Onboarding Guide Template

Overview

An onboarding guide accelerates new team member productivity by providing a clear path from day one to first meaningful contribution. It reduces the burden on existing team members and ensures consistency.

When to Use

• A new developer joins your team
• You want to reduce repetitive “how do I…” questions
• You need to document tribal knowledge
• Your team is growing rapidly

Template

# Onboarding Guide

Welcome to the team! This guide will help you get up and running.

## Day 1: Accounts and Access

- [ ] Email and Slack/Teams account created
- [ ] Git repository access granted
- [ ] CI/CD platform access configured
- [ ] Development environment credentials received
- [ ] Calendar invites sent for team standups and rituals

## Day 1-2: Environment Setup

### Required Tools
| Tool | Version | Purpose | Install Link |
|------|---------|---------|-------------|
| Node.js | 20.x | Runtime | [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org) |
| Docker | Latest | Containers | [docker.com](https://docker.com) |
| Git | 2.40+ | Version control | [git-scm.com](https://git-scm.com) |

### Repository Setup
```bash
git clone git@github.com:org/repo.git
cd repo
npm install
npm run dev

Verify: http://localhost:4321 should show the application.

Day 2-3: Codebase Overview

Architecture

[High-level diagram or description of system components]

Key Directories

Directory	Purpose
/src/components	Reusable UI components
/src/pages	Route definitions
/src/lib	Shared utilities and schemas
/tests	Test suites

Conventions

• Branch naming: feature/description, bugfix/description
• Commit messages: Conventional Commits
• Code style: Enforced by ESLint and Prettier

Day 3-5: First Contributions

Good First Issues

Look for issues labeled:

• good first issue
• help wanted
• documentation

First Tasks

Day	Task	Goal
3	Fix a typo or update docs	Learn the PR workflow
4	Write a unit test	Understand testing standards
5	Pick a small bug	End-to-end contribution flow

Week 2+: Deeper Dive

• Attend architecture overview session
• Read ADRs in /docs/adr/
• Shadow an on-call rotation (observation only)
• Pair program with a teammate

Resources

• Team Wiki
• API Documentation
• Runbooks
• Architecture Decision Records

Questions?

Your onboarding buddy is: [Name] Slack: @username | Email: name@company.com

## Key Sections

| Section | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| **Accounts & Access** | Remove blockers on day one |
| **Environment Setup** | Standardized dev environment |
| **Codebase Overview** | Architectural context |
| **First Contributions** | Clear path to first PR |
| **Resources** | Where to find more info |

## Best Practices

- **Make it actionable**: Every item should be a checkbox or command
- **Assign a buddy**: New hires need a human point of contact
- **Keep it current**: Review and update quarterly
- **Start simple**: Day 1 should not overwhelm

## Common Mistakes

- **Outdated instructions**: Broken links or changed processes
- **Missing credentials**: Access requests that take days
- **No buddy system**: New hire isolated without help