W3C Process Document

On 1 August 2014, W3C began a transition away from this document; see the current W3C Process Document.

9 Process Evolution

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The W3C Process Document undergoes similar consensus-building processes as documents on the Recommendation track, with the Advisory Board acting as the sponsoring Working Group. The Advisory Board initiates review of a Process Document as follows:

1. The Chairman advances the Process Document to Last Call by sending a call for review to the Advisory Committee and possibly other recipients.
2. After comments have been formally addressed and the document possibly modified, the Chairman calls for a four-week Advisory Committee review (in the manner of a Proposed Recommendation review).
3. After comments have been formally addressed, the Chairman enacts the new process officially by announcing the W3C decision to the Advisory Committee. If there was dissent, Advisory Committee representatives may appeal the decision.

W3C may publish a revised version of Process Document to make minor clarifications, error corrections, or editorial repairs, without following the preceding review process. The status section of an editorial revision must indicate its relationship to previous versions (e.g., that it supersedes previous versions). The Team must notify the Members when an editorial revision of a Process Document is published.