I was recently tasked with rewriting the base CSS for an inventory/project management system, creating a set of reusable components designed to match, using an open/close approach. These were based on a pretty strict specification provided by one of our designers, who unfortunately left.
The implementation went well, but I’ve run into a bit of a problem. Quite often the team members make changes directly to the base class in the new base CSS file, rather than extending it, creating a new one, or using each system area’s dedicated stylesheet file.
One of the more recent changes involved removing a grid-gap property from a rule from the base CSS, affecting a lot more than the single UI element the team member was working on.
Should I approach the team about this?
I haven’t mentioned anything yet, but have noticed our QA team putting in more bugs about UI elements looking odd
Someone in your organization needs to be in charge of frontend fidelity. I don’t mean an official job title, I just mean someone who has taken it upon themselves to have a “the buck stops here” mentality—better yet someone who is recognized by the rest of the team to have that priority.
If nobody else fits the bill, then that person is you. And by all means, make all the stink you want about these issues. Nobody should ever be touching global stylesheets that affect multiple components or screens throughout the system without there being subsequent review or issues filed in a very visible way. Ideally, those sorts of breaking changes would never make it through code review in the first place.