Overview

This lifecycle document is maintained by the LF Energy Foundation (“LFE”), and its purpose is to:

• Describe the requirements for creating a new Working Group (WG) or Special Interest Group (SIG) at LFE;
• Provide a clear process for establishing a WG or SIG at LFE; and
• Set milestones and requirements for the WG or SIG once accepted into LFE.

LFE may adopt or amend this document by votes of its Technical Advisory Council (“TAC”) and Governing Board.

Definitions

Working Groups (WG)  are committees that have a specific mission and focus and are meant to be either time-bound or deliverable-bound. 

Special Interest Groups (SIG) are committees that focus on a particular topic or space and are meant to be more places for discussion and collaboration, and less focused on specific deliverables.

Examples

• Topical areas that are within the scope of LFE and are of interest to participants.
• Potential new project(s) that are designed to extend one or more LF Energy Projects with functionality or interoperability libraries that are at an early stage of concept development.
• Cross-functional WGs or SIGs that have common interests across multiple LFE Projects, such as architecture, industry acceptance, or aligned practices.
• WGs or SIGs that are commissioned or sanctioned by LF Energy.

Stages

This document provides for five lifecycle stages for WGs and SIGs:

• Sandbox;
• Active; and
• Emeritus

All WGs and SIGs must meet the Sandbox stage requirements. It is possible that some working groups may be approved as Active stage at the same time to advance directly to that stage. 

Sandbox

WGs and SIGs being submitted to the LFE TAC at the Sandbox level are intended to be the entry point for WGs and SIGs. WGs and SIGs at the Sandbox Stage maybe one or more of:

• Topical areas that are of interest to the LFE TAC and/or community that look to have a hub for discussions.
• Specific needs within the LFE TAC and/or community that deem to have a cross-functional approach to addressing.
• Ideas that could lead to project proposal(s) to the LFE TAC.
• WGs or SIGs that are commissioned or sanctioned by LFE TAC or Governing Board.

Requirements

To be accepted at the Sandbox stage, a project must:

• Submit a completed WG and SIG Proposal Template to the TAC, or the TAC’s designated recipient for contribution proposals. The proposal should include the following information
• Name of the proposed WG or SIG
• Mission statement
• Expected deliverables
• Timeline for the working group
• Initial collaborating organizations and/or individuals.
• Provide such additional information as the TAC may reasonably request.
• Be available to present to the TAC with respect to the working group’s proposal and inclusion in LF Energy. Working Group teams should be prepared to present a detailed (20-30 minutes in length) overview of the working group in addition to speaking to the information contained in the working group contribution proposal.
• Be deemed by the TAC to add potential value or value to the mission of LF Energy.
• Obtain an affirmative vote of the TAC.

Benefits

The Sandbox Stage benefits are outlined below.

• Neutral hosting of the working group’s community and any key assets (e.g. trademark, domain, etc.).
• Basic infrastructure support that includes
• Mailing lists
• Wiki space
• Channel on the LF Energy chat infrastructure
• Access to the video call infrastructure to host the WG or SIG meetings. 
• A sponsor from the TAC to assist the project in reaching the Active Stage and to facilitate collaboration with other project communities.
• Right to refer to the project as a Sandbox Working Group of LF Energy, and an opportunity to participate in events and other collaborative activities sponsored by LF Energy.
• Subject to applicable trademark usage guidelines, to display LF Energy’s logo on the project’s code repository.

Expectations

Sandbox Stage working groups should provide a quarterly report to the TAC outlining its progress on completing the requirements for the Incubation Stage. It’s expected that the primary focus on the working group will be establishing a charter, which will outline the following items:

• Overview of the working group
• Goals and non-goals of the working group
• Expected deliverables and timeline

It’s expected that working groups in the Sandbox Stage move to the Active Stage within one year. In the case of a Sandbox Stage working group that is not renewed with LF Energy, the trademark and any other assets will be returned to the project maintainers or an organization they designate.

Active Stage

The Active Stage is for working groups that have established a charter and are ready to begin the collaboration. 

Acceptance Criteria

To advance to the Active stage, a Working Group Sandbox stage criteria plus:

• Establish a charter that addresses the following items:
• Overview of the working group
• Goals and non-goals of the working group
• Expected deliverables and timeline
• Present to the TAC on the charter.
• Receive a majority vote from the TAC.

Benefits

Active Stage working groups are entitled to the following benefits in addition to those benefits at the Sandbox stage.

• Right to refer to the working group as an LF Energy Working Group.
• Marketing/communication/PR support that includes project promotion via blog posts, social media, and LFE website; support with white papers and posters, and any type of marketing collateral designated to promote the working group.

Emeritus Stage

Emeritus working groups are working groups that have either fulfilled the goals and deliverables outlined in the working group charter, or have stalled in their progress and are no longer of interest to the participants in continuing it’s work. The LFE will continue to hold the IP and any trademarks and domains, but the working group does not draw on foundation resources.

Acceptance Criteria

Working Groups may be granted Emeritus status via a 2/3 vote from the TAC and with approval from working group ownership. In cases where there is a lack of project ownership, only a 2/3 vote from the TAC is required.

Benefits

Emeritus stage Working Groups will have a long-term home for the working group asset. Each Emeritus Working Group will have a sponsor from the TAC to monitor any security or trademark concerns raised, and at the TAC’s discretion may address them. LFE will remove the promotion of Emeritus Working Groups from its website and other promotional materials.

Annual Review Process

The TAC will review each working group on an annual basis. This review will gauge whether the working groups have either fulfilled their goals and deliverables or if the work has stalled or is no longer relevant to the LFE TAC and community.

Working Groups will schedule their annual review as part of the next TAC meeting following the anniversary of the project’s acceptance. Working Groups should prepare a short presentation that covers the following points, which the TAC will use in its review of the project:

• The current activity of the working group, including participants and deliverables.
• Assessment of whether the working group has fulfilled its goals and deliverables, and if not the timeline for doing so. 
• Feedback on its experience as an LF Energy working group, including benefits from being an LF Energy working group and areas that the TAC and LFE staff can better support the project.

Annual reviews require a majority affirmative vote of the TAC for the working group to continue at the current stage or the appropriate number of votes to move to the next stage. If the TAC deems the working group to not be currently meeting the requirements of the current stage, it may vote to move the project to the appropriate stage or Emeritus stage. The working group may choose to move outside of the LFE at any time.

Transition

The TAC is expected to review all working groups during their next review cycle based on the criteria for each stage and the process as defined in this document.