# Merge Request Process

# Preparation

1. Initiate Review: Remove the Draft: prefix from the MR (if applicable).
2. Ticket Creation:
   • Create a ticket on the Merge Request Board in the Waiting for Review column.
   • Ensure the Title of the ticket matches the merge request's title.
   • Select the correct Project Name corresponding to the repository - note: this is not related to Clarizen projects.
   • The Developer field should indicate the MR author.
   • Required Approvers should list developers whose approval is specifically sought by the author, aiming to request feedback from specific people, not limit feedback from others.
     • Scenarios in which you might provide required approvers include an MR for a project that has a specific maintainer or maintainers such as Vinyl or Gatekeeper
   • The MR Link should directly point to the MR in your DVCS.
   • The Team field must reflect the author's team or the team tasked with the review.
3. MR Description: Add Closes MR-111, linking the ticket number on the Merge Requests board.
4. Notification: Inform your team the MR is ready for review, providing the ticket link to the Merge Requests board.

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# Review Process

• Ticket Management: Upon beginning the review, move the ticket to the In Review column, which auto-assigns the ticket to the reviewer.
  • This step is important and helps us to avoid duplication of review efforts
• Code Feedback: Maintain code-related discussion within the DVCS on the MR itself.
  • "Please update this code to 'X' due to it not meeting standard protocol."
  • "Please update package versions to eliminate vulnerability."
• Process Feedback: Place comments about the process or state of the review in the Merge Request ticket.
  • "I have started this review but will not be able to complete. Moving back to Waiting for Review."

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# Post-Review

• Approval granted: Only move the ticket to the Approved column after the MR has been approved in DVCS.
• Approval not granted: If the MR has comments on it requesting changes, return the ticket to In Development. It will then be auto-reassigned back to the developer, which restarts the process.
• Additional review needed: For uncertainty in approval, set the ticket back to Waiting for Review. It will then be automatically un-assigned.

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# Completion

• Finalization: After the MR is approved and merged, if the ticket isn't automatically moved to the Archive column, do so manually.
  • This is typically caused by an MR lacking the Closes MR-111 in the description or a broken or missing integration between the DVCS and Jira.