RFC Process & State Machine

Vyasa RFC Process & State Machine

This document defines the lifecycle, states, and transitions for Vyasa Request for Comments (RFC) documents. This state machine ensures alignment across all contributors without requiring complex external CI/CD tooling.

RFC States

Every RFC document must include a **Status**: [State] line in its metadata block. The allowed states are:

1. Draft: The RFC is currently being written or is under active discussion. The implementation is either non-existent or highly experimental.
2. Prototyping: The RFC is actively exploring choices through experimental code, proofs-of-concept, or research before finalizing the design.
3. Accepted: The architecture and proposal within the RFC have been approved. Implementation may begin or is currently in progress, but it is not yet complete.
4. Implemented: The features described in the RFC are fully implemented, merged into the main codebase, verified, AND user-facing documentation + reference implementation are available.
5. Deferred: The RFC proposal is sound, but implementation is postponed indefinitely due to shifting priorities or technical blockers.
6. Rejected: The proposal was considered but ultimately rejected. The document is kept for historical context to prevent revisiting the same dead ends.

State Transitions

• Draft → Prototyping: Occurs when active coding or research is needed to validate the RFC’s assumptions.
• Draft/Prototyping → Accepted: Occurs when the team reviews the RFC and agrees on the design.
• Accepted → Implemented: Occurs when the code implementing the RFC is verified, merged, and fully documented for end-users.
• Draft/Accepted → Deferred: Occurs when a blocker arises or priorities shift.
• Draft → Rejected: Occurs if the proposal is deemed unsuitable for the project.

Revising an Implemented RFC

If an implemented RFC is found to have flaws or requires significant architectural updates, we do not create a new superseding RFC. Instead, we maintain the same document identity (RFC#) and version it:

1. Revert the RFC’s status back to Draft or Prototyping.
2. Add a Revision History section to the document to log the changes (e.g., v2: Updated to address flaw in X).
3. Proceed through the normal state transitions until the revised architecture is Implemented once again.