Status is an open-source application and any code you write is reviewed and merged by somebody else. We ask you to stick to some rules while implementing your new cool features and trying out new ideas in order to keep pull requests clean and to the point and help others review and merge your code easily.
Keep pull requests as small as possible. Thus, keep open issues as small as possible.
Why? Small issues are done faster, reviewed faster, less error-prone and merged more easily. This leads to faster delivery and feedback and more happy users.
How? Ensure you absolutely understand what needs to be done after starting a new issue and try to estimate how much code you need to add or change to achieve it. If it is more than roughly 300 lines without tests, discuss splitting the issue into several.
While working on feature A, only change code related to feature A.
Why? This simplifies review and merge. A reviewer will not have to distract from the code goal on unrelated edits. Also, while you were working on feature A, somebody had already merged feature B, C and D. If all of you changed the same unrelated code, merge can become hard.
This is what you should not do for unrelated code:
However, we all strive to perfect code: efficient, well-structured and readable and there are often reasons to make one of those 5 actions. If you feel a reasonable desire to perform such refactoring, it is welcome but in a separate refactoring task. Refactoring task should also be small, fast and merged in within a single working day.
Always write tests for the code you change.
Why? This helps to review your code, ensure it works properly and make a decision in case of merge conflicts. Preferrably, write tests for the changed code in the same commit.