Merge branch 'docs-remove-dupe-feature-process' into 'master'

Removed feature process section from page

See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!30400

doc/development/documentation/workflow.md

 # Documentation process
 
-The process for creating and maintaining GitLab product documentation depends on whether the
-documentation is associated with:
+The process for creating and maintaining GitLab product documentation allows
+anyone to contribute a merge request or create an issue for GitLab's
+documentation.
 
-- [A new feature or feature enhancement](#for-a-product-change).
-
-  Delivered for a specific milestone and associated with specific code changes. This documentation
-  has the highest priority.
+NOTE: **Note:**
+Documentation updates relating to new features or feature enhancements must
+use the [feature workflow process](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/workflow/#for-a-product-change) described in the GitLab Handbook.
 
-- [Changes outside a specific milestone](#for-all-other-documentation).
+## Who updates the docs?
 
-  It is usually not associated with a specific code change and has a lower priority.
+*Anyone* can contribute! You can create a merge request for documentation when:
 
-Documentation is not usually required when a "backstage feature" is added or changed, and does not
-directly affect the way that any user or administrator interacts with GitLab.
+- You find errors or other room for improvement in existing documentation.
+- You have an idea for all-new documentation that would help a GitLab user or administrator to
+  accomplish their work with GitLab.
 
 ## Documentation labels
 
@@ -32,372 +33,17 @@ The following are also added by members of the Technical Writing team:
   `docs::` prefix. For example, `~docs::improvement`.
 - The `~Technical Writing` [team label](../contributing/issue_workflow.md#team-labels).
 
