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Chores

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Chore Definition

Chores are a way for the team to track stories that may not directly add business value to the product but still require effort to do. A good example of a chore is refactoring code. Even though the benefits of refactoring code will lead to greater performance or easier readability, the change itself is not directly contributing to a new feature or business requirement.

The following stories are examples of what can be considered chores:

  • Code refactoring to solely improve the code quality.
  • Creating a proof-of-concept.
  • Researching tasks.
  • Updating dependencies.
  • Increasing test coverage.
  • Fixing Git orchestration issues e.g., backporting a branch, preparing a release branch, etc.
  • Initial project setup tasks e.g., setting up the repository, setting up the CI pipeline, setting up the CD pipeline, etc.
  • Updating text on a localization file.

Handling Chores in a Sprint

Adding a chore to the sprint’s backlog is the sole responsibility of the Product Manager. While developers and the Team Lead are encouraged to create chores, only the Product Manager can include them in the sprint.

The Team Leads must provide daily progress on each chore. Together with the Product Manager, they can decide if it is worth pursuing further or not.

Much like bugs, chores do not need to be estimated. However, they should ideally be small enough stories to be achievable in a day. Having a constraint of one day is crucial to having a result-driven approach.

If a chore requires more than a day, the developer must inform the Product Manager. Then the chore either has to be broken down further, or the Product Manager has to factor the chore into the sprint capacity.

Chore Template

Here at Nimble, chores follow a specific template. This template aims to provide all the information needed to accomplish the chore.

## Why

Describe the purpose of the chore.

## Acceptance Criteria

List down what is being accomplished in the chore and what the QA should test to consider the chore as completed.

## Resources

List any resources needed in accomplishing the chore.

Chore Title

The title for the chore should be in the following format:

Update the packages in the project

The Chore’s title should clearly state what the purpose of the task is.

Why

Explain what the purpose of the chore is.

Acceptance Criteria

Provide a list of tasks that are required to accomplish the chore. e.g.

  • Refactor GenericElementView to use newLibrary.

If the the chore requires checking if a feature still works or has changed in a certain way, it is important list out any behaviors that the QA should check for. e.g.

  • The user should be able to open the Home page and see no changes.

Resources

Provide any links, documentation, or materials that the developer will need to complete this chore.