24. Contribution and Governance

A design system must be easy to contribute to without becoming chaotic.

Contribution proposal

A proposal should answer:

Problem
Evidence
Existing workaround
Why existing components cannot solve it
Proposed API
Design
Accessibility behavior
Responsive behavior
Migration impact
Alternatives considered

Governance workflow

flowchart TD
    A[Need Identified]
    B[Proposal]
    C[Design Review]
    D[Engineering Review]
    E[Accessibility Review]
    F[Pilot]
    G[Documentation]
    H[Release]
    I[Adoption]
    J[Measure]

    A --> B --> C --> D --> E --> F --> G --> H --> I --> J
    J -. feedback .-> B

Component admission criteria

Before adding a new core component, ask:

• Is the use case repeated?
• Is it product-agnostic?
• Will at least multiple consumers use it?
• Can an existing component be extended?
• Is the interaction pattern understood?
• Can accessibility be solved reliably?
• Can the API remain stable?