Identify Code Owners for approval

If you are using GitLab Starter/Bronze or higher, your project can use Code Owners to identify individuals who would need to approve a change to the handbook.

What to Merge?

The handbook will be more correct if small changes are approved, even if the change is imperfect and requires follow-up effort to clarify. Internal communications teams typically hold off on sending a message or disseminating a document or procedure until all content has been reviewed and approved by a wide range of stakeholders.

The Handbook-first approach is very different. Ensure that changes are factually correct and improve the operation of the organization and the handbook. If there are additional changes that should accompany the submitted change, there are 2 paths forward:

1. Add those additional changes to the submitted change and approve/merge the whole thing
2. Create a follow-up issue to make the rest of the change and merge this one to help until that issue is worked

Either way, the change gets in, the handbook gets better, the organization gets better.

Create a text file at .gitlab/CODEOWNERS which can be used to specify individuals to approve changes depending on where they are. A change to how the rendering engine works or the overall template should go to someone technical and reasonably high-up. A spelling correction on a functional area page should be a low-level approval to reduce coordination cost for save changes.

Replace the @ names with individuals who fit these roles and can own the approval for changes.

/* @tech-guru 
/.gitlab/ @tech-guru
/archetypes/ @design-person
/themes/ @design-person
/resources/ @design-person
/content/company/ @marketing-person @executive-group
/content/dept/peopleops/ @people-ops-person1 @people-ops-person2
/content/dept/itops/ @itops-person1
/content/dept/sales/ @sales-person1 @sales-person2 @sales-person3
/content/dept/engineering/ @engineer-person1
/content/dept/marketing/ @marketing-person
/content/dept/finance/ @finance-person1 @finance-person2
/content/dept/legal/ @legal-person1

Add each department as they're added to the handbook.

Once CODEOWNERS is established, enable the code owners for Merge Request approvals.