NeoNephos Foundation Project Lifecycle Policy

Overview

This governance policy describes how an open source project can formally join the NeoNephos Foundation via the Project Proposal Process. It describes the Stages a project may be admitted under and what the criteria and expectations are for a given stage, as well as the acceptance criteria for a project to move from one stage to another. It also describes the Annual Review Process through which those changes will be evaluated and made.

Project progression - movement from one stage to another - allows projects to participate at the level that is most appropriate for them given where they are in their lifecycle. Regardless of stage, all NeoNephos Foundation projects benefit from a deepened alignment with existing projects, and access to mentorship, support, and foundation resources.

Capitalized terms not otherwise defined in this Project Lifecycle Policy are defined in the NeoNephos Foundation Directed Fund Charter. The following terms are not defined in the NeoNephos Foundation Directed Fund Charter and are as defined below.

  • Supermajority Vote: A vote with ⅔ of all active representatives voting in the affirmative.
  • Technical Steering Committee (TSC): Each project is managed by a TSC. The project defines how the TSC operates. A TSC appoints a project representative to the TAC who speaks on behalf of the project.
  • TAC Sponsor: A TAC Member that supports the application of a new project.
  • End Users: People, groups, or organizations that use the released artifacts of NeoNephos projects.

Policy Revision Process

This project lifecycle is maintained by the Technical Advisory Council (TAC) of NeoNephos Foundation. Revisions to the NeoNephos Foundation Project Lifecycle Policy can be initiated by any member of the Technical Advisory Council (TAC) or the Governing Board. Proposed changes should be documented and circulated among both groups for review and discussion. To enact a revision, a simple majority vote of both the TAC and the Governing Board is required, ensuring collaborative oversight and consensus.

All updates to the policy are recorded and communicated to stakeholders to maintain transparency. This process allows the policy to remain adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of the Foundation and its projects.

Project Proposal Process

Introduction

This governance policy sets forth the proposal process for projects to be accepted into the NeoNephos Foundation. The process is the same for both existing projects which seek to move into the NeoNephos Foundation and new projects to be formed within the NeoNephos Foundation.

Project Proposal Requirements

Projects must be formally proposed. Project proposals submitted to the NeoNephos Foundation should provide the following information to the best of their ability:

  • Project name
  • Project description (what it does, why it is valuable, origin and history)
  • Description of how contributors are promoted to committer status
  • Statement on alignment with the NeoNephos Foundation mission
  • Link to current Code of Conduct (if one is already adopted)
  • Project licenses
  • Source control repositories
  • Issue tracker
  • External dependencies (including licenses)
  • Release methodology and mechanics
  • Names of initial committers, if different from those submitting the proposal
  • Brief description of the project’s leadership team and decision-making process
  • Link to any documented governance practices
  • List of the project’s official communication channels (Slack, IRC, mailing lists)
  • Link to the project’s website
  • Links to social media accounts
  • Existing financial sponsorship
  • Infrastructure needs or requests

Project Acceptance Process

  • Projects are required to present their proposal at a TAC meeting.
  • The TAC may ask for changes to bring the project into better alignment with the NeoNephos Foundation (adding a governance document to a repository or adopting a Code of Conduct, for example). The project will need to make these changes in order to progress further.
  • Projects are accepted per the Voting Requirements outlined in each stage.
  • Satisfaction of the requirements of the initial stage of the project. The TAC will determine the appropriate initial stage for the project. The project can apply for a different stage via the review process.

Stages

Every NeoNephos Foundation project has an associated maturity level. Proposed projects should state their preferred maturity level.

Representatives from all projects may attend TAC meetings and contribute work regardless of their stage.

Incubation Stage

Definition

Incubation projects are projects which the TAC believes are, or have the potential to be, important to the ecosystem of Technical Projects or the NeoNephos Foundation ecosystem as a whole. They may be early-stage projects just getting started, or they may be long-established projects with minimal resource needs. The Incubation stage provides a beneficial, neutral home for these projects in order to foster collaborative development and provide a path to deeper alignment with other NeoNephos Foundation projects via the graduation process.

Examples

  • New projects that are designed to extend one or more NeoNephos Foundation projects with functionality or interoperability libraries.
  • Independent projects that fit within the Foundation mission and provide potential for a novel approach to existing functional areas (or are an attempt to meet an unfulfilled need).
  • Projects commissioned or sanctioned by the NeoNephos Foundation.
  • Any project that realistically intends to join the Growth or Graduated stages in the future and wishes to lay the foundations for that transition.

Expectations

End Users should evaluate Incubation projects with care, as this stage does not set requirements for community size, governance, or production readiness. Incubation projects will receive minimal support from the Foundation. Projects will be reviewed on an annual basis; they may also request a status review by submitting a report to the TAC.

Acceptance Criteria

To be considered for the Incubation Stage, the project must meet the following requirements:

  • Submission of the Project Proposal), as defined above.
  • A TAC sponsor to champion the project and provide mentorship as needed.
  • Have a charter document with an intellectual property policy that leverages open licenses, including, in the case of contributions of code, the use of one or more licenses approved as “open” by the Open Source Initiative. The staff of the NeoNephos Foundation can assist projects in preparing a technical charter following the NeoNephos Foundation’s standard template.
  • In the case of existing projects, an agreement to transfer the project name and electronic account assets (source code repository, social media accounts, domain names, etc.) to Linux Foundation Europe for the benefit of the NeoNephos Foundation.

