Training material for W3C chairs.

1. W3C Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Arnaud J Le Hors
Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards, IBM
lehors@us.ibm.com
23 October 2014
© 2014 IBM Corporation

2. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Presenter Overview
■ Senior Technical Staff Member, Open Web Standards,
IBM Software Group
■ Standards Professional
■ Former W3C Team Member
■ Worked on many standards: HTML, DOM, XML as well
as open source: Apache Xerces
■ Linked Data Platform WG Chair
■ Social Web WG Co-Chair
■ RDF Data Shapes WG Chair
■ IBM AC Rep.
© 2014 2 IBM Corporation

3. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Challenges
■ Rigorous W3C Process (especially at Last Call/Candidate Recommendation)
– Dealing with public comments can be very time consuming
– Fairly simple changes can lead to weeks of delays
■ W3C culture
– Timeline set by the charter is typically not taken seriously; we need to change this.
– “Perfection” is often favored over on-time delivery – fueled by fear of being stuck with the
wrong solution or no solution for years to come, which creates a vicious cycle
 Very diverse community
– W3C seeks to be very inclusive but the bigger the group the harder it is to get agreement
– Participants often have very different backgrounds, use different terminology, and care
about different use cases
– Not everyone knows how to collaborate effectively
■ Reaching consensus is harder than deciding by majority vote
■ Chairs must foster a productive environment without sticks nor carrots.
■ Co-chairing requires good communication among the chairs and agreed upon ways of
working
■ Level of support from the Team can vary.
© 2014 3 IBM Corporation

4. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Process
■ Know the W3C Process:
– Different types of deliverables: Rec Track and Non-Rec Track documents
– Different states: FPWD, Last Call/Candidate Recommendation, PR, REC
– Transition requests
– Minimums for review periods, for implementations, etc.
■ Educate WG members so they understand what needs to be done.
■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure.
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5. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Tools
■ Know the W3C tools that are available:
– Trackbot, Zakim, RRSAgent
– Tracker
– Wiki
– Mercurial
■ Educate WG members so they can help.
■ Ask your Team contact for help when you're not sure.
© 2014 5 IBM Corporation

6. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Keeping WG in Scope
From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles :
“The ability to keep the Working Group "in Charter", both for technical and IPR issues”
■ Use charter as your primary tool for scope and deliverables
■ Agree on a set of governing Use cases & Requirements to further define the problem to be
addressed.
– It is very hard to solve a problem that is poorly defined.
– This can also help establish a common terminology.
 Develop a wish list to capture possible future work items – this provides a relief valve.
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7. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Keeping WG on Time
■ Keep track of your WG's timetable:
1. Start from the charter
2. Further refine it, determining intermediary milestones and deadlines that need to be met
to deliver on time:
Editing, WG review, decision to publish, publication, comment period, etc.
3. Update your timetable as things progress
■ Keep the WG informed about it – force them to face the reality, do not let them think it's ok to
blow the WG's deadlines
■ Propose cuts to the spec or deliverables when deadlines become impossible to meet
– Non-Rec track deliverables are low hanging fruits – Primers are nice to have but not
required for success
– Postpone by moving things to wishlist rather than dropping them – It is much easier for
people to accept.
 Be drastic about this, consider the current WG's expiration date as final.
© 2014 7 IBM Corporation

8. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Conducting productive meetings
■ Send a detailed agenda beforehand
– Highlight important proposals in your announcement
– Keep track of time and move topics off line when running out of time
■ Drive the discussion
– Manage the queue
– Refocus the discussion when needed
– Cut in when needed – you're the chair, you have the right to interrupt, use it
– In case of tension prompt the quieter participants for their opinion
■ Restate as clearly as possible what the different positions and options are
■ Avoid open ended questions, drive discussions around specific proposals and issues.
– Once a draft is available focus discussions on specific aspects of the spec, specific
sections or paragraphs if possible
– Request proposed changes
 Don't let the most vocal participants overcast where the WG stands
– Have frequent strawpolls to check where the WG actually stands.
 Make proposals
© 2014 8 IBM Corporation

9. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Consensus
■ Decisions are to be made by “Consensus”
■ Formal proposals should be clearly spelled out (by chair or scribe on IRC) a la:
PROPOSED: Close Issue-32 by changing the type of X in section 3.2 from int to float
■ Make sure people understand the voting process and the meaning of -1!!
• +1 means “Yes”
• 0 means “Abstain”
• -1 means “No”, as in “I object/veto.”
• Variations a la “-0.5” or “+.8” are often used to express degrees of opinion, only “-1”
is blocking.
■ When someone objects to a proposal:
– Ask for an explanation
– Investigate possible ways to address the objection
– Ask for a counter proposal
 In case of deadlock:
– Try to come up with a proposal that might address everyone's needs
– Consider talking to the various parties off line to better understand their position
© 2014 9 IBM Corporation

10. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Consensus vs Majority vote
■ Consensus is Not a majority vote
■ Example:
– Proposal A has a bunch of +1s and one -1
– Proposal B gets a bunch of 0s, maybe a few -0.5s, and a +1 (typically from the person
who voted -1 on A!)
– Consensus is B even though the majority prefers A!!
■ Key question to ask is: “Can you live with it?”
© 2014 10 IBM Corporation

11. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Formal objections
■ Objective of reaching consensus must not lead to a WG being held hostage
■ Don't be afraid of Formal Objections:
1. Document efforts made to accommodate objection
2. Notify objector of the possibility of filing a formal objection
3. And Move on!
■ In practice very few people file formal objections.
■ Formal objections are not a showstopper if you can demonstrate that reasonable
attempts have been made to accommodate.
© 2014 11 IBM Corporation

12. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Chair's neutrality
From the Role of the Group Chair http://www.w3.org/Guide/chair-roles :
“The ability (both actual and perceived by the Working Group -- including potential
competitors) to forge consensus fairly and without bias from your affiliation/employer and,
sometimes, even your own technical positions;”
■ Chairs should abstain from casting votes – have someone else from your organization
representing your organization if necessary.
■ It may be reasonable for Chairs to take position in case of a tie.
© 2014 12 IBM Corporation

13. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Issues and Resolutions
■ Use Tracker to record issues and keep track of them
■ Anyone can “Raise” an issue but a WG decision is needed to “Open” an issue
– Ensure the issue is new and in scope
– Encourage people to propose a solution when they raise an issue
■ When a proposal has been made the issue may be marked as “Pending Review”.
■ Review the list of open issues regularly (e.g., on weekly calls)
■ Make sure all resolutions are clearly recorded (use “Resolved: xxx” in IRC)
■ When closing an issue add a link to the resolution from Tracker to the minutes
■ Do NOT reopen unless new information is being brought in.
■ Some WGs prefer using Github which has its advantages but the process should be similar.
– Consider using Github issues for minor/editorial issues and Tracker for issues that are to
be resolved by WG.
© 2014 13 IBM Corporation

14. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Enabling remote and asynchronous participation
■ Asynchronous participation and asynchronous decision making takes more time.
■ Most practical way seems to be:
1.Make decisions during meeting/call
2. Publish minutes highlighting resolutions
3. Approve minutes on the next call – effectively confirming the resolutions
■ This allows those who couldn't attend the meeting to object before resolutions are confirmed.
© 2014 14 IBM Corporation

15. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Action Items
■ Use Tracker to record Action items and keep track of them
■ Make sure the person accepts the action item
– It is inappropriate and counterproductive to give actions to people without their consent
■ On completion, action owners can mark their actions as “Pending Review”
■ Review action items regularly (e.g., on weekly calls)
– Close completed actions
– Identify and address possible blocking issues
© 2014 15 IBM Corporation

16. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Developing documents
■ Identify a couple of editors (2 seems optimal)
– Ensure they are committed and have the time this requires
■ Ensure WG members are paying attention
– For milestones (e.g., FPWD) identify a couple of people who take action items to review
■ When applicable, think about developing a test suite early on
– Issue resolutions are great opportunities to add tests
– Failing to develop the test suite will lead to delayed CR
 Be pro-active, inquires who's going to implement what
– If something seems to be lacking support mark it as “At RISK”
© 2014 16 IBM Corporation

17. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Publishing documents
■ Know the W3C publication process and schedule
– Documents must be PubRules compliant – don't forget the link checker
– Publications only occur on Tuesdays and Thursdays
– Beware of blackout periods (e.g., TPAC)
– Transition requests can take time, especially when call with W3M is necessary
■ Help new editors with the publication process – failure to fully understand the rules and
process invariably leads to delay in publication.
■ Secure participation from your Team contact
– They have to participate in the publication process (copy doc to TR space)
– They can help smooth things out and avoid unnecessarily delays.
© 2014 17 IBM Corporation

18. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Dealing with comments
 Probe the public often
– The earlier you deal with feedback the better off you are.
– If you know of any stakeholders (groups or individuals) prompt them directly.
 Keep track of Last Call “Disposition of comments” using Last Call Tracker or some other tool
– Ensure someone (e.g., the editors) is committed to:
1. Sorting out comments,
2. Bringing to the WG what needs to be discussed,
3. Responding to the public and chase commenters for their acknowledgement,
4. Documenting all of the above!
– When answering comments request response by a specific date.
– Documented due diligence is key to successful transition requests.
© 2014 18 IBM Corporation

19. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Parting thoughts
 There are many things you do not control that can lead to delays:
– Fluctuating levels of participation or attention, late issues, public comments, etc.
 You can mitigate some of these by being proactive:
– Watch out for warnings: people no longer showing up on calls, not responding, etc.
– When needed reach out to people directly and seek help from your Team contact.
 At the same time there are many things you do have control over:
– Keeping the WG focused, running meetings effectively, avoiding repeats, setting
deadlines, etc.
 And these can have a big impact so, don't miss out on those!
© 2014 19 IBM Corporation

20. Chair Training – Focus and Productivity
Reading material
 Joseph Reagle's Thoughts from the P3P Harmonization WG
http://www.w3.org/Guide/reagles-experiences.html
 Predicting milestones
http://www.w3.org/Guide/predicting-milestones.html
 Good Practice for Managing Reviews and Review Comments
http://www.w3.org/2006/07/comments.html
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