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Collaboration & Process › Agile & Delivery Process

Ticket / Issue

A tracked unit of work in Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues.

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Also known as: issue, task ticket, Jira ticket, GitHub issue, work item, story ticket

A ticket (also called an issue or work item) is a tracked unit of work in a tool such as Jira, Linear, GitHub Issues or Azure DevOps. It could be a feature, a bug, a chore or a question. It gives the work a name, an owner and a status that everyone can see.

A useful ticket contains:

  • A clear title that says the outcome: “Reset-password email not sent for addresses with a plus sign”.
  • Context: why this matters, who asked, links to designs, conversations or related tickets.
  • What “done” means (acceptance criteria).
  • For bugs: steps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior (bug reports).
  • Ownership and status: assignee, and where it is (to do, in progress, in review, done).
Title: Show error when file upload exceeds 10 MB
Why: Users see an endless spinner; support got 14 complaints this month.
Done when:
 - Files over 10 MB are rejected before upload with "File is too large (max 10 MB)".
 - Server also rejects with 413 if the check is bypassed.
 - Covered by a test.

How you’ll use them

  • Pick up work from the backlog, and move the ticket’s status as you go, so the team sees reality.
  • Link everything: put the ticket ID in your branch name, commit messages and pull request, so code and context stay connected.
  • Add notes as you learn. What you tried, what you decided, and why. Future you will be grateful.
  • Ask in the ticket when something’s unclear (clarifying tickets), so the answer is recorded.
  • Split tickets that are too big (breaking down tasks).
  • Close the loop: note how it was solved, and update the ticket when scope changes.

Pitfalls

  • Vague tickets (“Improve performance”) that nobody can finish or verify.
  • Stale tickets that no longer reflect reality. Tidy the board (triage).
  • Treating the ticket as the whole truth. It’s a starting point for a conversation, not a substitute for talking to people.