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Project management - Organize issues using labels

Here I am listing the labels which I used to organize my tasks in almost all the project management solutions like Jira, Gitlab and GitHub.

Abhith Rajan
Abhith RajanFebruary 06, 2019 · 4 min read · Last Updated:

Labels are a good way to categorize the tasks. But having too many in an unorganized way results more clutter. Here is my way of labeling issues/tasks. This is the way I organize my tasks in GitHub, GitLab and in Jira.

Area

Indicating the area to which issues belong.

LabelDescriptionColor
optimizationFine tuning works#8bd9e5
security
uxUser experience#ccbef7

Priority

Used to prioritize the issues.

LabelDescriptionColor
P0Requires immediate attention#d93f0b
P1Requires attention soon
P2Does not require immediate attention
P3Low priority itemsf5f5f5

Previously I was using,

LabelDescriptionColor
priority/highRequires immediate attention#d93f0b
priority/mediumRequires attention soon
priority/lowDoes not require immediate attention

Stage

Indicating the current stage of the issue.

LabelDescriptionColor
awaiting-responsePotential fix was proposed; awaiting response#FFD700
backlogPrioritized to be picked up in current sprint
blockedWork that is currently impeded or unable to progress due to external factors or dependencies#FF0000
blockingThis issue is blocking the progress of other related tasks#FFA500
in-testDeployed to TEST environment
investigatingSomeone is looking into this
needs-informationTasks or issues that lack essential information and require additional details before proceeding#FF9900
needs-investigatingSomeone needs to look at this
needs-reviewWork done but needs review
pending-releaseWorks associated with this issue is done but not deployed
proposalNo work has been done of this issue
ready-for-workThe issue is reproducible and in scope
wontfixDoes not regard this as an issue or will not implement this feature
work-in-progressSomeone is working on it#68db1c

Stage labels like in progress, backlog etc can be skipped in GitHub if you linked the issue to a project which has relevant columns matching these stages.

Kind

Used to categorize the issues.

LabelDescriptionColor
breakingBreaking change#91085D
bugSomething isn’t working#ee0701
choreWork is required w/ no deliverable to end user#2C4B5A
commentComments created via utteranc.es#893aff
documentationImprovements or additions to documentation#5F6D58
dependenciesFor managing project dependencies#6cc644
duplicateThis issue already exists#cfd3d7
featureNew feature that does not currently exist#62fcbe
enhancementRequested enhancement of existing feature#6550ba
questionFurther information is requested#d876e3
testThis tests something#926342

More

LabelDescriptionColor
dependentThis issue is dependent on the resolution of another issue#D619AD
proactiveTasks deliberately chosen from backlog, utilizing available time within the current sprint#40D256
staleIssues with no activity for long time
unplannedWork that has arisen unexpectedly and requires immediate attention or action#FF5733

If you are a colorful person 😉 , suggest me some colors for these labels in the comments 👇

Changelog

2022-07-21

  • Labels changed to non-prefix format.

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Abhith Rajan

Written byAbhith Rajan
Abhith Rajan is a software engineer by day and a full-stack developer by night. He's coding for almost a decade now. He codes 🧑‍💻, write ✍️, learn 📖 and advocate 👍.
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