diff --git a/tools/patman/cser_helper.py b/tools/patman/cser_helper.py
index ea9881fcf6f..4289593b64b 100644
--- a/tools/patman/cser_helper.py
+++ b/tools/patman/cser_helper.py
@@ -255,11 +255,16 @@ class CseriesHelper:
     def prep_series(self, name, end=None):
         """Prepare to work with a series
 
+        Parse the branch name to determine the series name and version
+        number, then count the commits from the upstream branch (or up to the
+        end commit if provided) and collect the series metadata from those
+        commits.
+
         Args:
             name (str): Branch name with version appended, e.g. 'fix2'
             end (str or None): Commit to end at, e.g. 'my_branch~16'. Only
-                commits up to that are processed. None to process commits up to
-                the upstream branch
+                commits up to that are processed. Use None to process commits up
+                to the upstream branch
 
         Return: tuple:
             str: Series name, e.g. 'fix'
diff --git a/tools/patman/database.py b/tools/patman/database.py
index 9c25b04a720..e6684f990da 100644
--- a/tools/patman/database.py
+++ b/tools/patman/database.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Pcommit = namedtuple(
     'idnum,seq,subject,svid,change_id,state,patch_id,num_comments')
 
 
-class Database:
+class Database:  # pylint:disable=R0904
     """Database of information used by patman"""
 
     # dict of databases: