diff --git a/dev-support/design-docs/README.txt b/dev-support/design-docs/README.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..be57e8b8dd1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-support/design-docs/README.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+This directory hosts design docs and proposals. Add here final
+or near-final writeups so they are easy to find and part of
+the code base.
+
+Be warned that final delivery may not be a perfect reflection
+of what is captured at design time; implementation bends as
+it encounters hurdles not conceptualized at design-time.
+
+The effort at capturing all design in a single directory ratherthan spread
+about JIRA as attachments was begun in September of 2017.
diff --git a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/Coprocessor.java b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/Coprocessor.java
index c4003ae6d69..422e06461ee 100644
--- a/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/Coprocessor.java
+++ b/hbase-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/Coprocessor.java
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ import org.apache.yetus.audience.InterfaceStability;
  * the above mentioned 4 coprocessors, it'll fail to be loaded by any coprocessor host.
  *
  * Example:
- * Building a coprocessor to observer Master operations.
+ * Building a coprocessor to observe Master operations.
  * <pre>
  * class MyMasterCoprocessor implements MasterCoprocessor {
  *   &#64;Override