RFC3933

Network Working Group J. Klensin Request for Comments: 3933 S. Dawkins BCP: 93 November 2004 Category: Best Current Practice

              A Model for IETF Process Experiments

Status of this Memo

This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).

Abstract

The IETF has designed process changes over the last ten years in one of two ways: announcement by the IESG, sometimes based on informal agreements with limited community involvement and awareness, and formal use of the same mechanism used for protocol specification. The first mechanism has often proven to be too lightweight, the second too heavyweight.

This document specifies a middle-ground approach to the system of making changes to IETF process, one that relies heavily on a "propose and carry out an experiment, evaluate the experiment, and then establish permanent procedures based on operational experience" model rather than those previously attempted.

Introduction

This document specifies a middle-ground approach to the system of making changes to IETF process, one that relies heavily on a "propose and carry out an experiment, evaluate the experiment, and then establish permanent procedures based on operational experience" model rather than those previously attempted.

Background and Specification

Since the 1992 changes documented in RFC1396, the IETF has used two mechanisms for process changes.

1. IESG has adopted a number of procedural changes on its own

  initiative and documented them informally, utilizing the wide
  discretion implicitly granted to them by RFC2026.  This provided
  a lightweight mechanism for change, but the lightness came with a
  cost: There was sometimes too little alignment with the larger
  IETF community.

2. The IETF has also used the RFC2026 protocol standards

  development process to identify a community of interest, hold one
  or more BoFs, charter a working group, discuss proposed changes
  within the community, develop IETF-wide consensus on the changes,
  and publish (usually) Best Current Practice specifications.  This
  provided full community involvement but also came with a cost in
  flexibility.  The IETF does not change its formal processes often
  (the IPR clarifications in [RFC3667, RFC3668] are the first
  documented changes to RFC2026 since 1996), and the community is
  understandably reluctant to permanently alter or extend formally
  adopted processes with untried new procedures.

There is a middle ground between BCP process updates and informal agreements. This document specifies regularizing and formalizing the informal IESG mechanisms listed in 1 above as a means of moving forward with procedural changes that might prove valuable.

The mechanisms outlined here add to the IESG's range of tools for dealing with process issues on an ongoing basis. They supplement the existing tools rather than attempting to replace them with a single "magic bullet". The choice of using the procedure outlined in this document or other mechanisms available to the IESG and the community -- present or future -- remains in the IESG's hands. If the IESG does not exercise this discretion wisely, this document provides no additional remedies.

Some have interpreted the current procedures as giving the IESG all of the capabilities outlined here. If this were true, this document only encourages the IESG to use this type of mechanism more frequently in preference to less streamlined ones, and to more explicitly document its actions and decisions.

This specification permits and encourages the IESG to adopt and institute "process experiments" by using the following procedure:

1. An I-D is written describing the proposed new or altered

  procedure.  A statement of the problem expected to be resolved is
  desirable but not required (the intent is to keep the firm
  requirements for such an experiment as lightweight as possible).
  Similarly, specific experimental or evaluative criteria, although
  highly desirable, are not required -- for some of the process
  changes we anticipate, having the IESG reach a conclusion at the
  end of the sunset period that the community generally believes
  things to be better (or worse) will be both adequate and
  sufficient.  The I-D must state an explicit "sunset" timeout
  typically, not to exceed one year after adoption.

2. If the IESG believes the proposal is plausible and plausibly

  useful, a four-week IETF Last Call is initiated.  The IESG can
  institute whatever procedures it wishes to make this determination
  and to avoid denial of service attacks from large numbers of
  spurious or unimportant proposals.  In particular, they might
  institute a procedure requiring a number of endorsements, or
  endorsements of a particular type, before the IESG considers the
  proposal.  The IESG is, however, expected to understand that
  procedures or review processes that act as a mechanism for
  significant delays do not fall within the intent of this
  specification.

3. At the conclusion of the Last Call, the IESG reevaluates the

  plausibility and appropriateness of the proposal.  If they
  conclude that the proposed experiment is appropriate, a second I-D
  is generated (either by the IESG or by the original authors with
  IESG advice) that cleans up any definitional issues exposed in the
  Last Call and that explicitly identifies and responds to issues
  raised during the Last Call.

4. The document and experiment are then announced, the experiment is

  begun, and the document is forwarded for publication as an
  Experimental RFC.

The IESG is explicitly authorized to use this mechanism (based on Experimental RFCs) to gain experience with proposed changes to BCP specifications. There is no requirement to approve a BCP specification for the experiment until the experiment is found to have value.

The IESG could, of course, reach a "bad idea" conclusion at any stage in this process and abandon the experiment. It might recommend publication of the experimental document, with a discussion of why it was a bad idea, but is not required to do so. The list above is deliberately vague about where the I-Ds come from: a WG, design team, individual contribution, editing group, or other mechanism could be used in the first and/or third steps, but no specific mechanisms are required, and the IESG is explicitly permitted to generate such proposals internally.

In each case, the IESG's decision to go forward (or not) with a procedural experiment, or the steps leading up to one, is expected to reflect their judgment of the existence of rough consensus in the community. That judgment may be appealed using the usual procedures, but the IESG and the community are reminded that an experimental attempt to try something for a fixed period is typically a better engineering approach than extended philosophical discussion without any experience to back it up.

Nothing above is to be construed as requiring an IETF-wide attempt for any given process experiment. A proposal for such an experiment may specify selected areas, selected working groups, working groups meeting some specific criteria (e.g., those created after a particular time or of a specified age), or be specific in other ways.

At or before the end of the "sunset" timeout, the IESG would either revise (or cause to be revised) the document into a BCP RFC or the procedure would expire and, presumably, not be tried again unless something changed radically. A document describing why the experiment had succeeded or failed would be desirable but could not, realistically, be a requirement. If the procedure went to BCP, the BCP would reflect what we would call "operational experience" in the real world.

We note that, if the procedures the IESG has adopted (and the procedural exceptions it has made) over the last decade are legitimate, then the IESG has the authority to institute the changes specified here by bootstrapping this process.

Security Considerations

This document specifies a mechanism for evolving IETF procedures. It does not raise or consider any protocol-specific security issues. In considering experimental changes to procedures, the IESG should, of course, exercise due caution that such changes not reduce the quality of security review and consideration for protocols or, at least, that the process experiment proposals contain early detection and correction mechanisms should quality deterioration occur.

Acknowledgements

The first revision of this document benefited significantly from suggestions and comments from Avri Doria, Margaret Wasserman, and Harald Alvestrand, and from discussions with the General Area Directorate and at its open meeting during IETF 59. After mailing list discussion, considerable explanatory material was removed to a separate document for the current version.

The first version of this document was posted as an Internet Draft on February 7, 2004.

References

Normative References

RFC2026 Bradner, S., "The Internet Standards Process -- Revision

         3", BCP 9, RFC 2026, October 1996.

Informative References

RFC1396 Crocker, S., "The Process for Organization of Internet

         Standards Working Group (POISED)", RFC 1396, January 1993.

RFC3667 Bradner, S., "IETF Rights in Contributions", BCP 78, RFC

         3667, February 2004.

RFC3668 Bradner, S., "Intellectual Property Rights in IETF

         Technology", BCP 79, RFC 3668, February 2004.

Authors' Addresses

John C Klensin 1770 Massachusetts Ave, #322 Cambridge, MA 02140 USA

Phone: +1 617 491 5735 EMail: [email protected]

Spencer Dawkins 1547 Rivercrest Blvd. Allen, TX 75002 USA

Phone: +1 469 330 3616 EMail: [email protected]

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