The Incubator concept includes an option that has the potential to efficiently transition Incubator Group (XG) work to form a new Recommendation Track Working Group. This is a good option for XG work that shows promise for becoming an important component of the Web infrastructure. In some cases, the original Charter may state the intention to move to the Recommendation Track. In other cases, the desire to move to the Recommendation Track may only become clear after the XG has worked for some time.
To expedite transition to the Recommendation Track, the XG should address the criteria listed in the Process Document for Activities and Groups, and the advice in Tips for Getting to Recommendation Faster. The most important of these include:
The figure above illustrates the time line of actions that could lead to completion of XG's work through publication of an XG Report, and also the option to expedite the start of work within a Working Group on the Recommendation Track. The XG's intention to transition to the Recommendation Track (in essence, to become a candidate Working Group) is either announced in the Charter, or if decided during the life of the XG, announced via an email from the Chair to the Activity Lead, which is then forwarded to the Advisory Committee discussion mailing list.
Development of the Working Group Charter is done cooperatively between the XG participants and the Team. Advisory Committee review of the Charter, and Director's decision to approve (or not) a new Working Group takes place as specified in the Process Document. However, the Incubator concept allows these steps to be completed in parallel with the technical work of the XG. If the new Working Group is approved — and depending upon the consensus built around the work done previously within the XG Report — the Working Group could very rapidly request publication of the XG Report in the form of a Last Call Working Draft. In theory, this scheme has the potential to allow for a time line that is compressed relative to working on the Recommendation Track alone: The XG is allowed to start quite rapidly, and the consensus building and initial technical work can be completed in parallel with the process of Working Group charter development and Advisory Committee review.