Enforce PR template compliance and require related issue/discussion reference

[Yicong-Huang]

Task Summary

Many pull requests are not following the PR template well, especially the "Any related issues, documentation, discussions?" section. In multiple PRs, there is no linked issue/discussion (e.g., #1234), which makes review and traceability harder.

Why this is a bad practice

• It weakens traceability: reviewers cannot easily connect code changes to the original problem statement or decision context.
• It slows down review: missing context forces reviewers/maintainers to ask follow-up questions and increases review cycle time.
• It hurts project hygiene: release notes, changelog curation, and future maintenance become harder without issue linkage.
• It reduces accountability: unclear ownership/scope makes regressions and follow-up fixes harder to track.

Priority

P1 – High

Task Type

• Code Implementation
• Documentation
• Refactor / Cleanup
• Testing / QA
• DevOps / Deployment

[carloea2]

Hi, one question, for a PR with no logical change and few changes (even 2 chars), an issue is still a good practice?

[chenlica]

We have an ongoing discussion #4228 about this topic. We will conclude there first.