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Krystina Ramos edited this page Mar 28, 2021 · 2 revisions

How to Write Useful Issues

Creating a well-written issue makes it easy for others to review and work on. Issues are proposed improvements, defects, tasks or requests related to a repository. We record tasks, ideas and problems using Github issues feature at https://github.com/cforlando/Code4Orlando/issues.

Here are few tips on writing useful issues.

Duplicates

Before creating an issue, check for any duplicates. This will save time and effort in creating the issue yourself. If you find a matching issue, add a reaction or a comment with your thoughts. Your engagement can further highlight the significance of the issue.

Formatting

Use Github Markdown elements or the styling toolbar to format the text in issues. This will ensure that the information is easy to read and understand. Check out Github's guide on Mastering Markdown to learn more.

Key Elements

(Supporting image coming soon)

Title

Provide a title that clearly describes what the issue is about. Keep it short and simple.

Summary

In 1-2 sentences, briefly explain the purpose of the issue.

Proposed Implementation

Provide detailed steps to produce the issue. Use clickable checkboxes to outline steps.

For example, when drafting the issue in the editor, use - [ ] and - [x] to indicate an unmarked and marked checkbox respectively.

 - [x] Step 1
 - [ ] Step 2
 - [ ] Step 3...

Once published, a checklist will display, as seen below.

  • Step 1
  • Step 2
  • Step 3...

Developer Notes (optional)

Designer Notes (optional)

Resources (optional)

Include links to documentation or resources if relevant.

Screenshots (recommended)

If possible, include visuals, such as screenshots or media attachments.

Make Issues Easy to Find & Contributor-friendly

Labels

This repository has several labels to help organize issues. The Issue Label Style Guide was created for Code for Orlando. The purpose is to provide clear and consistent labels across projects.

Labels offer visual context to issues. Labels in the repository are organized by color, according to broad themes. Labels are also separated into a few categories, denoted by a prefixed phrase. Note there are a few labels that do not fit into a category; these do not have a prefix.

  • A: The topic area of brigade leadership/organizating the task is relevant to.
  • Blocked: A blocker.
  • Level: A specific skill or expertise level needed for the task.
  • Priority: How important a task is.
  • Status: The current state of the task.
  • Time: A general estimate of how much time is required for the task.
  • Type: A specific kind of task.

Reference the Issue Label Style Guide when categorizing issues for projects.

Assignees

Assign a contributor to work on a specific issue. To do this, hit Assignees, enter the contributor's username and select their name when it appears.

Projects

Depending on the project, issues will be coordinated in a specific project board within the Projects tab.

Publishing

Before hitting the submit button, make sure the issue is ready to publish. We recommend the following:

  • Use the Preview tab to display the issue draft.
  • Proofread. Review text for typos, missing words, incorrect words, etc.
  • Consult relevant style guidelines.
  • Check that links point to the correct sources and work properly.

Further Reading