Implementing Auto-Management of Issues in Repositories

[SergeyShorokhov]

Proposal

We propose to implement an auto-management system for issues across all repositories within the ReHLDS organization. This system will leverage techniques such as "Triage," issue templates, and stale issue management to enhance efficiency and maintain clarity in our issue tracking.

Objectives

1. Improve Issue Organization: Establish a systematic approach to managing issues through triaging, allowing maintainers to prioritize and categorize incoming issues effectively.

2. Standardize Issue Creation: Introduce issue templates to ensure that all submitted issues contain necessary information. This will help streamline the process of understanding and addressing reported problems.

3. Manage Inactive Issues: Implement a stale issue management process to automatically identify and close inactive issues. This will keep the issue tracker clean and focused on active discussions.

Techniques

1. Triage

• Definition: Triage is the process of reviewing and prioritizing issues based on their importance and urgency. This technique helps maintainers quickly assess which issues require immediate attention and which can wait.
• Implementation: Establish regular triage sessions where maintainers review new issues, assign labels, and prioritize tasks. This process will help clarify responsibilities and timelines.

2. Issue Templates

• Definition: Issue templates provide a structured format for users to submit issues, ensuring that all necessary information is included.
• Implementation: Create templates for different types of issues (e.g., bug reports, feature requests, questions) and store them in the .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE directory. Each template should include prompts for relevant information such as:
  • Description of the issue
  • Steps to reproduce (for bugs)
  • Expected behavior
  • Any additional context or screenshots

3. Stale Issue Management

• Definition: Stale issue management involves automatically labeling or closing issues that have been inactive for a specified period. This practice prevents the issue tracker from becoming cluttered with unresolved or forgotten issues.
• Implementation: Use GitHub Actions or a dedicated bot to:
  • Automatically label issues that haven't had any activity (comments, updates) for a specified period (e.g., 30 days).
  • Notify the issue creator about the inactivity and provide them with a chance to respond before closing the issue.
  • Close issues that remain inactive after a set time frame (e.g., 60 days) unless otherwise updated.

Benefits of Auto-Management of Issues

• Increased Efficiency: A streamlined issue management process allows maintainers to focus on high-priority tasks without being overwhelmed by a cluttered issue tracker.
• Enhanced Communication: Issue templates facilitate clearer communication between users and maintainers, reducing back-and-forth queries for missing information.
• Cleaner Issue Tracker: Stale issue management helps maintain an organized issue tracker, making it easier for contributors to find relevant discussions and issues that need attention.
• Proactive Problem-Solving: Regular triaging encourages proactive engagement with the community, ensuring that issues are addressed in a timely manner.

Conclusion

Implementing an auto-management system for issues across ReHLDS repositories is vital for enhancing workflow efficiency and community engagement. By leveraging techniques such as triaging, issue templates, and stale issue management, we can create a more organized and effective issue tracking process that benefits both contributors and maintainers.