OW-05

Pre-Release or Done Stage Without Final Assignee

Ownership

Default severity: medium
ProcessOutputQualityRisk

What it detects

An issue in a pre-release stage (Test Done, Ready for Release, Deploying) or Done has no assignee set — there is no named owner responsible for the release or delivery confirmation. Pre-release stages require a responsible person for deployment, sign-off, and operations handover.

Detection formula

IF issue.status IN config.workflow.pre_release_stages + config.workflow.done_statuses AND issue.assignee IS NULL THEN FLAG unowned_pre_release_or_done IF issue.status IN config.workflow.pre_release_stages THEN CRITICAL (active deployment/release step with no owner) IF issue.status IN config.workflow.done_statuses AND issue.bv > 0 THEN CRITICAL (BV delivered with no accountable owner)

Examples in practice

  • A team shows an issue in a pre-release stage (test done, ready for release, deploying) or done has no assignee set while pre release stages is set to Configured per workspace.
  • Example signal: An issue in a pre-release stage (Test Done, Ready for Release, Deploying) or Done has no assignee set — there is no named owner responsible for the release or delivery confirmation.

Suggested response

Clarify ownership at handoffs and ensure active and done items have an accountable assignee.

Coaching playbook

Symptom

An issue in a pre-release stage (Test Done, Ready for Release, Deploying) or Done has no assignee set — there is no named owner responsible for the release or delivery confirmation. Pre-release stages require a responsible person for deployment, sign-off, and operations handover.

Why it matters

When "Pre-Release or Done Stage Without Final Assignee" 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

Clarify ownership at handoffs and ensure active and done items have an accountable assignee.

Facilitation questions

  • What system change would stop "Pre-Release or Done Stage Without Final Assignee" 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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OW-05: Pre-Release or Done Stage Without Final Assignee — FlowAnalyzer