-## For a product change
-
-This documentation is required for any new or changed feature and is:
-
-- Created or updated as part of feature development, almost always in the same merge request as the
-  feature code. Including documentation in the same merge request as the code eliminates the
-  possibility that code and documentation get out of sync.
-- Required with the delivery of a feature for a specific milestone as part of GitLab's
-  [definition of done](../contributing/merge_request_workflow.md#definition-of-done).
-- Often linked from the release post.
-
-### Roles and responsibilities
-
-Documentation for specific milestones involves the:
-
-- Developer of a feature or enhancement.
-- Product Manager for the group delivering the new feature or feature enhancement.
-- Technical Writer assigned to the group.
-
-Each role is described below.
-
-#### Developers
-
-Developers are the primary author of documentation for a feature or feature enhancement. They are
-responsible for:
-
-- Developing initial content required for a feature.
-- Liaising with their Product Manager to understand what documentation must be delivered, and when.
-- Requesting technical reviews from other developers within their group.
-- Requesting documentation reviews from the Technical Writer
-  [assigned to the DevOps stage group](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments)
-  that is delivering the new feature or feature enhancements.
-
-TIP: **Tip:**
-Community Contributors can ask for additional help from GitLab team members.
-
-##### Authoring
-
-Because the documentation is an essential part of the product, if a ~feature issue also contains the
-~documentation label, you must ship the new or updated documentation with the code of the feature.
-
-Technical Writers are happy to help, as requested and planned on an issue-by-issue basis.
-
-For feature issues requiring documentation, follow the process below unless otherwise agreed with
-the Product Manager and Technical Writer for a given issue:
-
-- Include any new and edited documentation, either in:
-  - The merge request introducing the code.
-  - A separate merge request raised around the same time.
-- Use the [documentation requirements](#documentation-requirements) developed by the Product Manager
-  in the issue and discuss any further documentation plans or ideas as needed.
-
-  If the new or changed documentation requires extensive collaboration or conversation, a
-  separate, linked issue can be used for the planning process.
-
-- Use the [Documentation guidelines](index.md), as well as other resources linked from there,
-  including:
-  - Documentation [Structure and template](structure.md) page.
-  - [Style Guide](styleguide.md).
-  - [Markdown Guide](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/markdown-guide/).
-- Contact the Technical Writer for the relevant [DevOps stage](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments)
-  in your issue or merge request, or within `#docs` on GitLab Slack, if you:
-  - Need any help to choose the correct place for documentation.
-  - Want to discuss a documentation idea or outline.
-  - Want to request any other help.
-- If you are working on documentation in a separate merge request, ensure the documentation is
-  merged as close as possible to the code merge.
-- A policy for documenting [feature-flagged](../feature_flags/index.md) issues is forthcoming and you
-  are welcome to join the [discussion](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/26347).
-
-##### Reviews and merging
-
-Reviewers help ensure:
-
-- Accuracy.
-- Clarity.
-- Completeness.
-- Adherence to:
-  - [Documentation requirements](#documentation-requirements) in the issue.
-  - [Documentation guidelines](index.md).
-  - [Style guide](styleguide.md).
-
-Prior to merging, documentation changes committed by the developer must be reviewed by:
-
-- The code reviewer for the merge request. This is known as a technical review.
-- Optionally, others involved in the work such as other developers or the Product Manager.
-- The Technical Writer for the DevOps stage group, except in exceptional circumstances where a
-  [post-merge review](#post-merge-reviews) can be requested.
-- A maintainer of the project.
-
-#### Product Managers
-
-Product Managers are responsible for the [documentation requirements](#documentation-requirements)
-for a feature or feature enhancement. They can also:
-
-- Liaise with the Technical Writer for discussion and collaboration.
-- Review documentation themselves.
-
-For issues requiring any new or updated documentation, the Product Manager must:
-
-- Add the ~documentation label.
-- Confirm or add the [documentation requirements](#documentation-requirements).
-- Ensure the issue contains:
-  - Any new or updated feature name.
-  - Overview, description, and use cases when applicable (as required by the
-    [documentation structure and template](structure.md)).
-
-Everyone is encouraged to draft the documentation requirements in the issue. However, a Product
-Manager will:
-
-- When the issue is assigned a release milestone, review and update the Documentation details.
-- By the kickoff, finalize the documentation details.
-
-#### Technical Writers
-
-Technical Writers are responsible for:
-
-- Participating in issues discussions and reviewing MRs for the upcoming milestone.
-- Reviewing documentation requirements in issues when called upon.
-- Answering questions, and helping and providing advice throughout the authoring and editing
-  process.
-- Reviewing all significant new and updated documentation content, whether before merge or after it
-  is merged.
-- Assisting the developer and Product Manager with feature documentation delivery.
-
-##### Planning
-
-The Technical Writer:
-
-- Reviews their group's `~feature` issues that are part of the next milestone to get a sense of the
-  scope of content likely to be authored.
-- Recommends the `~documentation` label on issues from that list which don't have it but should, or
-  inquires with the PM to determine if documentation is truly required.
-- For `~direction` issues from that list, reads the full issue and reviews its Documentation
-  requirements section. Addresses any recommendations or questions with the PMs and others
