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The Product Development Template

Overview

The Product Development template supports a typical product development process. The bundling of numerous bug fixes into a particular product release is common in this process. This model assumes the following organizations are involved in the defect tracking process:

Development - Responsible for performing development tasks necessary to handle the request.

QA - Verifies that the request has been successfully implemented by the Development organization.

Build - Places the updated files into the final product package.

Quick Links

Projects

A default project called Product Development is available in this template and is visible to all user groups. This project can be customized and additional projects can be added via the Projects section.

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Forms

A default form called "Issue" is available in this template, is associated with the "Product Development" Project and is visible to all user groups. This form can be customized and additional forms can be added via the Forms section.

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Fields

The Issue form contains the following fields. Note that you can customize the database by adding to or removing fields, or changing any pulldown menu values via the Fields section. Field names with an asterisk are required by the system and cannot be removed from any form(s).
PRN* Numeric record identifier. Assigned at the time the issue is created.
Title A one line text summary of the issue being reported. Set at the time the issue is created.
Product* Identifies the product related to the issue that has been reported. Set at the time the issue is created.
Last Updated Date* The date and time the issue was last modified. Set automatically as the issue is processed through the workflow.
Platform Describes the hardware or software platform where the issue occurs. An example is the operating system (e.g. Windows XP). Set at the time the issue is created.
Reported In Version Version number of the product where the issue occurs. Set at the time the issue is created.
Request Type Classifies the issue. Possible values are: Bug, Contract Requirement, Customer Feedback, Customer Problem, Enhancement. Set at the time the issue is created.
Severity Describes the relative impact of the issue. Set at the time the issue is created.
Description Full description of the issue. Ideally describes the nature of the problem and how to reproduce the behavior. Set at the time the issue is created.
Reported By* Name of the user that reported the problem. Initially set to the name of the current user logged in. Set at the time the issue is created.
Date Reported The date the issue was created. Automatically initialized, and set at the time the issue is created.
Workaround Describes how to work around the reported problem. Set at the time the issue is created.
Status* Current state of the issue. Changes as the issue is processed through the workflow.
Substatus Describes the condition of the issue in the current state. Possible values are: None, In Progress. Optionally set by each user while processing the issue.
Assigned To* User the issue is currently assigned to for processing. Set either manually or automatically during processing of the workflow.
Estimated Size Used to enter an estimated amount of time it will take for a developer to fix the problem.
Planned for Version Identifies the release number of the product in which the fix for the issue is planned to be included.
Released in Version Identifies the release number of the product that the fix for the issue will be included in.
Fix Date Date when the issue was fixed. Set by Development when the problem is fixed. Automatically initialized to the current date/time.
Fix Detail A Description of the action taken by a developer to fix the problem. Set by Development when the problem is fixed.
Test Date Date when the fix was tested. Set by QA when the fix for the problem is tested. Automatically initialized to the current date/time.
Test Description A Description of the action taken by a QA Engineer to test the fix. Set by QA when the fix for the problem is tested.
Priority Describes the relative importance of handling this issue compared to other issues entered in the system.
Close Date Date when the issue was closed. Set by Process Manager when no development work will be done for the issue. Automatically initialized to the current date/time.
Close Detail A Description of the reason an issue will be closed. Set by Process Manager when no development work will be done for the issue.
Defer Reason Describes the reason an issue will not be worked on until a later date.
Duplicate Record # Lists the record number of another previously-entered issue in the database which describes the same problem.
Deleted* Denotes whether the issue has been deleted.

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Workflows

It is assumed that issues will be processed and moved through the workflow process by using the Task operation. A default workflow called "Product Issue Process" is available in this template and is associated with the "Issue" Form and is in use in the "Product Development" Project. You can customize the Product Issue Process workflow or add additional workflows via the Workflows section.

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  1. Reported

    When an issue is created, it is set to the state Reported and assigned to the Process Manager (process_mgr). It is assumed that the Process Manager is responsible for looking at all incoming issues and deciding how to process each issue from a list of possible workflow paths. The Process Manager can choose one of the following:

    • Start the process for the issue by selecting the transition called Schedule. This transition will assign the issue to the Development Manager (dev_mgr) and place the issue in the Scheduled state. The Process Manager can also enter a Planned for Version and Priority for the issue when choosing this transition.

    • Defer the processing of the issue by selecting the transition called Defer. This transition will place the issue in the Deferred state and assign it to the state manager of that state (process_mgr). The Process Manager can review deferred issues at a later time and decide whether processing will resume. The Process Manager must enter a Defer Reason and has the option of entering a Planned for Version when choosing this transition.

    • Close the issue by selecting the transition called Close. This transition will place the issue in the Closed state and assign it to TBD (no one - since this issue will not be processed any further). The Close Date will be set automatically with the current date and time. The Process Manager will be required to enter a reason the issue was closed in the Close Detail field.

    • Mark the issue as a duplicate of another issue by selecting the transition called Mark Duplicate. This transition will place the issue in the Duplicate State and assign it to TBD (no one - since this issue will not be processed any further). The Process Manager will be required to enter the record number of the original issue that describes the same problem.

    This is implemented by:

    Workflow Properties

    • Defining Reported as the Default Add State when an issue is added
    • Assigning the process_mgr user as the manager for the Reported and Deferred states
    • Assigning dev_mgr as the manager for the Scheduled state

    Transitions

    • Defining transitions to move an issue to the Scheduled and Deferred states where the assignee is the State Manager for each respective state.
    • Defining transitions to move an issue to the Closed and Mark Duplicate states where the assignee is TBD for each transition.

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Planned for Version and Priority to be presented as optional during the task operation for the transition to the Scheduled state.
    • Configuring Defer Reason (required) and Planned for Version (optional) to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Deferred state.
    • Configuring Close Detail (required) and Close Date (read only and initialized) to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Closed state.
    • Configuring Duplicate Record # (required) to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Mark Duplicate state.

