Information for chairing WG & BOF sessions
This page provides a guide to chairing IETF Working Group or Birds-of-a-Feather sessions.
IESG Guidance on Face-to-Face and Virtual Interim Meetings
This statement provides IESG guidance on interim IETF working group meetings, both face-to-face and virtual. (May 2020)
Important dates for upcoming IETF meetings
Provides deadlines related to requesting sessions and registering for IETF meetings.
Managing meetings training
These courses were first presented in 2021 with the goal of helping WG Chairs organize and run effective meetings that achieve clear outcomes.
General workflow diagram for scheduling, holding, and following up on Working Group meetings
To be developed.
RFC 2418 Provides some further detail about various roles related to organizing and running an IETF Working Group meeting.
The Secretary’s job is to record WG decisions and help organize group activities at a high level. For example, the Secretary may help identify session note takers, but the role responsibilities do not include taking notes directly. Secretaries are designated by WG Chairs. More information about the WG Secretary role is available in Section 6.2 of RFC 2418. Further information is also available in an expired Internet-Draft which, even though it never achieved IETF consensus, may provide useful guidance. Serving as a WG Secretary may also provide useful insight and experience for individuals considering serving as a WG Chair.
Every Working Group session has notes taken to ensure important discussion points and decisions are recorded. The approach to taking notes varies by group and individual, and as most group sessions are now recorded, they do not need to be verbatim. Thus, note takers should be familiar with the general topics and individuals involved in a group, but they do not need to be deep experts. Note takers are usually volunteer or several volunteers by group chairs, often identified at the start of a session.
Working session scribes help bridge in-person sessions for remote participations, particularly those who aren’t able to follow along with video. They can convey actions taken in the room via group chat, and also convey questions or comments from remote participants to the in-person session. In-depth technical knowledge generally is not required and Working Group chairs are always happy to have volunteers at the beginning of sessions.
WG Consultants have specific technical background appropriate to the WG and experience in Internet architecture and IETF process. At the discretion of the responsible Area Director, a Consultant may be assigned to a working group.
The IETF Datatracker tools for meetings require login and are restricted to individuals with specific roles.
IETF Meeting session request tool
See instructions for using the session request tool
Interim WG meeting session request tool
See instructions for organizing interim meetings
Meeting materials submission and management
WG session planning spreadsheet
A sample to help organize working group meeting sessions.
IETF Notes tool
A collaborative notepad is automatically generated for IETF meeting sessions and interim meetings scheduled via the IETF Meeting session request tool.
Formatting & Content of Meeting Materials Guidelines
This document provides suggestions about the form and content of Working Group agendas and minutes.
Template slide deck for chairs - (Google Slides)
Note Well slide - (PPT | PDF | ODP | MD)
Tips for presenters - Tutorial (Slides | Video)
Template deck for presenters
The following information and guides are usually reviewed and updated as needed before each IETF meeting.
General Meeting technology information
Meetecho guide for chairs
Information and actions for chairs of sessions using Meetecho conferencing.
Meetecho testing capabilities
Ways chairs can test Meetecho ahead of group sessions-either group interim meetings or at an IETF meeting.
Meetecho guide for participants
Information and actions for participants to review in advance of joining and IETF meeting using Meetecho.
IETF Meetecho documentation
Details about using Meetecho as a session chair or participant.
Submitting meeting materials
What materials must be submitted after a working group session and how to submit them.
On Consensus and Humming (RFC 7282)
In-person meeting Chromebook instructions