Ayra Protocol Working Group Charter

Charter Status	v1.0, 2025.12.31
Start Date	2025.12.31
End Date	2026.12.31 Start date + 1 year (may be renewed by above)

Chair(s):

At least one, no more than three.

• Darrell O’Donnell, Ayra

• TBD

Participants

NOTE: A minimum of 6 total participants, including at least 2 Ayra Members with different organizational affiliations, are needed to start a working group. (Name, Affiliation, email):

• Darrell O’Donnell, Ayra, darrell.odonnell(at)ayra.forum

• NAME, AFFILIATION NAME, email

1. Motivation and Background

The Ayra Protocol Working Group (APWG) is being established to formalize the Ayra Protocol. The general idea of using the Ayra Protocol is gaining steam at Ayra, and the need to formalize the required artifacts has become urgent.

The ACWG aims to meet the needs of all three pillars of the Ayra community:

• Business: establishing the artifacts that the business community needs (e.g. business use cases, integration playbooks, trustmark) to use the Ayra Protocol in their efforts.

• Governance: establishing governance frameworks, trust frameworks, and policy structures that enable organizations to confidently adopt and implement the Ayra Protocol to support the establishment of a global trust layer.

• Technology: developing technical specifications, schemas, reference implementations, and conformance test suites that ensure interoperability and consistent implementation of the Ayra Protocol across different platforms and vendors.

This working group is being initiated to address the need for a standardized, interoperable approach to digital credential exchange in the identity ecosystem. The Ayra Protocol has emerged as a promising solution for enabling verifiable credential presentation across diverse use cases, from day-to-day personal interations, employee badges use, through to supply chain transparency. However, without formal specifications, governance frameworks, and conformance criteria, implementations risk fragmentation and incompatibility.

The working group brings together business stakeholders, governance experts, implementers, and developers, who recognize that successful adoption requires more than just technical specifications. Organizations need clear business cases, integration guidance, trustmarks for vendor selection, consistent rituals, and governance frameworks that address privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. The ACWG will create these essential artifacts while maintaining the agility to iterate rapidly through proof-of-concept implementations that validate real-world utility.

2. Scope

The Ayra Protocol Working Group is responsible for establishing the business, governance, and technical artifacts required for the Ayra Protocol. [note: the term "protocol" is being used as a business and marketing term here.]

The following will constitute the activities and interest areas of this working group:

• Governing the Ayra Protocol Proof of Concept process, which is an ongoing set of short (60-90 day) iterations that aim to demonstrate business utility.

• Establishment of conformance criteria that will be used in the Ayra Conformance Test Suite (CTS).

• Governing the Ayra Protocol aspects of the Ayra Conformance Test Suite.

• Establishment of schema, context documents, presentation request, and other artifacts required for full system conformance.

• Creation of business material to bolster the case for the Ayra Protocol.

• Establishment and guidance of the Ayra Protocol Governance Framework.

2.1 Out of Scope

The following will not be addressed by this working group:

• Revisions to underlying specifications (e.g. DIDComm, Aries RFCs, OID4VP). While the WG may gather inputs to provide to the SDOs that maintain the specifications, the revisions will not be conducted at Ayra.

• Wallet implementation or certification beyond conformance to Ayra Protocol presentation protocols.

• Credential issuance standards or processes (except where directly related to Ayra Protocol presentation requirements).

• Blockchain or distributed ledger technology selection or implementation.

• General identity management or authentication mechanisms not specific to Ayra Protocol.

3. Deliverables

The following deliverables are planned for the Ayra Protocol Working Group:

3.1 Ayra Protocol Technical Specification v1.0

1. Description: Comprehensive technical specification defining the Ayra Protocol, including data models, message formats, and presentation flows.

2. Components:

   • Core specification document

   • JSON Schema definitions

   • JSON-LD context documents

   • Presentation request templates

   • Protocol message examples

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

3.2 Conformance Test Suite (CTS) for Ayra Protocol

1. Description: Automated test suite for validating Ayra Protocol implementations against the technical specification.

2. Components:

   • Test harness and runner

   • Test cases covering all specification requirements

   • Documentation for test execution

   • Conformance reporting tools

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

3.3 Ayra Protocol Governance Framework

1. Description: Governance framework defining roles, responsibilities, trust models, and policy requirements for Ayra Protocol ecosystem participants.

2. Components:

   • Governance framework document

   • Trust framework principles

   • Privacy and data protection guidelines

   • Liability and dispute resolution guidance

   • Sample policy templates

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

3.4 Business Integration Playbook

1. Description: Practical guide for organizations implementing the Ayra Protocol, including use cases, integration patterns, and ROI models.

2. Components:

   • Business use case library

   • Integration architecture patterns

   • Implementation guides by industry vertical

   • ROI calculation templates

   • Vendor evaluation criteria

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

3.5 Ayra Protocol Trustmark Program

1. Description: Certification program and trustmark criteria for Ayra Protocol compliant implementations.

2. Components:

   • Trustmark criteria and requirements

   • Certification process documentation

   • Trustmark logo and usage guidelines

   • Registry of certified implementations

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

3.6 Proof of Concept (PoC) Reports

1. Description: Quarterly reports documenting learnings from Ayra Protocol PoC implementations.

2. Components:

   • PoC implementation summaries

   • Lessons learned and best practices

   • Technical insights and recommendations

   • Business metrics and outcomes

3. Internal Release Date: TBD

4. Public Release Date: TBD

5. Timeline:

   1. TBD

Working Group Meetings

Schedule: Meeting schedule to be determined by the Working Group Chair(s) and participants based on availability and time zone distribution. The Working Group will hold regular meetings (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly as determined by the group). If needed, meetings may be held in multiple editions to accommodate global time zones.

Responsibilities: Chairs, designated Participants or designated Ayra staff will share the invitation, meeting link, and other needed logistics, as well as producing one consolidated set of meeting minutes combining both editions.

Observers: Non-Ayra members may attend meetings as Observers only. If you or your employer is not a member of Ayra, you may not participate in meetings by verbal contribution or otherwise take any action beyond watching the meeting.

Working Group Policies

Eligibility Criteria and Participation Policy

This Working Group is open to all members of Ayra.

The Ayra Working Group Participation Policies apply.

Code of Conduct

All participants must follow the Ayra Code of Conduct.

Communication Policy

This WG follows the general Ayra guidance for Communication

Mailing List: [email protected]

Github Repository:

• ayra-protocol-wg

Decision Policy

This WG follows the general Ayra guidance for Decisions with no changes.

Intellectual Property Rights

• Copyright Mode: CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Patent Mode: W3C Mode (based on the W3C Patent Policy).

• Source Code: Apache 2.0, available at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html.

6. About This Charter

Charter Period	Start Date	End Date	Changes
Initial Charter	DD/MM/YYYY	DD/MM/YYYY	None
Charter Extension	DD/MM/YYYY	DD/MM/YYYY
Rechartered	DD/MM/YYYY	DD/MM/YYYY

Ayra Working Group Charter Template

This Working Group Charter is based on the Working Group Charter Template