TechLabFAQ

FAQ: Membership

Updated December 2022

Table of Contents

What is Tech Lab?

What is the IAB Tech Lab and how is it different from the IAB?
What is a Committee or Council?
What are Task Forces, Advisory Boards, and Working Groups?
Is there a list of all IAB Tech Lab members?

What Are Working Groups?

How many Working Groups can I join?
What is the profile of participants for Tech Lab Working Groups?
Is there a limit to the number of participants from my company in any specific Working Group?
How do Working Groups operate?
How are Working Group meeting notes distributed?
How do I get up to speed on a Working Group?
How often do Working Groups meet? What format are the sessions?
Do I have to actively contribute/speak on calls?
How do I propose a new area of work?
What time zones are meetings held in and how does the IAB Tech Lab work to address those members not in the time zone of the meeting times?
What is the member grid and how do I change or update my staff’s participation?

What is Tech Lab?

What is the IAB Tech Lab and how is it different from the IAB?

Where IAB in the US and internationally is focused on the local market and its business needs the IAB Tech Lab is a global, non-profit, research and development consortium focused on promoting common technology to the digital advertising supply chain. In pursuit of global adoption, IAB Tech Lab collaborates with our members to bring software tools, reference code, and technology certifications to market that help companies implement correctly and efficiently against global industry technical standards. Our three core pillars are code & tools, certifications, and specifications & protocols. IAB Tech Lab considers all IAB’s globally to be business stakeholders in the work we do to cultivate efficient global industry technical standards.
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What is a Committee or Council?

Committees are formed around interest in a particular platform or technology, and include members with roles across the ecosystem. Councils are formed around a functionality, and members involved have that function in their primary role.
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What are Task Forces, Advisory Boards, and Working Groups?

Task Forces are created to address an industry challenge or topic that is emerging and requires discussion, definition, and development of an IAB and IAB Tech Lab perspective. They may transition into a committee or council, should the topic require numerous and long-term resources. Task Forces are made up mostly of invited members, and may include non-member partners should their expertise be required to move forward.

Advisory Boards serve as guidance to committees, councils, or initiatives. These groups are invitation only, and include highly knowledgeable leaders active in IAB Tech Lab initiatives.

Working Groups are formed by members of committees and councils. They are smaller, more focused groups of members, and aim to complete a project, initiative, or committee action that requires member contributions.
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Is there a list of all IAB Tech Lab members?

The full list of all IAB Tech Lab members can be found here
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What Are Working Groups?

How many Working Groups can I join?

You can join as many Working Groups as you are interested in.
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What is the profile of participants for Tech Lab Working Groups?

The IAB Tech Lab working group participants may vary from group to group but are usually made up of CTOs, Developers, Directors/VPs of Engineering, Directors/VPs of Product, Product Managers, Platform/Product Architects and Technical Leads.
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Is there a limit to the number of participants from my company in any specific Working Group?

We prefer to have 3 participants from each company on the roster of each Working Group. This provides coverage in cases of staff changes, time zone offsets, and geographic proximity for in-person sessions, while also ensuring that no single company overwhelms the conversation.
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How do Working Groups operate?

Though working groups cover different topics and specifications, they follow similar operating procedures for ease of participation. Please find the Working Group Rules & Procedures here.
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How are Working Group meeting notes distributed?

Meeting notes are made available after each meeting by email, in the Working Group’s Google Docs folder, or by both of these methods.
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How do I get up to speed on a Working Group?

Whether you’re joining a new Working Group, catching up after an absence, or looking to check in because local time makes attending regular sessions difficult, Working Groups maintain an archive of meeting notes, draft documents, and roadmaps on a Google Docs folder. Additionally, Working Group leads are available for Q&A and recap sessions.
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How often do Working Groups meet? What format are the sessions?

Active Working Groups generally meet for 60 minutes every two weeks. The bi-weekly meetings are hosted on Zoom and often include a screen share component.
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Do I have to actively contribute/speak on calls?

Participation is important to bringing useful code, tools, certifications, specifications, and protocols to the market. While we do appreciate having productive conversations during the Working Group sessions, it’s also important for our members to join the call, listen to what’s happening, and share this with their companies.
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How do I propose a new area of work?

Per the Working Group Rules & Procedures, project and/or solution proposals may be submitted to the working group owner at any time and evaluated by the working group for prioritization. Please find proposal templates here.
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What time zones are meetings held in and how does the IAB Tech Lab work to address those members not in the time zone of the meeting times?

IAB Tech Lab aims to run Working Group calls during various times to include US West and be reasonably accessible to European participants. However, preferences of active Working Group participants does affect the scheduled time. We also run a localized technical communication groups IST (India Standard Time). Additionally, upon request, we can arrange Q&A sessions for interested parties in different time zones.
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What is the member grid and how do I change or update my staff’s participation?

In order to add or refresh your company’s participation in the IAB Tech Lab’s Working Groups and Task Forces, you will make additions/deletions to an Excel Document named the IAB Member Grid. The grid is provided by IAB Tech Lab staff upon request. Updating your member grid is a great way to stay connected and get your teammates more engaged in all that the IAB Tech Lab has to offer. Companies are welcome to request the member grid at any time and add team members to the working groups listed – please strike through any deletions and add anything new in red text. Please email techlab@iabtechlab.com to request your member grid.
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