How do you split the work across the team without two people rewriting the same file?
Agree on ownership before anyone opens the editor so your branches do not collide.
Decide ownership first
When two people edit the same file, Git cannot combine the changes on its own and you get a merge conflict. Decide who owns what before anyone opens an editor.
Here is my small team and the features we are building: [describe them]. Assign each feature or folder to a single owner so no two people work the same files.
Here is our planned structure: [paste it]. Which files or modules are likely to need changes from more than one person at the same time, and how would I avoid the collision?
Agree what "ready to merge" means
Pin down what counts as ready before the first branch goes up, so reviews argue about the code, not the bar.
We work on a Next.js App Router project with feature branches and PR reviews. Give me a concrete "ready to merge" checklist (tests, lint, review, no console errors) for a small team, and how to communicate it when feature ownership shifts.
Agree on who owns what, and what "ready to merge" means, before anyone opens an editor.
Additional Resources
Explore these carefully curated resources to deepen your understanding and practice the concepts covered in this lesson.
Git feature branch workflow
ArticleHow isolating work in feature branches keeps two people off the same code.
https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/comparing-workflows/feature-branch-workflow
Definition of Done
ArticleWhat a shared "ready to merge" bar is and why the team agrees on it up front.
https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/definition-of-done