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NEP-0000: NOC Enhancement Proposal Process

This document defines the process and lifecycle of NOC Enhancement Proposals (NEPs), a formal mechanism for proposing, discussing, and accepting improvements to the NOC platform.

What is a NEP?

A NOC Enhancement Proposal (NEP) is a design document that outlines a new feature, architectural change, process improvement, or policy proposal for the NOC platform. NEPs are intended to provide a structured and transparent way to discuss and document the evolution of the platform.

Goals of the NEP process

  • Encourage collaboration and discussion among developers and users
  • Create a permanent, versioned record of design decisions
  • Ensure that all significant changes are reviewed and approved
  • Provide a consistent format for documenting proposals

NEP Workflow

The NEP process follows these stages:

  1. 📝 Draft — A new NEP is written and submitted as a draft, typically as a pull request.
  2. 💬 Discussion — The NEP is reviewed, discussed, and possibly revised.
  3. ✅ Accepted — Once consensus is reached, the NEP is approved and marked as Accepted.
  4. 🛠️ In Progress — The NEP has been accepted and is currently being implemented.
  5. ❌ Rejected — NEPs that are not approved are marked as Rejected.
  6. 🚀 Done — NEPs that have been fully implemented and deployed may be marked as Done.
stateDiagram-v2
    draft: 📝 Draft
    discussion: 💬 Discussion
    accepted: ✅ Accepted
    inprogress: 🛠️ In Progress
    rejected: ❌ Rejected
    done: 🚀 Done
    [*] --> draft
    draft --> discussion
    discussion --> draft
    draft --> rejected
    discussion --> accepted
    discussion --> rejected
    accepted --> inprogress
    inprogress --> done

NEP Metadata

Each NEP must include a YAML metadata block at the top:

---
nep: NEP-xxxx
title: Descriptive Title
author: Your Name or Team
status: Draft | Discussion | Accepted | Rejected | In Progress | Done
created: YYYY-MM-DD
---

NEP Filename and Numbering

  • NEPs must be placed in docs/neps/
  • Filenames must be lowercase and follow the format: nep-XXXX.md
  • NEP numbers are 4-digit, zero-padded integers, assigned sequentially
  • NEPs in the range 0000–0099 are reserved for process and meta-proposals

Best Practices

  • Keep each NEP focused on a single topic or decision
  • Use clear, concise language
  • Provide motivation, rationale, and alternatives
  • Include diagrams or examples when helpful

How to Contribute a NEP

  • Fork this repository
  • Create a new file docs/neps/nep-XXXX.md
  • Add reference to docs/neps/SUMMARY.md
  • Write the proposal following this template
  • Submit a merge request for review