# Governance

## Project Governance Structure

Ariadne follows a **meritocratic governance model** that prioritizes technical excellence, mathematical rigor, and community collaboration. Our governance reflects our core principle: **\"take agency back from the agents\"** by maintaining transparent, deterministic decision-making processes.

## Core Principles

### Technical Philosophy
- **Transparent Analysis**: All routing decisions must be based on explainable mathematical analysis
- **Performance Transparency**: Honest benchmarks and clear limitations documentation
- **Algorithmic Accountability**: Every routing decision must be traceable and explainable
- **Community-Driven Development**: Feature priorities driven by real user needs, not marketing

### Decision Making
- **Merit-Based**: Technical decisions based on mathematical rigor and performance data
- **Transparent Process**: All major decisions discussed in public GitHub issues/discussions
- **Consensus-Seeking**: Prefer collaborative solutions over authoritarian decisions
- **Evidence-Based**: Changes supported by benchmarks, tests, and real-world validation

## Organizational Structure

### Maintainers

**Lead Maintainer**: Project Maintainers
- Overall project direction and technical vision
- Final decision authority on breaking changes
- Release management and security oversight
- Community standards enforcement

**Core Maintainers**:
- Active contributors with proven track record
- Review and merge permissions on main branch
- Participate in architectural decisions
- Mentor new contributors

**Domain Experts**:
- **Backend Specialists**: Experts in specific quantum simulators (Stim, JAX, CUDA, etc.)
- **Performance Engineers**: Focus on benchmarking and optimization
- **Documentation Maintainers**: Ensure high-quality documentation and examples

### Contributors

**Regular Contributors**:
- Community members with multiple accepted contributions
- Can propose features and architectural changes
- Eligible for promotion to Core Maintainer role

**Occasional Contributors**:
- Bug fixes, documentation improvements, examples
- First-time contributors welcome with proper mentoring

## Decision-Making Process

### Feature Proposals
1. **RFC Process**: Major features require Request for Comments (RFC)
2. **Community Discussion**: Open discussion in GitHub Discussions or Issues
3. **Technical Review**: Core maintainers evaluate technical merit
4. **Implementation Plan**: Detailed implementation and testing strategy
5. **Community Feedback**: Final review period before acceptance

### Breaking Changes
1. **Deprecation Notice**: Minimum one minor version warning period
2. **Migration Guide**: Clear upgrade path and documentation
3. **Community Impact Assessment**: Evaluate effect on existing users
4. **Lead Maintainer Approval**: Required for all breaking changes

### Conflicts Resolution
1. **Technical Disputes**: Resolved through benchmarks and mathematical analysis
2. **Design Disagreements**: Community discussion with maintainer mediation
3. **Code of Conduct Issues**: Handled by lead maintainer with community input
4. **Appeal Process**: Escalation to project maintainers via GitHub Discussions if needed

## Technical Standards

### Code Quality Requirements
- **Test Coverage**: Minimum 85% coverage for new features
- **Documentation**: All public APIs must have comprehensive documentation
- **Performance**: No regressions without clear justification and mitigation plan
- **Type Safety**: Full type hints required for new code

### Review Process
- **Two-Reviewer Rule**: All changes require review from two core maintainers
- **Automated Testing**: All CI checks must pass before merge
- **Performance Validation**: Benchmarks required for performance-related changes
- **Documentation Review**: Technical writing standards enforced

### Release Standards
- **Semantic Versioning**: Strict adherence to SemVer
- **Release Notes**: Comprehensive changelog with migration notes
- **Backward Compatibility**: Maintained except for major version releases
- **Security Audits**: Regular security reviews and dependency updates

## Community Participation

### How to Get Involved
1. **Start Small**: Bug fixes, documentation improvements, or test additions
2. **Join Discussions**: Participate in GitHub Discussions and Issues
3. **Share Expertise**: Contribute domain knowledge in quantum computing or high-performance computing
4. **Benchmark Contributions**: Help validate performance claims on different hardware

### Recognition
- **Contributors.md**: All contributors acknowledged in project documentation
- **Release Credits**: Significant contributions highlighted in release notes
- **Speaking Opportunities**: Invitation to present at conferences and workshops
- **Mentorship**: Senior contributors mentor newcomers

### Communication Channels
- **GitHub Issues**: Bug reports and feature requests
- **GitHub Discussions**: Technical discussions and Q&A
- **Documentation**: Comprehensive guides and API reference
- **Community Calls**: Monthly virtual meetings (when community grows)

## Project Roadmap

### Short-Term (3-6 months)
- Stabilize core routing algorithms
- Expand backend support and optimization
- Improve documentation and onboarding experience

### Medium-Term (6-12 months)
- Enterprise features and integration guides
- Advanced routing customization capabilities
- Community-driven backend ecosystem

### Long-Term (1+ years)
- Research collaboration and academic partnerships
- Industry standardization efforts
- Distributed quantum computing support

## Funding and Sustainability

### Current Model
- **Open Source**: Core project remains Apache 2.0 licensed
- **Community Driven**: Development priorities set by user needs
- **Grant Funding**: Seeking research grants for advanced features

### Future Sustainability
- **Dual Licensing**: Potential commercial licensing for enterprise features
- **Support Services**: Professional support and consulting offerings
- **Training Programs**: Educational workshops and certification programs
- **Hardware Partnerships**: Collaborations with quantum hardware vendors

## Code of Conduct Enforcement

See [CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md) for detailed community standards. Key enforcement mechanisms:

- **Warning System**: Progressive warnings for minor violations
- **Temporary Suspension**: For repeated or serious violations
- **Permanent Ban**: For severe violations or repeated serious offenses
- **Appeal Process**: Fair review mechanism for all enforcement actions

## Legal and Compliance

### Intellectual Property
- **Contributor License Agreement**: Required for all contributions
- **Patent Policy**: Defensive patent strategy with community protection
- **Attribution Requirements**: Proper attribution for all incorporated work
- **Export Compliance**: Adherence to relevant export control regulations

### Privacy and Data
- **Minimal Data Collection**: Only necessary telemetry with user consent
- **Transparency Reports**: Regular disclosure of any data collection
- **User Rights**: Clear data deletion and access policies
- **GDPR Compliance**: European privacy regulation adherence

### Contact Information

- **General Inquiries**: Use GitHub Discussions
- **Security Issues**: See repository Security Policy
- **Code of Conduct**: See CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

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**Mission Statement**: *To democratize quantum computing through transparent, mathematical routing algorithms that empower researchers and developers to focus on their science rather than infrastructure complexity.*

*Last Updated: September 2025*
