the CSSWG process Elika J. Etemad aka fantasai W3C CSS Working Group Invited Expert

Overview

Spec Maturation Process
Modularization & Levelling
People and Roles
Decisions & Communication

Spec Maturation Process

W3C Recommendation Track

Working Draft (WD)
Design phase
Candidate Recommendation (CR)
Testing phase
Proposed Recommendation (PR)
Testing phase
Recommendation (REC)
Completed phase

W3C Recommendation Track

Working Draft (WD): Design phase
Candidate Recommendation (CR): Testing phase
Recommendation (REC): Completed phase

Spec Maturation Process
Exploring	Incomplete, rapidly changing. May include many features that will be dropped later.
Revising	Mostly complete and has a well-defined scope. Several more rounds of significant revisions expected.
Refining	Fairly stable: only minor polishing and fairly specific comments left. New features deferred to next level.
Testing	Complete but not finished. Official Call for Implementations. Focus switches to testing.
Stable	Considered stable and ready for wide use. Added to CSS Snapshot. Minor issues, bugs, and some missing tests prevent REC.
Completed	Spec is done and enters maintenance mode. Infrequent and minor errata.

Specs vs. Software
Exploring	Whiteboard drawings and discussions!	pre-FPWD / early WD
Revising	Pre-alpha (prototyping)	mid-stage WD
Refining	Alpha (bleeding edge)	late-stage WD
Testing	Beta (ready for early adoption)	early CR
Stable	x.0 Release (ready for everyone)	Snapshot CR
Completed	x.1 Release (last bugs fixed)	PR, REC

Modularization & Levelling

Monolithic Model

CSS1
CSS2
CSS3

Modular Model

Syntax	CSS2	L3 CR
Selectors		L3 REC	L4 WD
Cascading		L3 CR	L3 CR
Display Types		L3 CR
Sizing		L3 WD	L4 ED
Block Layout
Inline Layout		L3 WD
Positioning		L3 WD
Text		L3 WD	L4 WD
Fonts		L3 REC	L3 WD
etc.

Modularization

Solid, Limited Foundational Spec
Modules Depend on Stable Specs
Independent Progress, Independent Levelling
Manageable Units of Work

Levels

N+1 features superset of N
N+1 behavior subset of N

Levelling Strategy

Levels split based on maturity
Parallel development is OK!
Diff specs for early N+1 work
Synchronization across levels
Retire obsolete Levels

Modularization Dangers

Tangled Dependencies → Defined Dependencies
Fragmented Design → WG-level coordination, generalist experts

People and Roles

CSSWG Roles

www-style/GitHub community
CSSWG Members
spec editors
chairs

Spec “Editing” as Ownership

Editing
Triaging Issues
Technical Proposals
Driving Discussion
Outreach

Decisions

Authority over CSS specs derives from CSSWG, not the editors
CSSWG delegates authority to the editors
Delegation varies by spec maturity
CSSWG resolutions are synchronous, with async input

Communication: Hybrid Model

www-style / w3c-css-wg / GitHub Issues
Telecons
F2Fs

Delegating Authority

	early WD	late WD	CR	REC
Editorial	Editors	Editors	Editors	WG
Bugfix		Editors	WG
Limited Impact		WG
Wide Impact	WG	WG

People Matter

Positive Work Relationships
Good Chairing
Shared Values
Respect All Contributors
Make Friends

Further Reading

about:csswg: http://fantasai.inkedblade.net/weblog/2011/inside-csswg/
the CSS Snapshot: https://www.w3.org/TR/CSS/