Change is Hard

We understand that Change is Hard. Especially changing conceptual models and ways of thinking that you might be used to. That is why we designed Git Patch Stack to be something that you can adopt in stages. For example it is designed in such a way that you can easily use the Git Patch Stack command line tool to start getting comfortable with the tool and the process without ever knowing anything about the Methodology or the best practices.

Stage 1

An example of this might be that you use gps to create patches, iterate on patches, request review of patches and integrate them. But you continue to make large patches. This seems to be how some people prefer to start. We can consider this Stage 1 for lack of a better name.

Obviously when doing this you would be missing out on all the benefits that the Methodology provides in addition to the core benefits that the tool provides. It is worth noting that the benefits the Methodology provides are quite significant.

Stage 2

Maybe at this point you are starting to naturally break changes up into smaller patches and you have run into the concept of dependent patches. Therefore you have done some reading in our docs on Dependent Patches, the types of dependencies and the various techniques you can apply to avoid the dependencies.

This gains you even more of the benefits but still leaves you shy of a significant chunk of benefits tied to the Methodology.

Stage 3

Hopefully after living in Stage 2 for a while you have seen more value and realize that there is an extremely valuable Methodology out there that can help you understand how best to think through breaking down a problem into small logical ideally independent patches. So you read the documentation around the Methodology and start applying the practices to your work with Git Patch Stack unlocking it's full potential.

The Other Way Around

Everyone is clearly different, and how people learn and adopt things is also different. Therefore others may find it makes more sense to learn about the Methodology first and then start working with the Tool. So don't feel obligated to following these three stages.