Considerations for Having a Successful Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) Session
RFC 5434
Document | Type |
RFC - Informational
(February 2009; No errata)
Was draft-narten-successful-bof (individual in gen area)
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Author | Thomas Narten | ||
Last updated | 2015-10-14 | ||
Stream | IETF | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized bibtex | ||
Reviews | |||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 5434 (Informational) | |
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | Russ Housley | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group T. Narten Request for Comments: 5434 IBM Category: Informational February 2009 Considerations for Having a Successful Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) Session Status of This Memo This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (http://trustee.ietf.org/ license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Abstract This document discusses tactics and strategy for hosting a successful IETF Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) session, especially one oriented at the formation of an IETF Working Group. It is based on the experiences of having participated in numerous BOFs, both successful and unsuccessful. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................2 2. Recommended Steps ...............................................2 3. The Importance of Understanding the Real Problem ................7 4. The BOF Itself ..................................................8 5. Post-BOF Follow-Up ..............................................9 6. Pitfalls .......................................................10 7. Miscellaneous ..................................................12 7.1. Chairing ..................................................12 7.2. On the Need for a BOF .....................................13 8. Security Considerations ........................................13 9. Acknowledgments ................................................13 10. Informative Reference .........................................13 Narten Informational [Page 1] RFC 5434 Successful BOF Sessions February 2009 1. Introduction This document provides suggestions on how to host a successful BOF at an IETF meeting. It is hoped that by documenting the methodologies that have proven successful, as well as listing some pitfalls, BOF organizers will improve their chances of hosting a BOF with a positive outcome. There are many reasons for hosting a BOF. Some BOFs are not intended to result in the formation of a Working Group (WG). For example, a BOF might be a one-shot presentation on a particular issue, in order to provide information to the IETF Community. Another example might be to host an open meeting to discuss specific open issues with a document that is not associated with an active WG, but for which face-to-face interaction is needed to resolve issues. In many cases, however, the intent is to form a WG. In those cases, the goal of the BOF is to demonstrate that the community has agreement that: - there is a problem that needs solving, and the IETF is the right group to attempt solving it. - there is a critical mass of participants willing to work on the problem (e.g., write drafts, review drafts, etc.). - the scope of the problem is well defined and understood, that is, people generally understand what the WG will work on (and what it won't) and what its actual deliverables will be. - there is agreement that the specific deliverables (i.e., proposed documents) are the right set. - it is believed that the WG has a reasonable probability of having success (i.e., in completing the deliverables in its charter in a timely fashion). Additional details on WGs and BOFs can be found in [RFC2418]. 2. Recommended Steps The following steps present a sort of "ideal" sequence for hosting a BOF where the goal is the formation of a working group. The important observation to make here is that most of these steps involve planning for and engaging in significant public discussion, and allowing for sufficient time for iteration and broad participation, so that much of the work of the BOF can be done on a public mailing list in advance of -- rather than during -- the BOF itself. Narten Informational [Page 2] RFC 5434 Successful BOF Sessions February 2009 It is also important to recognize the timing constraints. As described in detail below, the deadline for scheduling BOFs is approximately six weeks prior to an IETF meeting. Working backwards from that date, taking into consideration the time required to write drafts, have public discussion, allow the ADs to evaluate theShow full document text