DecisionsDevDecisionsDev
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Repository Topics Guide

Overview

This guide helps contributors select appropriate topics for their DecisionsDev repositories. Topics improve discoverability and help organize the DecisionsDev ecosystem.

🎯 Quick Start for Contributors

Step 1: Discover Existing Topics

Before adding topics to your repository, see what topics are already in use:

# List all topics currently used in DecisionsDev
node tools/list-all-topics.js


# See which repositories use each topic
node tools/list-all-topics.js --verbose


# Filter by pattern
node tools/list-all-topics.js --pattern "product-*"

Step 2: Select Relevant Topics

Choose 3-7 topics that best describe your repository:

  1. Reuse existing topics whenever possible for consistency
  2. Select the most relevant - quality over quantity
  3. Use lowercase with hyphens (e.g., 
    decision-center
    , not 
    DecisionCenter
    )
  4. Avoid redundancy - don’t add both 
    odm
    and 
    ibm-odm
    (use 
    odm
    )

Step 3: Add Topics to Your Repository

Via GitHub Web UI (Easiest)

  1. Go to your repository on GitHub
  2. Click the gear icon ⚙️ next to “About” on the right sidebar
  3. In the “Topics” field, add your selected topics
  4. Click “Save changes”

Via GitHub CLI

# Add topics one at a time
gh repo edit DecisionsDev/your-repo-name --add-topic odm
gh repo edit DecisionsDev/your-repo-name --add-topic docker
gh repo edit DecisionsDev/your-repo-name --add-topic tutorial

📋 Most Common Topics

Based on current usage across DecisionsDev repositories:

Products (25+ repos)

  • odm
     — IBM Operational Decision Manager (most used)
  • ibm
     — IBM products in general
  • decision-intelligence
     — IBM Decision Intelligence
  • bai
     — Business Automation Insights
  • cp4ba
     — Cloud Pak for Business Automation

Technologies (10+ repos)

  • business-rules
     — Business rules engines
  • artificial-intelligence
     — AI/ML integrations
  • docker
     — Docker containers
  • kubernetes
     — Kubernetes orchestration
  • java
     — Java applications
  • rpa
     — Robotic Process Automation

Types (5+ repos)

  • tutorial
     — Step-by-step guides
  • sample
     — Code samples
  • integration
     — Integration examples
  • tools
     — Utilities and tools

🎨 Topic Selection Examples

Example 1: ODM Docker Tutorial

Repository: A tutorial showing how to deploy ODM with Docker

Good topics:

odm, docker, tutorial, business-rules

Why: Uses existing popular topics, clearly describes content

Avoid:

ibm-odm, odmdev-docker, docker-image, dockerfiles, microservices

Why: Too many topics, includes deprecated prefixes, too specific

Example 2: Decision Center REST API Sample

Repository: Sample code for Decision Center REST API

Good topics:

odm, decision-center, sample, api, java

Why: Clear, uses existing topics, describes technology stack

Avoid:

decisioncenter, dc, rest-api, ibmodm, operational-decision-manager

Why: Inconsistent naming, abbreviations, redundant

Example 3: RPA Integration

Repository: Integration between ODM and RPA tools

Good topics:

odm, rpa, integration, automation-anywhere

Why: Describes both products and purpose

🔍 Topic Categories

Products

Use one product topic that best describes your repository:

TopicDescription
odm
Operational Decision Manager
decision-intelligence
Decision Intelligence (formerly ADS)
bai
Business Automation Insights
cp4ba
Cloud Pak for Business Automation

Technologies

Add 2–3 technology topics:

TopicDescription
docker
Docker containers
kubernetes
Kubernetes orchestration
java
Java applications
react
React front-end
kafka
Messaging with Kafka
analytics
Analytics / dashboards

Purpose

Add 1–2 purpose topics:

TopicDescription
tutorial
Learning resources
sample
Example code
integration
Integration examples
tools
Utilities

Domain

Add relevant domain topics:

TopicDescription
business-rules
Rules engines
artificial-intelligence
AI/ML
rpa
Robotic Process Automation
business-automation
Business automation

⚠️ Topics to Avoid

Deprecated Prefixes

❌ Don’t use: 

product-*
, 
comp-*
, 
type-*
, 
odmdev-*

✅ Use instead: Clean names without prefixes

Redundant Topics

❌ Don’t use both: 

ibm-odm
AND 
odm

✅ Use: 
odm
(simpler is better)

Inconsistent Naming

❌ Don’t use: 

decisioncenter
, 
decision-center
, 
dc

✅ Use: 
decision-center
(check existing usage first)

Too Many Topics

❌ Don’t add: 10+ topics
✅ Add: 3–7 most relevant topics

🛠️ Topic Management Tools

For Repository Owners

If you need to clean up or standardize topics:

# Remove old topics (dry run first)
node tools/remove-topics-from-repos.js --topics old-topic --dry-run


# Replace topics (only where they exist)
node tools/remove-topics-from-repos.js --topics ibm-odm --replace odm --dry-run


# Apply changes (after reviewing dry-run output)
node tools/remove-topics-from-repos.js --topics ibm-odm --replace odm --apply

For Organization Admins

# List all topics with usage counts
node tools/list-all-topics.js --sort-count


# Find topics matching a pattern
node tools/list-all-topics.js --pattern "odmdev-*"


# Generate a topics report
node tools/generate-topics-report.js

📊 Benefits of Good Topics

  1. Discoverability — Users find your repository more easily
  2. Organization — Repositories are automatically categorized
  3. Filtering — Users can filter by product, technology, or type
  4. Consistency — Standardized topics improve the ecosystem
  5. Analytics — Better insights into the DecisionsDev portfolio

🤝 Getting Help

Not sure which topics to use?

  1. Check similar repositories: 
    node tools/list-all-topics.js --verbose
  2. Ask in discussions: Open a GitHub Discussion
  3. Review the report: 
    node tools/generate-topics-report.js

📚 Additional Resources

Remember: When in doubt, use existing topics! Consistency is more valuable than creating new topics.

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