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Git and GitHub for Product People

Read a repository the way engineers do, without the terminal. Learn what commits, branches, merges and pull requests are, find out who changed what and why, review a pull request as a PM, recognise every GitHub icon and state, follow a change from branch to release and make a small, safe edit in the browser. Every skill is practised in the GitHub web UI, on the CatChow website repository. Further reading (fact-check references, not the basis of the lessons): Pro Git by Scott Chacon and Ben Straub (git-scm.com/book); GitHub Docs and GitHub Skills; "A successful Git branching model" by Vincent Driessen (nvie.com); Atlassian's Git tutorials on workflows.

Free3 lessons~1 h 14 min of learning

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  1. Module 1

    Git in plain words

    Why teams keep a full history of their project, what a repository and a commit are, and how to read that history on GitHub: messages, diffs and blame.

    1. 1.1Why teams keep history: version control without fearWhat version control is, how Git differs from GitHub, and why looking around a repository can't break anything.~24 min
    2. 1.2Repository and commits: reading a repo pageA GitHub repository page from top to bottom, what a single commit page tells you, and what makes a good commit message.~26 min
    3. 1.3Reading history: messages, diffs and blameHow to open a file's history, read a diff line by line and use blame to trace any line back to its commit, pull request and issue.~24 min
    Module examComplete 3 more lessons to unlock

  2. Module 2

    Branches and merges

    Branches as parallel versions of the project, the three ways GitHub merges them (merge commit, squash, rebase) and what a merge conflict is.

    1. 2.1Branches: parallel versions of the projectComing soon
    2. 2.2Merging: merge commit, squash and rebase on GitHubComing soon
    3. 2.3Merge conflicts: why they happen and what to doComing soon

  3. Module 3

    Pull requests

    A pull request tab by tab, reviewing one as a PM with comments, suggestions and approvals, and what every GitHub icon and colour means.

    1. 3.1Anatomy of a pull request: tabs, description, checksComing soon
    2. 3.2Reviewing as a PM: comments, suggestions, approveComing soon
    3. 3.3Icons and colours: what every state meansComing soon

  4. Module 4

    Team workflows

    GitHub flow with small branches and fast merges, git flow with develop, release and hotfix branches, and how releases get tags, versions and changelogs.

    1. 4.1GitHub flow: small branches, fast mergesComing soon
    2. 4.2Git flow: develop, release and hotfix branchesComing soon
    3. 4.3Releases and versions: tags, SemVer, changelogsComing soon

  5. Module 5

    GitHub for product work

    Issues, labels and milestones, project boards that track a feature to release, and your first change in the browser, plus how to undo it.

    1. 5.1Issues, labels and milestones; linking PRs to issuesComing soon
    2. 5.2Project boards and tracking a feature to releaseComing soon
    3. 5.3Your first change in the browser, and how to undo itComing soon