CH-03

Template or Empty Content

Content & History

Default severity: medium
Product BacklogProcessQuality

What it detects

The issue description matches configured template patterns or contains configured placeholder keywords, or falls below the configured minimum character threshold for the issue type.

Detection formula

template_patterns = config.content.template_patterns // configurable regex/keyword list per org placeholder_keywords = config.content.placeholder_keywords // e.g. \[\'\<insert>\', \'TBD\', \'TODO\', \'N/A\'\] min_length = config.content.min_description_length\[issue_type\] // default: 50 chars for Story/Feature IF description MATCHES any(template_patterns) OR CONTAINS any(placeholder_keywords) OR LENGTH(description) \< min_length THEN FLAG

Examples in practice

  • A team shows the issue description matches configured template patterns or contains configured placeholder keywords, or falls below the configured minimum character threshold for the issue type while template patterns is set to Configured per workspace.
  • Example signal: The issue description matches configured template patterns or contains configured placeholder keywords, or falls below the configured minimum character threshold for the issue type.

Suggested response

Protect narrative quality: write items before work starts and avoid late or empty edits.

Coaching playbook

Symptom

The issue description matches configured template patterns or contains configured placeholder keywords, or falls below the configured minimum character threshold for the issue type.

Why it matters

When "Template or Empty Content" keeps appearing, the team is signalling a repeatable process gap. Left unexamined, the pattern hides where work really stalls and makes improvement metrics harder to trust.

What you can achieve

Protect narrative quality: write items before work starts and avoid late or empty edits.

Facilitation questions

  • What system change would stop "Template or Empty Content" from firing again?
  • What do the cited issues have in common — same root cause or same workaround?
  • Who owns the two-week experiment and how will we verify on the next import?

Run this rule against your own tracker data with Flow Analyzer.

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CH-03: Template or Empty Content — FlowAnalyzer