When working with code that deploys to servers, it is important to agree on a branching strategy across the organization.

A branching strategy is a convention, or a set of rules, that describes when branches are created, how they are to be named, what use branches should have, and so on.

Branching strategies are important when working together with other people and are, to a degree, less important when you are working on your own, but they still have a purpose.

Most source code management systems do not prescribe a particular branching strategy and neither does Git. The SCM simply gives you the base mechanics to perform branching.

With Git and other distributed version control systems, it is usually pretty cheap to work locally with feature branches. A feature, or topic, branch is a branch that is used to keep track of ongoing development regarding a particular feature, bug, and so on. This way, all changes in the code regarding the feature can be handled together...