Frequently Asked Questions cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1148-2002

assigned to that system; and what evidence upon which the expectation of competence

was established, the Confirmation Team might have a relatively simple task of

confirming feasibility. Conversely, to the extent that the work is radically different, the

organization for implementation non-existent or immature in its capabilities, or that some

proposed standards are more challenging to meet than prior performance levels

achieved by the management system, the Confirmation Team may need to dig deeply

into the credibility of the implementation assumptions made by the Convened Group and

the Identification Team.

In order to prevent the Confirmation Team from exceeding the process-intended scope

of the WSS set feasibility determination, confirmation protocols might stress that the

burden of proof for feasibility is ultimately and necessarily on the earlier steps in the

Process. There is a recognition in the Process that the Confirmation Team is dependent

to some significant degree upon the knowledge, relevant experience and collective work

of both the Convened Group and the Identification Team. By selecting a Confirmation

Team membership with equal or stronger credentials, there is an expectation that such a

group can draw upon both the tangible and intangible parts of its own collective

experience to more or less rapidly determine if the proposed WSS set is feasible. If the

Confirmation Team is inclined to conclude that it needs to do a separate assessment of

implementing organization capability, this inclination is best viewed as a failure on the

part of the Convened Group and the Identification Team to make clear how they

concluded the set was feasible and the set should be returned to those groups for

further work. In this sense the Confirmation Team's role is analogous to that of judge

and jury in a trial, it is the prosecutor's job to develop both the facts (i.e. standards for

adequate protection), and the case for the conclusions it suggest be drawn from the

facts (i.e. that the standards can reasonably be implemented.)

Q21

What is the significance of the finding that the N&S Closure Process has been correctly

implemented; that is applied with "fidelity"? How can fidelity confirmation to be

approached?

A21

Process fidelity verification relates to the confidence that others who were not directly

involved in standards identification, ought to have in the results of the Process. The

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