Although each Working Group (WG) and Task Force (TF) is different, the following table describes the recommended stages in the development of a deliverable.
| Stage | Activity | Exit Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Initiation | Introduce members; agree on vision, mission, process, and tools | Consensus on vision, mission, process, tools |
| Problem Definition | Stakeholders propose use cases to build a map of what problems they need to solve for whom | Consensus on the problem map |
| Requirements | Extract and enumerate specific requirements from the problem map | Consensus on requirements |
| Design Principles | Develop the principles that need to guide/govern design of the solution | Consensus on design principles |
| Proposals | Members submit proposed solution designs | No further proposals |
| Consolidation | Members identify common elements and seek to develop a consolidated proposal | Consensus on contents of first Working Draft |
| Working Drafts † | A cycle of publishing Working Drafts, raising and resolving issues, and agreeing on revisions | Consensus on first Public Review Draft |
| Public Review Drafts | Same as Working Draft stage except with public review | Consensus (or vote) on WG Approved Draft |
| WG Approved Draft † | WG decision to submit for SC approval | Consensus (or vote) to submit for SC approval |
| ToIP Approved Draft † | SC decision to approve as ToIP Deliverable | Consensus (or vote) to approve |
† Stages officially recognized in the Linux Foundation Joint Development Foundation process.