This Guidebook is the collected wisdom of the W3C Group Chairs, team contacts and other contributors.
The W3C Process describes the lifecycle of chartered groups. At a high level, W3C closes a work Group once it has completed its work.
Sometimes, after successful completion, the Group is left open to perform maintenance; other times, it is closed and a Community Group performs this function.
Exceptionally, a group may be closed before it has completed its work:
A proposal to close a Group before the end of its chartered term must be explained. An Advisory Committee review takes place and, if that confirms that the group should be closed, a W3C Decision announces closure of the group.
Note that, if the Group has Recommendation-track specifications in development, and they have not yet reached W3C Recommendation status, closing the group terminates Disclosure Obligations for those specifications.
There is Team-only documentation of the detailed steps for closing a group.
Feedback is to @w3c/guidebook and is welcome on GitHub