Design versioning and release process for localized product documentation

The goal of this issue is to design the versioning and release process for localized GitLab technical documentation. The process / mechanism should integrate the translation workflows with the monthly release process for tech docs.

Scope (to be specified / expanded):

  • Design fork-based translation workflow in a way that would allow to handle versioned content
  • Implement strategy for mixed-language content that users may experience while translation in ongoing
  • Account for the GitLab Pages redirects limit (if this belongs to the context of this issue 🤔 )
  • Create process for backporting critical documentation changes to older versions of localized docs content
  • Extend CI/CD pipelines to support building and deploying localized versions of docs
  • Define SLA for localized releases (unlike simultaneous shipping which is not feasible due to translation naturally lagging in time behind English)
  • Document how the monthly docs release process (detailed in releases.md) wil be impacted by (needs to be extended for ?) localized content
  • Design the process for handling translation MRs in the fork-based workflow for when a new version branch is cut while translation is ongoing

Relevant original discussions:

Edited by Marcel Amirault