STEP:Guide-Development Workflow

Guide-Development Workflow

A high-level overview of community-driven guide development

by: Step Modifications  | Forum Topic

In order for the mod-build guides to remain relevant, it is imperative that this generalized workflow be maintained by staff, guide Curators, and community contributors. Certain parts of the current workflow are restricted to Administrators, Step Admin, Step Curators, and guide Curators; however, most of the workflow is exposed to all community members. It's this functionality that is presented here along with a breakdown of the update workflow. It's important that the community help drive the process, because it takes a lot of time to maintain the entire workflow and all of the quality assurance that goes along with it.

This workflow assumes the corresponding Development Guide and Mod List have already been propagated, which are covered in Step 4 and Step 5 of the Mod-Build Guide Framework article.

Please see our Member Groups as a reference for the member roles mentioned in this article.

Mod Testing

The Step forums serve as one component of release development for mod-build guides. Any registered members may post a new topic in one of the <GameName> Mods forums within our supported game forums. These mod topics serve as the "catch-all" for information and feedback relating to the any specific mod for both staff and guide curators. These forums have specific prefixes available, which are reserved for official Step use.

From member suggestions and staff recommendations, any topic may be tagged for consideration for an official mod-build guide. Mods being actively considered will be prefixed with TESTING and tagged with the proper 'ModGroup' tag. These mod topics can be filtered by clicking on the tag itself. All testing feedback is done on the individual topic for that specific mod. If a given mod "passes" testing, then its topic will be prefixed with ACCEPTED. The corresponding wiki mod pages directly feed information into guide ModGroup tables via the custom framework.

Mod Testing Workflow

Mod Topics (any member)

• If the mod topic doesn't exist, create a new one on the {GameName} Mods forum using the Mod Topic editor tool.
  
• Any member can suggest mods for inclusion into a guide by creating the topic or posting on on an existing topic.
• Suggesting a mod for inclusion into an official guide should be accompanied with a review and a rationale for the suggestion.

Tag Mod for Testing (staff)

Staff determine whether or not suggested mods are candidates for official testing if they meet the Mandate requirements.

1. Edit the mod topic, and add the following tags:
   1. Add the TESTING prefix.
   2. Add the ModGroup tag.
   3. Add the guide version tag (format as #.#.#). This creates the version-testing context for posterity. E.g., If we don't accept the mod and later consider it, we are reminded that it was under testing for this guide version.
2. Add minimum criteria and instructions for testing to opening post BELOW the horizontal line.
3. Create the mod page - Copy the topic name (excluding authors) to create the mod page on the wiki (see creating/updating mod pages).

Mod Testing (any member)

In order to test a mod for Step, any member may contribute evidence.

NOTE

Anyone testing a mod for a new Step guide MUST have a complete and current Step install, including the mod being tested as well as any other mods in testing that could impact the testing mod. In other words, testers must have installed the Step guide in full and including all relevant mods in testing (and any mods tagged as DROPPED in the dev iteration should be disabled).

• Review the OP of any mod topic having the 'testing' prefix.
• If the mod makes visible changes to content, provide screenshot compares using the following standard series in a reply to the topic.
  1. Vanilla reference (first) screenshot: Step dev guide excluding any mods making changes to the content affected by the mod being tested. If no mods make such changes, then state as much in the post and skip this screenshot.
  2. Step reference (second) screenshot: Step dev guide including all mods plus any ACCEPTED mods for the current development version.
  3. Step With Test Mod (third) screenshot: Step dev guide including all mods with the 'testing' mod content overriding.
• If the mod doesn't make visible changes or said changes are not practical to compare via screenshots, then provide alternative context and assessment.
• If the mod receives a positive review and is advocated by at least two staff, it should be tagged ACCEPTED using the "Saved Action" tool after selecting a topic (or from inside the topic using the "Moderator Actions" button).
• If the mod does not receive a positive review and is not advocated by at least two staff ...
  • NEVER tag these as DROPPED, which is ONLY used after a mod has been accepted in a previous guide version.
  • Remove the TESTING prefix using the "Saved Action" tool after selecting a topic (or from inside the topic using the "Moderator Actions" button).

Mod Incorporation / Removal

Once the mod testing phase is complete, the workflow moves entirely to the wiki. Staff and Curators will add or remove mods from the guides by editing the corresponding guide's Mod List.

Workflow-related activities combined with site & workflow maintenance, Guide upkeep, and Nexus upkeep require almost all of the senior staff's time, therefore, we ask that the community help out by supplying the needed information and contributing to site maintenance wherever possible.

Thanks!