Backlogs
We have two main backlogs of work for tickets that don’t neatly fit into dedicated epics. These are the Batwork and Cooldown backlogs.
It’s important to note that there is some gray area between the two backlogs, and it’s not always obvious where a ticket should go. Sometimes, a ticket could reasonably fit in either.
Batwork
This is the main queue of work that the designated @bat works on during their shift. This type of work is often:
- Tech debt
- Upgrading dependencies
- Infrastructure maintenance
- Refactoring / code cleanup
- Documentation
- Urgent bug fixes blocking users
This backlog is often characterized by tickets that only concern engineers.
Cooldown
The Cooldown backlog is maintained by the Product and Platform teams. Tickets in this queue are typically smaller in scope, and user facing. This type of work is often:
- Small improvements to existing features
- New features, if they’re small enough (1~ day of work)
- Non-urgent bug fixes (these are rare, and we usually default to fixing bugs ASAP via Batwork)
How to choose where a ticket goes
Since these backlogs are prioritized differently, it’s important to find the right place for each ticket.
- A good rule of thumb is that if a user wouldn’t notice the work, it should go in Batwork.
- If it’s something that the Product or Platform teams would advocate for, it belongs in Cooldown.
- If a non-engineer wouldn’t understand the ticket, it probably belongs in Batwork.
It’s also important to create new tickets in the New column of the appropriate backlog. Each backlog is groomed weekly, and if a ticket is created in the wrong place, it might get lost.