-  collaborating on the issue in order to refine or expand the Documentation requirements.
-
-##### Collaboration
-
-By default, the developer will work on documentation changes independently, but
-the developer, Product Manager, or Technical Writer can propose a broader collaboration for
-any given issue.
-
-Additionally, Technical Writers are available for questions at any time.
-
-##### Review
-
-Technical Writers:
-
-- Provide non-blocking reviews of all documentation changes, before or after the change is merged.
-- Confirm that the documentation is:
-  - Clear.
-  - Grammatically correct.
-  - Discoverable.
-  - Navigable.
-- Ensures that the documentation avoids:
-  - Redundancy.
-  - Bad file locations.
-  - Typos.
-  - Broken links.
-
-The Technical Writer will review the documentation to check that the developer and
-code reviewer have ensured:
-
-- Clarity.
-- Appropriate location, making sure the documentation is in the correct directories (often
-  reflecting how the product is structured) and has the correct name.
-- Syntax, typos, and broken links.
-- Improvements to the content.
-- Accordance with the:
-  - [Documentation Style Guide](styleguide.md).
-  - [Structure and Template](structure.md) doc.
-
-### When documentation is required
-
-Documentation [is required](../contributing/merge_request_workflow.md#definition-of-done) for a
-milestone when:
-
-- A new or enhanced feature is shipped that impacts the user or administrator experience.
-- There are changes to the UI or API.
-- A process, workflow, or previously documented feature is changed.
-- A feature is deprecated or removed.
-
-NOTE: **Note:**
-Documentation refactoring unrelated to a feature change is covered in the
-[other process](#for-all-other-documentation), so that time-sensitive documentation updates are
-prioritized.
-
-### Documentation requirements
-
-Requirements for the documentation of a feature should be included as part of the
-issue for planning that feature in a **Documentation** section within the issue description. Issues
-created using the [**Feature Proposal** template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/raw/master/.gitlab/issue_templates/Feature%20proposal.md)
-have this section by default.
-
-Anyone can add these details, but the Product Manager who assigns the issue to a specific release
-milestone will ensure these details are present and finalized by the time of that milestone's kickoff.
-
-Developers, Technical Writers, and others may help further refine this plan at any time on request.
-
-The following details should be included:
-
-- What concepts and procedures should the documentation guide and enable the user to understand or
-  accomplish?
-- To this end, what new page(s) are needed, if any? What pages or subsections need updates?
-  Consider changes and additions to user, admin, and API documentation.
-- For any guide or instruction set, should it help address a single use case, or be flexible to
-  address a certain range of use cases?
-- Do we need to update a previously recommended workflow? Should we link the new feature from
-  various relevant locations? Consider all ways documentation should be affected.
-- Are there any key terms or task descriptions that should be included so that the documentation is
-  found in relevant searches?
-- Include suggested titles of any pages or subsection headings, if applicable.
-- List any documentation that should be cross-linked, if applicable.
-
-### Including docs with code
-
-Currently, the Technical Writing team strongly encourages including documentation in
-the same merge request as the code that it relates to, but this is not strictly mandatory.
-It's still common for documentation to be added in an MR separate from the feature MR.
-
-Engineering teams may elect to adopt a workflow where it is **mandatory** that docs
-are included in the code MR, as part of their [definition of done](../contributing/merge_request_workflow.md#definition-of-done).
-When a team adopts this workflow, that team's engineers must include their docs in the **same**
-MR as their feature code, at all times.
-
-#### Downsides of separate docs MRs
-
-A workflow that has documentation separated into its own MR has many downsides.
-
-If the documentation merges **before** the feature:
-
-- GitLab.com users might try to use the feature before it's released, driving support tickets.
-- If the feature is delayed, the documentation might not be pulled/reverted in time and could be
-  accidentally included in the self-managed package for that release.
-
-If the documentation merges **after** the feature:
-
-- The feature might be included in the self-managed package, but without any documentation
-  if the docs MR misses the cutoff.
-- A feature might show up in the GitLab.com UI before any documentation exists for it.
-  Users surprised by this feature will search for documentation and won't find it, possibly driving
-  support tickets.
-
-Having two separate MRs means:
-
-- Two different people might be responsible for merging one feature, which is not workable
-  with an asynchronous work style. The feature might merge while the technical writer is asleep,
-  creating a potentially lengthy delay between the two merges.
-- If the docs MR is assigned to the same maintainer as responsible for the feature
-  code MR, they will have to review and juggle two MRs instead of dealing with just one.
-
-Documentation quality might be lower, because:
-
-- Having docs in a separate MR will mean far fewer people will see and verify them,
-  increasing the likelihood that issues will be missed.
-- In a "split" workflow, engineers might only create the documentation MR once the
-  feature MR is ready, or almost ready. This gives the technical writer little time
-  to learn about the feature in order to do a good review. It also increases pressure
-  on them to review and merge faster than desired, letting problems slip in due to haste.
-
-#### Benefits of always including docs with code
-
-Including docs with code (and doing it early in the development process) has many benefits:
-
-- There are no timing issues connected to releases:
-  - If a feature slips to the next release, the documentation slips too.
