Sorry if this one gets a bit techie for those who are not so inclined. I like me some processes, but only to the extent that they ​help​, not hold you back. Before I came here, I treated my Jira tickets as pretty much just a to-do list. Detail was lacking beyond a few bullet points. The entire idea was that when I came to actually ​doing​ the thing, I’d look at the ticket and use the bullet points to jog my memory. I think a lot of us work in a similar way… if you really go into proper detail, you might as well just do the damn thing at the time!

But I’ve changed how I look at these things now. I’ve been in large teams and small and just on my own at various points in my career. When I was on my own, the idea that I would remember it was fine, but being in a team that is expected to deliver regardless of my attendance (or mental faculties) means that when it comes down to actually actioning that ticket that was created 2-3 months ago, it might not be me who is driving the keyboard. Beyond that, when we’ve got literally hundreds of tickets at various stages, having actionable info on any given one at any time is a long-shot; we just can’t keep that kinda info in our heads.

So then, what’s the ideal amount of detail to go into in a ticket? No idea, this is a thought, not a tutorial.