equals--is able to).
Use of Verbs

13. “May” From Directives 7.2, Table 5 is permitted is allowed
is permissible
EXAMPLE: IEC may be used as an alternative to IEC for connecting hardware that has been previously qualified to IEC :2008.
Use of Verbs

14. “May”
From IEEE Style Guide 10.2
The word may is used to indicate a course of action permissible within the limits of the standard (may equals is permitted to).
Use of Verbs

15. What is in draft C63.4
shall in this standard indicates a mandatory requirement that must be met to satisfy this standard. The word  shall used in an informative annex indicates a mandatory requirement for the use of that annex (i.e. while the annex is not normative, if the user chooses to use it, then the mandatory requirements stated therein using the word shall is to be observed).  
Use of Verbs

16. What is in draft C63.4
The word should is used to indicate that a requirement is recommended but not mandatory
The word may is used to indicate that an action is permitted
The word can is used to express possibility or capability
NOTE—Use of these verbs follows the requirements in ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2: Principles and rules for the structure and drafting of ISO and IEC documents, Seventh Edition, 2016.
Use of Verbs

17. Example of verb checks
4.7.4 LISN impedance and insertion loss measurements
Use of Verbs

18. Example of verb checks
5.1.6 Antenna Positioner
Use of Verbs

19. Example of verb checks
4.3 LISN
Use of Verbs

20. Example of verb checks
Arrangement of Tabletop Auxiliary Equipment
Use of Verbs

21. Conclusions
Need to check verb use in new draft standards and in existing publications when they are being updated
Highlighting verbs with different colors accommodates these reviews
Follow the guidelines of the IEEE Style Manual and that of the ISO/IEC Directives (which is more complete) for stating requirements and recommendations
Check that when copying or referencing another C63 standard, the requirements and recommendations in that standard are what is needed.
Use of Verbs

22. THANK YOU
Use of Verbs

23. Don Heirman Biography Use of Verbs
Donald Heirman is president of Don HEIRMAN Consultants, LLC, which is a training, standards, and educational electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) consultation corporation. Previously he was with Bell Laboratories for over 30 years in many EMC roles including Manager of Lucent Technologies (Bell Labs) Global Product Compliance Laboratory, which he founded, and where he was in charge of the Corporation’s major EMC and regulatory test facility and its participation in ANSI accredited standards and international EMC standardization committees. He chairs, or is a principal technical contributor to, US and international EMC standards organizations including ANSI ASC C63® (immediate past chairman and chairman of the C63.4 working group), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the International Electrotechnical Commission’s (IEC) International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR). He was CISPR chairman between 2007 and He is the chairman of the IEC’s Advisory Committee on EMC (ACEC) starting in July He is also a member of the Technical Management Committee of the US National Committee of the IEC. In November 2008 he was presented with the prestigious IEC Lord Kelvin award at the IEC General Meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is the highest award in the IEC and recognizes Don’s many contributions to global electrotechnical standardization in the field of EMC. He is a life Fellow of the IEEE and an honored life member of the IEEE EMC Society, past member of its Board of Directors, chair of its technical committees on EMC measurements and Smart Grid, past Vice President for Standards, past EMCS president, and past chair of its standards development committee. He is also past president of the IEEE Standards Association (SA), past member of the SA Board of Governors and past member of the IEEE’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. He was the Associate Director for Wireless EMC at the University of Oklahoma Center for the Study of Wireless EMC. He now teaches the practical application of EMC compliance measurements at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. He has also a special collection of his career EMC related papers in the Purdue Library Archives. This was established for researchers in the area of EMC standardization. Access is available on line (See home page for URL). He is a voting member of the US Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) and its Testing and Certification Committee. In addition he is chairman of the SGIP Electromagnetic Interoperability Issues Working Group which is providing EMC recommendations for Smart Grid equipment and systems. He serves as the consultant on Smart Grid matters for the Conformity Assessment Section of the American Council of Independent Laboratories.
Use of Verbs