QIP Lifecycle Overview Diagram

Idea & Drafting
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Submission (GitHub PR)
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Editorial Review
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Technical & Community Review
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Governance Evaluation
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Acceptance or Rejection
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Implementation & Testing
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Network Deployment
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Post Deployment Monitoring
      

Stage 1 Idea and Drafting

The lifecycle begins when a contributor identifies a need to modify, clarify, or extend Quantova protocol behavior. This may involve QVM execution semantics, cryptographic enforcement, PQR interfaces, or governance processes.

At this stage, he author prepares a draft QIP using the official QIP template. The draft must clearly define the problem, scope, and technical behavior of the proposed change. Authors are encouraged to review existing QIPs and protocol documentation to ensure alignment with current architecture.

Drafting occurs off chain and prior to formal submission. No protocol behavior is affected at this stage.

Stage 2 Submission

The draft QIP is submitted as a pull request to the Quantova QIP repository within the Quantova GitHub organization.

Submission constitutes formal entry into the QIP process and requires acknowledgment of the Quantova Contributor Terms and Contribution Policy. The proposal becomes publicly visible and available for review.

At this point, the QIP is assigned a provisional identifier and status.

Stage 3 Editorial Review

QIP editors conduct an initial procedural review. This review verifies that the proposal follows the required structure, uses correct terminology, and provides sufficient technical detail to enable meaningful evaluation.

Editorial review does not assess the merits or desirability of the proposal. Its purpose is to ensure that the document is suitable for technical and governance review.

Proposals may be returned to the author for clarification or formatting revisions before advancing.

Stage 4 Technical and Community Review

Once procedurally complete, the QIP enters technical review. Developers, validators, researchers, and other stakeholders analyze the proposal for correctness, security impact, execution determinism, backward compatibility, and alignment with QVM and PQR design principles.

For QVM related proposals, reviewers focus on execution semantics, state transition behavior, cryptographic validation, and determinism. For PQR related proposals, review centers on interface clarity, consistency, and interaction with finalized and provisional state.

Feedback is provided publicly, and authors may revise the proposal in response. This stage may involve multiple iterations.

Community members may participate by reviewing proposals, providing technical feedback, or contributing implementation analysis. All discussion is conducted in public repositories and designated governance forums to ensure transparency and traceability.

Stage 5 Governance Evaluation

When technical review reaches sufficient maturity, the proposal proceeds to governance evaluation. The governance process applicable depends on the proposal category and impact.

Protocol affecting QIPs that modify execution rules, consensus parameters, or cryptographic enforcement require broad agreement, as all network participants must implement the change to remain compatible.

Standards and interface QIPs may be evaluated based on ecosystem demand and implementation readiness rather than network wide coordination.

Governance evaluation determines whether the proposal is accepted, deferred, or rejected.

Stage 6 Acceptance or Rejection

A QIP that completes governance evaluation may be formally accepted. Acceptance indicates agreement on the specification and intent but does not imply immediate deployment.

Rejected QIPs remain publicly archived with rationale documented. Deferred QIPs may be revisited if conditions change.

Accepted QIPs become part of the canonical protocol specification and may be referenced by future proposals or implementations.

Stage 7 Implementation and Testing

For accepted QIPs that affect protocol behavior, implementation occurs in the relevant repositories, such as QVM runtime code, PQR SDKs, or supporting infrastructure.

Implementations are tested through unit tests, integration tests, and network simulations as appropriate. Any deviations from the accepted specification must be documented and resolved before deployment.

Implementation progress is tracked publicly through repositories and issue trackers.

Stage 8 Network Deployment

Protocol affecting QIPs are deployed through scheduled network upgrades according to published upgrade procedures. Validators, node operators, and infrastructure providers are notified in advance and provided with upgrade instructions.

Deployment activates the new behavior defined in the QIP. From this point forward, QVM execution and PQR interactions reflect the updated specification.

Stage 9 Post Deployment Monitoring

After deployment, network behavior is monitored to ensure that execution, finality, and state transitions operate as specified. Any issues identified are addressed through follow up proposals, patches, or operational guidance.

Accepted QIPs remain as the authoritative reference for the deployed behavior and are used for audit, verification, and historical analysis.

Lifecycle Properties

The QIP lifecycle is designed to provide traceability from initial proposal through deployment. Each stage is documented, publicly accessible, and independently verifiable.

This structure supports technical rigor, governance transparency, and regulatory review by ensuring that protocol changes are deliberate, documented, and subject to review before execution level enforcement.