3.3Planning and Tracking (Templates, Projects, Notifications)

To work as a team, standardize how issues are filed, make work visible, and reliably reach the right people.

■ Standardize filing with templates • Issue templates (.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE) or Issue forms (YAML with fields and required items) prompt authors for needed details like repro steps and environment. • A PR template (PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE) standardizes review points and checklists. • Classify issues with Labels, group them by release/deadline with Milestones, and name an owner with Assignee.

■ Track with GitHub Projects GitHub Projects shows the same items across Board (kanban), Table, and Roadmap views. Custom fields like Status, priority, and owner let you classify and sort; add issues/PRs to a Project to manage progress across repos. Saved replies let you post repeated responses quickly.

■ Cross-references and notifications • Writing #number in a comment creates a cross-reference link to another issue/PR. • Mentioning @username or @org/team notifies them. • Emoji Reactions let you express agreement quickly. Notifications arrive for participation, @mentions, and updates to repos you Watch. You tune delivery via the Watch level (All Activity / Participating and @mentions / Custom / Ignore).