# Process for Design Docs?

**URL:** <https://discourse.mc-stan.org/t/process-for-design-docs/14956>\
**Category:** Developers\
**Tags:** specification\
**Created:** [May 8, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://discourse.mc-stan.org/t/process-for-design-docs/14956 "2020-05-08T07:14:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![rok\_cesnovar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7bcc69/32.png) [@rok\_cesnovar](https://discourse.mc-stan.org/u/rok_cesnovar)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://discourse.mc-stan.org/t/process-for-design-docs/14956/2 "2020-05-08T12:40:33Z")

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Not sure there is anything much more than the section you linked.

I can post my thoughts on how I see this.

> [@syclik](#):
>
> I honestly don’t know what things are supposed to be in there

I think the general idea on what goes there that has kind of caught on with the developers is:

- larger issues that touch multiple repos (example: reduce sum, variadic ode, sparse)
- larger issues that need more detailed explanation thats a bit much for a repo issue (OpenCL kernel generator)
- proposals for changes to the language (ragged, interpolation)
- new algorithms or new interfaces (laplace, cmdstanpy)

I also see it as a good place to hash out ideas, get “consensus” on larger things that will affect anyone (for example: latest Stan CI PR). Discourse topics quickly vanish and it’s then hard to find them even after a week. Much less a month or a year.

Not sure on who can approve, but the way I see it the final approval will always come as approval to specific PRs on separate repositories. This can be used to set up the plan before you dig too deep.

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