The Workgroup Management System Guide contains information for installing and maintaining multiple Tracker workgroups. At the physical level a workgroup consists of a set of web pages (part of a web site or its own separate web site) and a single database. At the logical level a workgroup is a place (web site) where a group of users can collaborate on a common project or a set of projects. The functions in the Workgroup Management System are separate from the user management operations in the User Management System and are also separate from the Administrative operations within a particular workgroup (database). The User Management System Guide contains information for user operations for all workgroups and the Administrator's Guide contains information for operations within each workgroup, such as customizing fields, workflow settings, user groups and privileges.

Note: It is important to make regular backups of your installation especially the database and attachments for each workgroup. If you are using MySQL, SQL Server or Oracle as the database type for your workgroup(s), a simple file copy or a simple file backup to tape is not sufficient for backing up MySQL, SQL Server or Oracle database files because they are not standard files. More information on backing up your Tracker installation can be found in the Database Administration section.

Supporting Multiple Projects

It is common for Tracker to be called upon to handle the requirements of several independent projects. Different product development teams, IT departments, or customer support organizations may wish to use the system at the same time, with slightly differing needs. Tracker supports multiple projects, including independent customization for each project - on a single server.

Single Workgroup

A single workgroup installation can support any number of projects and forms (a set of fields used to submit and track issues). Separate workflows can be created for various combinations of project and form. For example, support issues reported by customers and product development issues can each have their own form, fields and workflow and co-exist in a single workgroup. Some of the fields and workflow steps and users involved may overlap between the two areas. Using a single workgroup allows multiple areas to be addressed in a single location with centralized access and reporting.

Multiple Workgroups

If it is important for the various groups using Tracker to have an independent database (access and reporting for each area involves a different set of users or requirements), then each project can be configured as its own workgroup. Tracker supports this by allowing you to install any number of Tracker workgroups on the same server. Each workgroup can be independently customized and accessed via a unique web address (URL). Even if the data requirements are very similar for various groups, you may also wish to create independent workgroups if the organizations are very separate so that each workgroup can be maintained independently (each with its own administrator). This can also simplify the process of moving a workgroup to a new machine (without affecting the existing workgroups) should organizational changes or access requirements (e.g. support needs to allow outside access to the system and therefore must run on a web server outside your firewall) necessitate a move to a separate Tracker installation. Independent workgroups may also be required for security reasons (if physically separate databases or web sites are required). Within each of these independent workgroups, you can still use multiple forms and projects to create separate workflows for different product lines, departments, types of requests to be processed, etc.

Workgroup Management System

The Workgroup Management System (WMS) is the administrative interface for maintaining multiple Tracker workgroups. Within WMS, there are options available for adding, viewing and editing workgroups as well as other operations that can be performed via the Button Bar icons or the icons to the left of each workgroup listed on the WMS Home Page.

It is recommended that you temporarily disable any anti-virus software while you perform configuration in the Workgroup Management System (WMS). This is suggested so that your anti-virus software will not prevent WMS from performing operations such as copying files, running scripts, configuring your web server, setting file permissions and registry entries. Your anti-virus software can be reactivated safely after you have completed any necessary WMS configuration.

Context-sensitive Help documentation can be accessed from within the Workgroup Management System by clicking on the Help link in the upper right corner of each page.

Admin Section

The Workgroup Management System has an Admin section where other operations such as logging workgroup information, blocking/unblocking and other actions can be performedby clicking on the Admin icon, then selecting an option using the radio button to the left of the option desired and clicking on the Continue button.