Approval Process

Once the above Acceptance Criteria have been completed, the project will be scheduled to present their project at an upcoming TAC meeting.

After the review, to be accepted at the Incubation Stage, the project must receive a simple majority of the TAC.

Benefits

Incubation can prominently display on their website/README their status as a NeoNephos Foundation Incubation Project. Projects at the Incubation Stage will receive support from the NeoNephos Foundation in support of the Project’s progression towards the Growth stage.

Growth Stage

Definition

The Growth Stage is for projects that are interested in reaching the Graduated Stage, and have identified a growth plan for doing so. Growth Stage projects will receive mentorship from the TAC and are expected to actively develop their community of contributors, governance, project documentation, and other variables identified in the growth plan that factor into broad success and adoption.

In order to support their active development, projects in the Growth stage have a higher level of access to foundation resources, which will be agreed upon and reviewed on a yearly basis. A project’s progress toward its growth plan goals will be reviewed on a yearly basis, and the TAC may ask the project to move to the Incubation stage if progress on the plan drops off or stalls.

Examples

  • Projects that are on their way or very likely to become Graduated projects.
  • Projects that have developed new growth targets or other community metrics for success.
  • Projects that are looking to create a lifecycle plan (maintainership succession, contributor programs, version planning, etc.)
  • Projects that need more active support from the Foundation or TAC mentorship in order to reach their goals.

Expectations

Projects in the Growth stage are generally expected to move out of the Growth stage within two years. Depending on their growth plans, projects may cycle through Incubation, Growth, or Graduated stage as needed.

Acceptance Criteria

The TAC has not yet defined requirements for the Growth Stage.

Approval Process

  • Project must submit a request to the TAC for consideration to move to Growth.
  • TAC will consider this request in an upcoming TAC meeting after the TAC has had sufficient time to review the request. TAC may request the project to have a presentation in an upcoming TAC meeting that would outline how the project has completed the Acceptance Criteria outlined above.
  • Receive a simple majority vote of the TAC to move to Growth Stage.

Benefits

Projects at the Growth stage will receive support from the NeoNephos Foundation in support of the Project’s progression towards the Graduated stage.

Graduated Stage

Definition

The Graduated Stage is for projects that have reached their growth goals and are now on a sustaining cycle of development, maintenance, and long-term support. Graduated Stage projects are used commonly in enterprise production environments and have large, well-established project communities.

Examples

  • Projects that have publicly documented release cycles and plans for Long Term Support (“LTS”).
  • Projects that have themselves become platforms for other projects.
  • Projects that are able to attract a healthy number of committers on the basis of its production usefulness (not simply ‘developer popularity’).
  • Projects that have several, high-profile or well known End User implementations.

Expectations

Graduated Stage projects are expected to participate actively in TAC proceedings, and as such have a binding vote on TAC matters requiring a formal vote, such as the election of a TAC representative. They receive ongoing financial and marketing support from the Foundation, and are expected to cross promote the foundation along with their activities.

Acceptance Criteria

The TAC has not yet defined requirements for the Graduated Stage.

Approval Process

  • Project must submit a request to the TAC for consideration to move to Graduated.

  • TAC will consider this request in an upcoming TAC meeting after the TAC has had sufficient time to review the request. TAC may request the project to have a presentation in an upcoming TAC meeting that would outline how the project has completed the Acceptance Criteria outlined above.

  • Receive a Supermajority Vote from the TAC and the Governing Board to move to Graduated stage. Projects can move directly from Incubation to Graduated, if they can demonstrate sufficient maturity and have met all requirements.

Benefits

Projects at the Graduated stage are considered “TAC Projects” as defined in the NeoNephos Foundation Directed Fund Charter, and receive all the rights and benefits therein, including the right to appoint a voting member to the TAC.

Emertius Stage

Definition

Emertius projects are projects which the maintainers feel have reached or are nearing end-of-life. Emertius projects have contributed to the ecosystem, but are not necessarily recommended for modern development as there may be more actively maintained choices. The Foundation appreciates the contributions of these projects and their communities, and the role they have played in moving the ecosystem forward.

Examples

  • Projects that are “complete” by the maintainers’ standards.
  • Projects that do not plan to release major versions in the future.

Expectations

Projects in this stage are not in active development. Their maintainers may infrequently monitor their repositories, and may only push updates to address security issues, if at all. Emertius projects should clearly state their status and what any user or contributor should expect in terms of response or support. If there is an alternative project the maintainers recommend, it should be listed as well.

Acceptance Criteria

Projects may be granted Emertius status via a Supermajority Vote from the TAC and with approval from project TSC. In cases where there is a lack of project TSC, only a Supermajority Vote from the TAC is required.

Benefits

For projects at the Emertius stage, the NeoNephos Foundation will continue to hold the IP and any trademarks and domains, but the Project does not draw on foundation resources.

Annual Review Process

The TAC shall develop an annual review process to determine whether projects are in the stage that accurately reflects their needs and goals.

Projects are not required to have their annual review approved, nor will the TAC need to renew a project annually. Instead, the TAC can vote to change the project’s lifecycle stage per the approval requirements listed for each Stage above.

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