Question

We want to have sub tasks under our main Cases. The question comes in when you add a sub task for a Bug vs a Feature.

You can either make the sub task the same category as the parent case or come up with a new category called "Task" to store all of the sub tasks in. If we set the category to "Bug" for all of the sub tasks of a true bug case, then instead of having a bug count of one, we might end up with a bug count of 3, when 2 of those bugs are really sub tasks of fixing that one true bug.

Example:

Case 5 - Category: Bug - Updating user permission not working

• Case 6 - Parent Case: 5 - Category: Bug - Fix stored procedure
• Case 7 - Parent Case: 5 - Category: Bug - Fix UpdateUserPermission module

or you can add a "Task" Category.

Case 5 - Category: Bug - Updating user permission not working

• Case 6 - Parent Case: 5 - Category: Task - Fix stored procedure
• Case 7 - Parent Case: 5 - Category: Task - Fix UpdateUserPermission module

Which way is the preferred way?

Answer 1

The way we do it here is that each case is a chunk of work. If that chunk of work, on it's own, fixes a bug, then we put it in the bug category. However, if a chunk of work doesn't, by itself, fix a bug, then we will typically mark it as a Task (we created the Task category mostly as a catch-all)

So, in your example, all of those cases would be bugs because (based on the title) it looks like each of them is fixing something, since you really only fix something that is broken (and there are many functioning ways that things can break...)

Now, if you also have a Case 8 called "Create New Stored Procedure", I would categorize that as a feature, since you are creating something new. And a Case 9 of "Remember to do XYZ" I would mark as a Task, since it doesn't fit any of the other categories real well.