Purpose

Navigate and apply the documentation governance system to ensure edits respect authority chains and SSOT principles.

Scope

Covers the governed_by DAG, authority model, conflict resolution, and validation procedures. Does not cover runtime-specific mechanics (see system-context-mechanics) or task state (see system-objective-state).

Minimal Path

1. Before editing any doc, check its governed_by frontmatter to identify constraints.
2. Run just docs-index to visualize the governance DAG if relationships are unclear.
3. If a conflict exists between docs, apply docs/system/procedure/resolving-conflicts.md.
4. If creating a new doc, ensure it declares governed_by per the appropriate model doc.
5. Run just docs-validate to verify all linkages are correct.

Validation

• just docs-validate passes with no errors.
• Every doc has a valid governed_by chain to a root authority.
• No circular references exist in the DAG.

Failure Modes

• Editing a doc without checking what governs it (authority violation).
• Creating orphan docs with no governed_by declaration.
• Duplicating content instead of linking (SSOT violation).

References

• docs/system/governance.md: Master governance definition
• docs/system/authority-model.md: Authority layer definitions
• docs/system/procedure/resolving-conflicts.md: Conflict resolution procedure
• docs/system/procedure/validating-doc-contracts.md: Validation procedure