Tasks

We record tasks which need doing at https://github.com/srobo/tasks/issues.

If you spot a task which you'd like to do or help with, please @mention someone (see below) to let them know that you're interested. If you're able to self-assign the task (for technical reasons you won't initially be able to do this), please also do that.

Who to ping about tasks:

  • if there's someone currently assigned, ping them
  • if you know of someone who is responsible for the task, perhaps a member of one of the team committees, ping them
  • otherwise, ping the ticket's author who will likely be able to point you in the right direction

This lets the current owner know that you're interested, meaning that they can pass on any additional information which might be needed to complete the task. Alternatively, if they're unsure, they can likely suggest someone else who would be able to advise you.

Assignment also acts as a way for others to know that you're working on something, so that they don't need to duplicate your efforts!

If you see a task which you think someone else would be able to take on (perhaps because they expressed a particular interest in doing so, or are already doing something very similar), please @mention them on the task asking if they'd be interested.

Note

Please do not assign other people to tasks unless they have specifically said that they are doing the task.

If you're asked whether you can take on a task, there is no obligation to do so. However please do ensure that you respond in a timely fashion so it's clear you won't be able to take on a task.

If you've taken on a task and find that you no longer have the time or energy to complete it, that's fine! However please do post on the task mentioning that you're no longer able to complete it and remove your assignment from the task. Please also consider @mentioning either the author or another volunteer who has been helping you with the task in order to let them know.

If there's something you'd like to do which isn't already expressed as a task, please do create a task first as a record that you're doing it. There's no need to do this for trivial things, but for anything else having a task provides visibility into what's being done and who's doing it.

Labels

The tasks repository has many labels which are used to group tasks together, and assign them extra metadata.

Labels in the repository are split into a few categories, denoted by a prefix character:

  • A: Area - The area of Student Robotics operations the task is relevant to.
  • I: Importance - How critical the task is. Tasks may only have 1 I label at any given time
  • S: State - The current state of the task, which is generally timely.

There are a few labels which don't fit into a category.

If you're looking for something to do, you may be able to help out with tasks which are labelled as help wanted -- these are generally tasks which need a bit more input or have been highlighted as something that can be picked up relatively independently.

Alternatively, if you're relatively new and would like to help with something that doesn't require too much in-depth knowledge, we have some tasks which are labelled as good first issue.