How is unaccounted work calculated and how to address it?

📌 Understanding Unaccounted Work in Hivel

Unaccounted work in Hivel refers to pull requests (PRs) that are not linked to any Jira ticket. When this happens, teams lose visibility and traceability, which affects planning, reporting, and accountability.

---

✅ What Qualifies as Accounted Work?

A PR is accounted only if:

1. It includes a valid Jira ticket ID in one of the following locations:

   • PR title

   • PR description

   • PR source branch name

2. The referenced Jira ticket:

   • Belongs to the current or a past sprint

🛑 Backlog or future sprint tickets do not count — they aren’t considered active work.

If either condition is not met, the PR is flagged as unaccounted in Hivel.

---

📉 Why Unaccounted Work Matters

Unaccounted work introduces several problems for teams:

• Reduced visibility: PRs without ticket tags don’t appear in ticket-based execution or estimate comparisons.

• Loss of accountability: It’s unclear what task or business value the work contributes to.

---

🛠️ How to Fix Unaccounted Work

Here’s how your team can reduce or eliminate unaccounted PRs:

1. Tag Jira Tickets Consistently

• Always include the correct Jira ticket ID in the title, description, or branch name of your PRs.

2. Create a Ticket if None Exists

• If the work hasn’t been ticketed:

  • Coordinate with your Jira board owner to create a ticket in the current sprint.

  • This ensures the work is visible and aligned with sprint goals.

3. Use the Unaccounted Work Filter in Hivel

• Navigate to the PRs screen in Hivel

• Use the “Unaccounted Work” filter to:

  • Identify PRs missing ticket references

  • Drive conversations around engineering hygiene

---

🔁 Example Scenario

PR Title	Jira Ticket	Sprint	Accounted?
Fix login bug	❌ None	N/A	❌ No
HIV-1234: Add auth middleware	✅ HIV-1234	✅ Current sprint	✅ Yes
Hotfix: Remove debug logs	✅ HIV-5678	❌ Backlog	❌ No

---