RFC 4858 talks about "Document Shepherding from Working Group Last Call to Publication". There's a significant part of a document's life that happens before working group last call, starting, really, at the time a working group begins discussing a version of the idea that's been posted as an individual draft. It seems reasonable and helpful to begin shepherding when there's a call for adoption as a working group document, and this document gives one Area Director's view of how that extended shepherding function might work, and what tasks might be involved throughout the document's lifecycle.