  2. Scheduled

    The Development Manager (dev_mgr) is assumed to be a manager responsible for assigning tasks to the developers for resolution. The Development Manager uses the transition Assign to Developer to assign the issue to a member of the Developers user group. This places the issue in the In Development state. The Development Manager can also decide to defer an issue by choosing the Defer transition, which will place the issue in the Deferred state and assign it to the Process Manager (process_mgr).

    This is implemented by:

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition to move an issue to the In Development state with the assignee to be chosen from a list of developers (User Group called "Developers")
    • Defining a transition to move an issue to the Deferred state with the state manager as the assignee

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Defer Reason (required) and Planned for Version (optional) to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Deferred state

  3. In Development

    The Developer (dev_one) assigned to the issue makes the changes necessary to address the problem and can either update any progress made on the issue using the Update transition or marks the task complete by selecting the transition Mark Fixed. The Mark Fixed transition allows the Developer to enter a description and date of the fix, advances the state of the issue to Fixed, and assigns the issue to the QA Manager (qa_mgr).

    This is implemented by:

    Workflow Properties

    • Defining the qa_mgr as the manager for the Fixed state

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition to keep the issue in the In Development state where the assignee is <Same Assignee>
    • Defining a transition to move an issue to the Fixed state where the assignee is the State Manager

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Fix Detail (required) to be presented during the Task operation for the Update transition. The Description field has been configured as a read only task field for the user to reference when selecting this transition.
    • Configuring the Fix Date (read only and initialized) and Fix Detail (required) to be presented during the Task operation for the transition to the Fixed state. The Description field has been configured as a read only task field for the user to reference when selecting this transition.

  4. Fixed

    Once the issue has entered the Fixed state, the QA Manager (qa_mgr) assigns the issue to the QA Engineer (qa_one), a member of the QA user group, and advances the state to In Test by selecting the transition Assign to QA Engineer.

    This is implemented by:

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition to move an issue to the In Test state with the assignee to be chosen from a list of QA Engineers (User Group called "QA")

  5. In Test

    The QA Engineer (qa_one) verifies that the issue has been resolved, and then uses the transition called Mark Tested to advance the issue to Tested and assigns the issue to the Build Manager (bld_mgr). If an issue has not been resolved and needs to be returned to Development, the QA Engineer can move the issue back to the In Development state using the transition Reject, which will assign the issue to the developer who worked on the issue. For each of these possible paths, the QA Engineer enters information in the Test Date and Test Description fields.

    This is implemented by:

    Workflow Properties

    • Configuring bld_mgr to be the manager of the Tested state

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition to move an issue to the Tested state where the assignee is the state manager
    • Creating a transition to move an issue to the In Development state or <Previous State> where the assignee is the Last Assignee for the new state.

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Test Date (read only and initialized) and Test Description (required) to be presented during the Task operation for the transitions to the In Development and Tested states. The Fix Detail field is presented as a read only task field for the QA Engineer to reference when selecting this transition.

  6. Tested

    The Build Manager (bld_mgr) user is assumed to be the user in charge of packaging the product for release and responsible for ensuring that all the desired fixes are included in the release. The Build Manager does what is necessary to make sure that the fix for the issue is included in the release, enters the released in version for the issue, then advances the state of the issue to "Released" using the transition called Release.

    This is implemented by:

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition to move the issue to the Released state where the assignee is TBD. TBD ("no one") is selected since the release is the last step in the processing of the issue.

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Released in Version (required) as a field to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Released state. The Planned for Version field is presented as a read only task field for the Build Manager to reference when choosing this transition.

  7. Released

    This state indicates that processing of the issue is complete.

  8. Closed

    This state indicates that the issue will not be processed.

  9. Deferred

    This state indicates the decision on whether or not to process the issue has been deferred until a future date. The Process Manager can update an issue in this state by using the transition called Update. The Update transition will keep the issue in the Deferred state and assigned to the state manager (process_mgr). The fields Defer Reason and Priority are presented as optional fields during the task operation. The Process Manager is required to enter a history comment to describe what was changed within the issue when using the Update transition.

    The Process Manager can decide to begin processing an issue by choosing the Schedule transition, which will place the issue in the Scheduled state and assign it to the State Manager (dev_mgr). The Process Manager can set the Planned for Version and Priority fields when choosing this transition.

    This is implemented by:

    Transitions

    • Defining a transition called Update with Deferred set as the New State, <Same Assignee> selected as the New Assignee, and history comment required
    • Creating a transition to move the issue to the Scheduled state and assign it to the state manager

    Task Fields

    • Configuring Defer Reason and Priority to be presented during the task operation for the transition to update a deferred issue
    • Configuring Planned for Version and Priority to be presented during the task operation for the transition to the Scheduled state.

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Sample Saved Charts

A set of sample saved charts are included in this template. Click here to see details of these sample metrics.

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Email Notification

The Product Development template is set up to notify users as follows:

On Add or Delete of a Record: The current assignee, the manager for the current state, and the reporter of the issue are notified

On Change of State to Released, Deferred, Duplicate or Closed: The user who reported the issue is notified when an issue is moved to a state where processing is stopped

On Change of Assignment: Both the current assignee and the manager for the current state of the issue are notified

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Security

The Product Development template assumes a very simple security model reflecting a workgroup situation where all users are able to see any issue. This is implemented by setting Enable Record Visibility option under General Preferences in the Administration Task page to No.

In addition, the privileges related to editing fields within the issues have been removed from users that are not managers or Admin. With this configuration, users can rely on the Task operation to move issues through the workflow. This can be changed within the User Accounts section of the Admin page.

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