-  - If the feature *just* makes it into a release, the docs *just* make it in too.
-  - If a feature makes it to GitLab.com early, the documentation will be ready for
-    our early adopters.
-- Only a single person will be responsible for merging the feature (the code maintainer).
-- The technical writer will have more time to gain an understanding of the feature
-  and will be better able to verify the content of the docs in the Review App or GDK.
-  They will also be able to offer advice for improving the UI text or offer additional use cases.
-- The documentation will have increased visibility:
-  - Everyone involved in the merge request will see the docs. This could include product
-    managers, multiple engineers with deep domain knowledge, as well as the code reviewers
-    and maintainer. They will be more likely to catch issues with examples, as well
-    as background or concepts that the technical writer may not be aware of.
-  - Increasing visibility of the documentation also has the side effect of improving
-    *other* engineers' documentation. By reviewing each other's MRs, each engineer's
-    own documentation skills will improve.
-- Thinking about the documentation early can help engineers generate better examples,
-  as they will need to think about what examples a user will want, and will need to
-  make sure the code they write implements that example properly.
-
-#### Docs with code as a workflow
-
-In order to have docs included with code as a mandatory workflow, some changes might
-need to happen to a team's current workflow:
-
-- The engineers must strive to include the docs early in the development process,
-  to give ample time for review, not just from the technical writer, but also the
-  code reviewer and maintainer.
-- Reviewers and maintainers must also review the docs during code reviews, to make
-  sure the described processes match the expected use of the feature, and that examples
-  are correct. They do *not* need to worry about style, grammar, and so on.
-- The technical writer must be assigned the MR directly and not only pinged. Thanks
-  to the ability to have [multiple assignees for any MR](../../user/project/merge_requests/getting_started.md#multiple-assignees-starter),
-  this can be done at any time, but must be before the code maintainer review. It's
-  common to have both the docs and code reviews happening at the same time, with the
-  author, reviewer and technical writer discussing the docs together.
-- When the docs are ready, the technical writer will click **Approve** and usually
-  will no longer be involved in the MR. If the feature changes during code review and
-  the docs are updated, the technical writer must be reassigned the MR to verify the
-  update.
-- Maintainers are allowed to merge features with the docs "as-is", even if the technical
-  writer has not given final approval yet. The **docs reviews must not be blockers**. Therefore
-  it's important to get the docs included and assigned to the technical writers early.
-  If the feature is merged before final docs approval, the maintainer must create
-  a [post-merge follow-up issue](#post-merge-reviews), and assign it to both the engineer
-  and technical writer.
-
-Maintainers are allowed to merge features with the docs "as-is" even if the
-technical writer has not given final approval yet but the merge request has
-all other required approvals.
-
-You can visualize the parallel workflow for code and docs reviews as:
-
-```mermaid
-graph TD
-  A("Feature MR Created (Engineer)") --> |Assign| B("Code Review (reviewer)")
-  B --> |"Approve / Reassign"| C("Code Review (maintainer)")
-  C --> |Approve| F("Merge (maintainer)")
-  A --> D("Docs Added (Engineer)")
-  D --> |Assign| E("Docs Review (Tech Writer)")
-  E --> |Approve| F
-```
-
-For complex features split over multiple merge requests:
-
-- If a merge request is implementing components for a future feature, but the components
-  are not accessible to users yet, then no documentation should be included.
-- If a merge request will expose a feature to users in any way, such as an enabled
-  UI element, an API endpoint, or anything similar, then that MR **must** have docs.
-  Note that this may mean multiple docs additions could happen in the buildup to the
-  implementation of a single large feature, for example API docs and feature usage docs.
-- If it's unclear which engineer should add the feature documentation into their
-  MR, the engineering manager should decide during planning, and tie the documentation
-  to the last MR that must be merged before a feature is considered released.
-  This is often, but not always, a frontend MR.
-
-## For all other documentation
-
 Documentation changes that are not associated with the release of a new or updated feature
 do not take the `~feature` label, but still need the `~documentation` label.
 
 They may include:
 
 - Documentation created or updated to improve accuracy, completeness, ease of use, or any reason
-  other than a [feature change](#for-a-product-change).
+  other than a [feature change](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/workflow/#for-a-product-change).
 - Addressing gaps in existing documentation, or making improvements to existing documentation.
 - Work on special projects related to the documentation.
 
-TIP: **Tip:**
-Anyone can contribute a merge request or create an issue for GitLab's documentation.
-
-### Who updates the docs
-
-Anyone can contribute! You can create a merge request for documentation when:
-
-- You find errors or other room for improvement in existing documentation.
-- You have an idea for all-new documentation that would help a GitLab user or administrator to
-  accomplish their work with GitLab.
-
-### How to update the docs
+## How to update the docs
 
 To update GitLab documentation:
 
@@ -464,7 +110,7 @@ The process involves the following:
 The process is reflected in the **Documentation**
 [merge request template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/blob/master/.gitlab/merge_request_templates/Documentation.md).
 
-### Other ways to help
+## Other ways to help
 
 If you have ideas for further documentation resources please
 [create an issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/new?issuable_template=Documentation)