Avoid restructuring of current content without extremely good reason
Based on the email discussion we had about this, and in the pre-STF meeting on March 22nd.
While adding new things, new clauses and requirements, new Annexes etc., is useful and appropriate, we should avoid anything that causes renumbering or relabelling of existing chapters, clauses, or requirements.
Many companies using the EN need to do so across many different product divisions and teams, and many use automated internal tooling to collate and organise their compliance reporting, not just for this EN but for many other standards and certifications. Any restructuring of the EN that affects the existing numbering of clauses and requirements can require massive changes to such automated reporting tools, greatly slowing adoption of the new version not least because of the need to keep every team in sync with their reporting to a specific version.
It seems we have agreement not to do this except where absolutely necessary. This Issue is raised as a record of that decision, and for any future discussion of this matter.