diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md
index 6faac04c8eaf..63b72e006842 100644
--- a/.github/pull_request_template.md
+++ b/.github/pull_request_template.md
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@
 ...
 
 ### Checklist before you submit for review
-- [ ] Make sure there is a PR in the CNDB project updating the Converged Cassandra version
+- [ ] Make sure there is a PR in the CNDB project updating the Converged Cassandra version if your PR is changing the API
 - [ ] Use `NoSpamLogger` for log lines that may appear frequently in the logs
-- [ ] Verify test results on Butler
-- [ ] Test coverage for new/modified code is > 80%
+- [ ] Verify Butler and Sonar checks are passing
 - [ ] Proper code formatting
 - [ ] Proper title for each commit staring with the project-issue number, like CNDB-1234
 - [ ] Each commit has a meaningful description
-- [ ] Each commit is not very long and contains related changes
-- [ ] Renames, moves and reformatting are in distinct commits
\ No newline at end of file
+- [ ] Each commit contains related changes
+- [ ] Renames, moves and reformatting are in distinct commits
+- [ ] Avoid starting nodes in new tests (jvm dtests, CQLTester) if possible in favor of implementing pure unit tests