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Select MR template in the static site editor

Release notes

Problem to solve

Users of the Static Site Editor have the ability to quickly edit page content and generate a merge request right from the editor. In %13.5, we introduced the ability to provide a title and description to go along with the merge request. While this helps add context, they do not inherit the default merge request template, nor do they have the ability to use any of the presets configured in the project.

See this thread for additional context

Intended users

User experience goal

As a contributor using the static site editor, I want the option to choose the merge request template, so that downstream reviewers can adhere to predefined steps and processes for approving merge request.

Proposal

  • Pre-populate the merge request description with the default template, if one exists.
  • If other merge request templates are available, display them in a select box, consistent with the experience when editing the merge request itself.
  • Include a way to reset the template and apply no template, consistent with the experience of editing the merge request itself.
  • Data: Add an event that triggers when something other than the default template is used.

Documentation

Availability & Testing

What does success look like, and how can we measure that?

We should track how often users are setting something other than the default MR template. This way we can understand how often users are inclined to customize their MR description using the project's templates.

It might also be interesting to track whether or not there are any alternative MR templates available at all. Assuming we build logic into the form that checks for the existence of additional templates in the .gitlab/ directory, we could add a property in there to signal whether the dropdown was even displayed to the user. This would help us filter out users who were not given the option at all, as well as provide some helpful information about how the MR template feature is used as a whole.

The goal of this feature isn't to drive additional usage of any specific MR template but we would be looking to establish a baseline usage of this workflow.

What is the type of buyer?

Is this a cross-stage feature?

Links / references

Execution plan

  • MR1 - Baseline UI (textarea vs. another SSE WYSIWYG instance)
  • MR2 - Proper data provider (TBD via dataset or new API)
Edited by Chad Woolley