Document governance model discussed at OpenMC developer's meeting

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ development team will be happy to discuss it.
 ## How to Submit Changes
 
 All changes to OpenMC happen through pull requests. For a full overview of the
-process, see the developer's guide section on [Development
-Workflow](http://openmc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/devguide/workflow.html).
+process, see the developer's guide section on [Contributing to
+OpenMC](http://openmc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/devguide/contributing.html).
 
 ## Code Style
 

docs/source/devguide/contributing.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+.. _devguide_contributing:
+
+======================
+Contributing to OpenMC
+======================
+
+Thank you for considering contributing to OpenMC! We look forward to welcoming
+new members to the community and will do our best to help you get up to speed.
+The purpose of this section is to document how the project is managed: how
+contributions (bug fixes, enhancements, new features) are made, how they are
+evaluated, who is permitted to merge pull requests, and what happens in the
+event of disagreements. Once you have read through this section, the
+:ref:`devguide_workflow` section outlines the actual mechanics of making a
+contribution (forking, submitting a pull request, etc.).
+
+The goal of our governance model is to:
+
+- Encourage new contributions.
+- Encourage contributors to remain involved.
+- Avoid unnecessary processes and bureaucracy whenever possible.
+- Create a transparent decision making process which makes it clear how
+  contributors can be involved in decision making.
+
+Overview
+--------
+
+OpenMC uses a liberal contribution model for project governance. Anyone involved
+in development in a non-trivial capacity is given an opportunity to influence
+the direction of the project. Project decisions are made through a
+consensus-seeking process rather than by voting.
+
+Terminology
+-----------
+
+- A *Contributor* is any individual creating or commenting on an issue or pull
+  request.
+- A *Committer* is a subset of contributors who are authorized to review and
+  merge pull requests.
+- The *TC* (Technical Committee) is a group of committers who have the authority
+  to make decisions on behalf of the project team in order to resolve disputes.
+- The *Project Lead* is a single individual who has the authority to make a final
+  decision when the TC is unable to reach consensus.
+
+Contribution Process
+--------------------
+
+Any change to the OpenMC repository must be made through a pull request (PR).
+This applies to all changes to documentation, code, binary files, etc. Even long
+term committers and TC members must use pull requests.
+
+No pull request may be merged without being reviewed.
+
+For non-trivial contributions, pull requests should not be merged for at least
+36 hours to ensure that contributors in other timezones have time to review.
+Consideration should also be given to weekends and other holiday periods to
+ensure active committers have reasonable time to become involved in the
+discussion and review process if they wish.
+
+The default for each contribution is that it is accepted once no committer has
+an objection. During review committers may also request that a specific
+contributor who is most versed in a particular area review the PR before it can
+be merged. Once all issues brought by committers are addressed it can be merged
+by any committer.
+
+In the case of an objection being raised in a pull request by another committer,
+all involved committers should seek to arrive at a consensus by way of
+addressing concerns being expressed through discussion, compromise on the
+proposed change, or withdrawal of the proposed change.
+
+If objections to a PR are made and committers cannot reach a consensus on how to
+proceed, the decision is escalated to the TC. TC members should regularly
+discuss pending contributions in order to find a resolution. It is expected that
+only a small minority of issues be brought to the TC for resolution and that
+discussion and compromise among committers be the default resolution mechanism.
+
+Becoming a Committer
+--------------------
+
+All contributors who make a non-trivial contribution will be added as a
+committer in a timely manner. Committers are expected to follow this policy.
+
+TC Process
+----------
+
+The TC uses a "consensus seeking" process for issues that are escalated to the
+TC. The group tries to find a resolution that has no objections among TC
+members. If a consensus cannot be reached, the Project Lead has the ultimate
+authority to make a final decision. It is expected that the majority of
+decisions made by the TC are via a consensus seeking process and that the
+Project Lead intercedes only as a last resort.
+
+Resolution may involve returning the issue to committers with suggestions on how
+to move forward towards a consensus.
+
+Members can be added to the TC at any time. Any committer can nominate another
+committer to the TC and the TC uses its standard consensus seeking process to
+evaluate whether or not to add this new member. Members who do not participate
+consistently at the level of a majority of the other members are expected to
+resign.
+
+In the event that the Project Lead resigns or otherwise steps down, the TC uses
+a consensus seeking process to choose a new Project Lead.
+
+Leadership Team
+---------------
+
+The TC consists of the following individuals:
+
+- `Paul Romano <https://github.com/paulromano>`_
+- `Sterling Harper <https://github.com/smharper>`_
+- `Adam Nelson <https://github.com/nelsonag>`_
+- `Benoit Forget <https://github.com/bforget>`_
+
+The Project Lead is Paul Romano.

docs/source/devguide/index.rst

@@ -4,16 +4,17 @@
 Developer's Guide
 =================
 
-Welcome to the OpenMC Developer's Guide! This guide documents and explains the
-structure of the OpenMC source code and how to do various development tasks such
-as debugging.
+Welcome to the OpenMC Developer's Guide! This guide documents how contributions
+are made to OpenMC, what style rules exist for the code, how to run tests, and
+other related topics.
 
 .. toctree::
     :numbered:
     :maxdepth: 2
 
-    styleguide
+    contributing
     workflow
+    styleguide
     tests
     user-input
     docbuild

docs/source/devguide/workflow.rst

@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ features and bug fixes. The general steps for contributing are as follows:
    you are making them. If the changes are related to an oustanding issue, make
    sure it is cross-referenced.
 
-5. A trusted developer will review your pull request based on the criteria
+5. A committer will review your pull request based on the criteria
    above. Any issues with the pull request can be discussed directly on the pull
    request page itself.