Front-End Checklist for Ticket Completion
Tags: productivity, tools, todo, setup
Published: 2020-01-15 14:49:14

---
title: Front-End Checklist for Ticket Completion
published: true
date: 2020-01-10 00:00:00 UTC
tags: productivity, tools, todo, setup 
canonical_url: https://joelmturner.com/blog/front-end-ticket-checklist
cover_image: https://res.cloudinary.com/joelmturner/image/upload/v1579098847/Posts/front-end-ticket-checklist-wide.png
series: Front-End Productivity
---

In the first post of the series, {% link https://dev.to/joelmturner/my-productivity-practices-for-front-end-development-330g %} I laid out some of my productivity tools and processes in a broad view. I'll now dive into some of the details for tickets.

On our dev team, we are assigned tickets that may be features or bug fixes. I fumbled through the lifecycle of a ticket a few times where I missed things, forgot things, or didn’t refactor where I should. After that, I started to put together a checklist that I use for most tickets.

## TL;DR: Here’s the list without description:

- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Clean up debugger/trace/etc
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Clean up logs
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Search for TODO’s in code
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Refactor where needed
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Write tests
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Make sure test coverage hasn’t gone down
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Add translate functions
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Verify on published url
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Verify in builder
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Update Jira
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Notify PMs
- <input type="checkbox" disabled> Create MR

## My Current Checklist

I currently have these as tasks in [Todoist](https://todoist.com/) where I can duplicate for each new ticket. Sometimes I’ll create sub-tasks on a few of these if there is more to be done on that specific issue.

### Clean up debugger/trace/etc

A reminder to delete any `debugger;` or `trace()` (from [MobX](https://mobx.js.org/README.html)) that are left in the code.

### Clean up logs

Remove any `console.log`s and `console.group`s that may still be there.

### Search for TODO’s in code

I like to leave myself notes as I’m working through a feature or bug. They help me remember to resolve any of the todos that are left.

I usually add my initials to my todos `TODO JT` so I can find them more easily. [Todo Tree](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Gruntfuggly.todo-tree) is a great VS Code extension that has been a big help for this.

### Refactor where needed

There is inevitably some back and forth about how a feature or bug should be solved so there may be some prototype code that can be refactored.

### Write tests

I could write these tests upfront but I haven’t gotten into that habit yet. I try to make sure I catch the cases we need to cover based on newly added or deleted code.

### Make sure test coverage hasn’t gone down

This reminds me to run test coverage and make sure I haven’t lowered our coverage.

### Add translate functions

This runs a scanner to add any new UI text to our language files for translation. This will eventually be part of the CI but for now, I need to remind myself.

### Verify on published URL

We publish the URLs of completed visualizations. It’s important to make sure that nothing regressed on the running URL and the feature is working correctly.

### Verify in our builder UI

This is our UI where customers build their visualizations. This is to make sure the fix/feature is working as expected. We also need to make sure it didn’t cause any regressions.

### Update Jira

Make sure the ticket get’s moved through the Jira columns. This signifies QA that it’s ready to be tested.

### Notify PMs

Let the project manager and product manager know that the ticket is complete and ready for their review.

### Create MR

Reminder to create a Merge Request so I can start getting feedback from code reviews.

## Checklists FTW

This checklist has helped me be more consistent with my contributions. I would love to hear how others are using checklists or workflows through individual tickets.