DOCUMENTATION_GOVERNANCE.md

ThemisDB Documentation Governance

Status: Active Last Updated: 2026-08-28

This file defines source-of-truth precedence and synchronization expectations for root and module documentation.

Source Of Truth (SOT) Precedence

When documentation sources conflict, use this order:

1. Root governance and release documents:
   • ROADMAP.md
   • CHANGELOG.md
   • RELEASE_STRATEGY.md
   • VERSIONING.md
   • BRANCHING_STRATEGY.md
2. Canonical audit domain:
   • audit/AUDIT.md
   • audit/README.md
3. Module-local documentation near code:
   • src/<module>/ROADMAP.md
   • src/<module>/README.md
   • include/<module>/*.h API comments
4. Historical and archived material:
   • docs/ARCHIVED/**
   • docs/archive/**

Archived or ai_working artifacts are evidence/history by default and are not normative unless explicitly promoted.

Mandatory Sync Rules

1. Code behavior changes must update affected docs in the same change.
2. Public API and contract changes must update API-facing docs and related runbooks.
3. Root onboarding links (README.md, QUICKSTART.md, SETUP.md, INDEX.md) must remain valid.
4. Broken local links in root docs are treated as documentation defects.
5. Branch and release naming must stay consistent with BRANCHING_STRATEGY.md.

Naming And Scope

• Keep root docs concise and navigational.
• Keep module implementation detail in module-local docs.
• Use one canonical file per topic in a scope; avoid semantic duplicates.