decentralized-identity / template-for-WGs

DIF Working Group Repo Template

About

Use this repository template for DIF Working Groups. It does the following:

• Contains the group's common files (such as license and contributing instructions) in the main branch
• Establishes the group's processes

Template Instructions

• Find/replace "template-for-WGs" with working group name
• Update all of the links in AGENDA.md and set up hackmd integration
• Update CODEOWNERS
• Update the README. This includes
  • All content and links in this file
  • Any other group processes
• Link to the group's charter and operating addendum (if used). A standard place to do this is in the "Resources" section below
• Update CONTRIBUTING.md with any group-specific processes
• Add any starting point work items
• Update github repo settings

Example README.md content is below

About this group

We are a group!

Resources

• Website
• Meeting minutes/agenda
• Meeting recordings
• The group's Charter and Operating Addendum
• All ongoing and prior work item repos on GitHub can be browsed here
• Mailing List: Receive the latest updates here.

Creating a new work item

1. Ensure that you have completed the DIF IPR process. You must have at least two co-owners from different organizations for your work item to be considered.
2. Fork this repository to your GitHub account and clone the fork to your local machine.
3. In the project directory on your local machine, copy templates/work_item.md into lowercase snakecase "short name" for your work item in work_items/. For example, cp templates/work_item.md work_items/credential_revocation.md. Add your work item to the list of active work items in work_items/README.md.
4. Populate your work item by completing all the sections in the template, including answering all the questions.
5. Commit your changes locally and push to your GitHub account's fork of this repository.
6. Create a Pull Request against the parent repository including your local changes, and await a decision by the chairs, which is conducted using majority approval across an odd number of chairs. Your item co-owners must express in the Pull Request via GitHub comment that they accept the responsbilities of work item ownership.
7. Upon approval via merging, chairs will create 1 or more repos and assign code-owner status to applicants, then begin an email thread with the chairs. discuss asynchronously if you require any administrative resources from DIF, such as a regularly scheduled Zoom meeting link, inclusion on the DIF calendar, help configuring hackmd for in-meeting notes/agendas, or any other help facilitating your work item.

Work item ownership responsibilities

As a work item owner, you will have the following responsibilities:

• Timely response to questions and status check-ins about the work item by the chairs and other DIF members.
• Commitment to designating and sending a work item representative for all C&C WG twice-monthly meetings who can speak on the status of the work item and summary of events.
• Commitment to timelines and scope of deliverables and/or meetings, and being proactive in communications to the chairs and the group upon any changes to these. Changes to the work item are made and approved in the same Pull Request process described above, except the PR should contain changes to the work item markdown file instead of adding a new one.

Types of working items

We informally recognize a few main formats for work items and recommend the following conduct for each:

• A Standards-Track Specification is meant to describe curated lists or data formats that will enable interoperability across systems. It should have a destination in mind, such as the W3C Credentials Community Group.
• A Round Table is an ongoing discussion with specific topics with the goal to solicit broad participation towards consensus-informed community viewpoints or the exploration and rank ordering of potential future work items.