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Update draft-iasa2-retrospective-2.md
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jlivingood committed Aug 27, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -156,11 +156,11 @@ We propose to initiate a community proceeding to update RFCs pertaining to the O

The [RFC Production Center](https://www.rfc-editor.org/about/) (RPC) edits documents and creates Requests for Comment (RFC). Publishing RFCs is the output of the IETF standards process (and similar processes), and as such is a critical productivity metric for the IETF LLC in operating the IETF. These are metrics such as the volume of RFCs published over time and how long it takes the RPC to edit and publish RFCs once they have entered their work queue.

For quite some time, the RPC has not met the Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets established by the IETF. One reason can be attributed to the age and complexity of the publishing tools used by the RPC, most of which are several decades old. The IETF LLC is investing in a complete rewrite of these tools but supporting that project is further stretching RPC resources. Another can be attributable to the changes introduced by [RFCXML v3](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7991), which has significantly increased the work the RPC is required to carry out pre-publication. The third can be attributed to the ongoing requests for the RPC to support GitHub and Markdown editing as now used by many Working Groups.
For quite some time, the RPC [has not met the Service Level Agreement (SLA) targets](https://www.rfc-editor.org/report-summary/#sla) established by the IETF. One reason can be attributed to the age and complexity of the publishing tools used by the RPC, most of which are several decades old. The IETF LLC is investing in a complete rewrite of these tools, but supporting that project is stretching limited RPC resources. A second reason is attributable to the changes introduced by [RFCXML v3](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7991), which has significantly increased the work the RPC is required to carry out pre-publication. The third reason can be attributed to the ongoing requests for the RPC to support GitHub and Markdown editing, now used extensively by many Working Groups.

In addition, the whole RFC Editor function has been going through a major changes with the new RFC Editor model in RFC 9280 that introduced the RSWG/RSAB and removed the RSE role. This change has brought the RPC closer to the IETF community by giving it more responsibility for editing decisions, more direct contact with community members who want different services, and more direct community reporting requirements. Ultimately, these developments acknowledge the integral and vital role of the RPC, but they have put the RPC leadership in a difficult position as arms-length contractors.
In addition, the whole RFC Editor function has been going through a major change, with the new RFC Editor model in [RFC 9280](https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9280) that introduced the RFC Series Working Group (RSWG) and RFC Advisory Board (RSAB), and removing the RFC Series Editor (RSE) role. This change has brought the RPC closer to the IETF community by giving it more responsibility for editing decisions, more direct contact with community members who want different services, and more direct community reporting requirements. Ultimately, these developments acknowledge the integral and vital role of the RPC, but they have put the RPC leadership in a difficult position as arms-length contractors.

As a result, the IETF LLC needs to provide additional operational direction to the RPC, establish internal workflow metrics, and make significant improvements to the technical tools used by the RPC to perform their work. This will likely have upstream effects over document publishing tools, which should become easier to use and ensure that the RPC is provided with consistently high quality document input.
As a result, the IETF LLC needs to provide additional operational direction and support to the RPC, including establishing internal workflow metrics, and investing in significant improvements to the technical tools used by the RPC to perform their work. This should have positive upstream effects over document publishing tools, which should become easier to use and ensure that the RPC is provided with consistently high quality document input.

The IETF LLC expects to announce steps being taken in this area soon. For the next retrospective in 2027, the community should expect significant improvements to have been made in the RPC.

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