CH-04

Vague Summary

Content & History

Default severity: medium
Product BacklogProcessQuality

What it detects

The issue summary fails the configured quality checks — too short, in a configured generic-term list, or matches configured vague-title patterns.

Detection formula

vague_terms = config.content.vague_summary_terms // configurable list per org/language min_words = config.content.min_summary_words // default: 3 IF word_count(summary) \< min_words OR summary IN vague_terms THEN FLAG

Examples in practice

  • A team shows the issue summary fails the configured quality checks while vague summary terms is set to 3.
  • Example signal: The issue summary fails the configured quality checks — too short, in a configured generic-term list, or matches configured vague-title patterns.

Suggested response

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

Coaching playbook

Symptom

The issue summary fails the configured quality checks — too short, in a configured generic-term list, or matches configured vague-title patterns.

Why it matters

When "Vague Summary" 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 "Vague Summary" 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-04: Vague Summary — FlowAnalyzer