Archive for the ‘issue tracking’ Category
Teamwork 4.5 released: a major free upgrade
Filed under: issue tracking, news, project management, releases, usability, work management | Tags: kanban tool, teamwork issues, Teamwork 4.5
Comments (1) We are really happy to announce this major release update. As you may guess from the length of this announcement, this update will improve your Teamwork in almost every section, providing more modeling tools and functions. The web browsers’ enhanced capacities (in particular those of Firefox, Safari and Chrome) are used in depth to give users a better experience.
This is a free upgrade for all users of version 4. Get the installer / upgrader here: http://www.twproject.com/download.page
The main features of this release are:
- Issue managing by dragging – “kanban” like.
- History of issue assignee, status and task change (better help desk and issue scaling support).
- Customizable issue statuses.
- Better graph and agile / scrum handling.
- Cross links between tasks / issues / resources / agenda events / meetings / boards.
- In-place popup editors.
- Operator load computation has become much smarter.
- Greatly extended user guide with real case work “mappings” to Teamwork, and a new section on performance optimization.
Layout changes
Several pages that up to now were popup windows are now windows in place, which improves their usability: issue editor, custom forms, workgroup selector.
Several text areas now support internal links (e.g. T#MYCODE#), web links (http://www.twproject.com), smiley’s, absolute URLs to images.
New features
Issues.
Issue statuses – customizable. New issues statuses can be created. There is a page for managing issue statuses (which before version 4.5 were fixed):
And for every status not only its color, but most importantly its business logic behavior is determined from this editor:
Whether it should “behave” when asking user feedback as an open status, as close, whether it should ask for comments and / worklog when entering a status.
So typically if your status is something in which the issue enters at “end of life”, it should be marked “as close” and “ask for worklog” too should be enabled.
Issue change history. When changing a status, task or assignee on an issue, the editor will ask for a reason, and the change will be recorded on the issue. And in fact there is an additional tab on the issue editor, “history”.
Issue organizer “Kanban”. Issues can be now be organized in a completely visual way by dragging and dropping them: filter the issues in which you are interested in, and then select the “organizer” button.
Now you can also enable use of external codes on issues (admin -> default for projects).
Dashboards.
The usability of the “customize this page” function has been improved: all portlets are always visible:
And it’s easier to drag them in the dashboard. Moreover it is easier to access the general page / portlet disposition page: just click “all users”. 
There is a new additional starting page: help desk support.
Operator load and planning. This was the user request:
“refine the operator load showing the effective load taking in consideration worklog done. E.g: 100h estimated on 20 days, done 10h in 10 days the resting 10 day must have a load of 90h not 50h like now”
Also take care of unavailability.
Use the new operator load on plan, load by day, end wherever it is meaningful
Operator load textual: put worklog with totals and pink holydays. Use striped background
Advanced users
- The examples in the distribution and the documentation now cover also “custom wizards”: see section 14.4 Custom wizards of the user guide.
Minor improvements
- More kinds of documents are now full-text indexed; these are the extensions now supported:
“.txt”, “.rtf”, ”.log” “.pdf”. “.htm”, “.html”, “.zip”, “.war”, “.jar”, “.xls”, “.xlsx”, “.xltx”, “.xlsEmb”, “.doc”, “.docx”, “.dotx”, “.docEmb”, “.ppt”, “.pptx”, “mpp”, “mpx”, “.msg”, “.msgEmb”, “.vsd”, “.pub”.
Also custom fields are full-text indexed.
Here are several user requests fulfilled:
- “Add worklog approval monthly screen” -> We will add bulk status change in worklog search / analysis (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/305194-add-worklog-approval-monthly-screen?ref=title).
- Expose issue id in editor and list (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/257395-expose-an-issue-id).
- LDAP authentication cascades to system one (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/265843-login-with-ldap-for-external-users).
- Develop a resource snapshot (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/348397-develop-a-resource-snapshot).
- Sort File Storage Document Listing (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/369822-sort-file-storage-document-listing).
- Make “add document content” in a rich text editor (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/239855-make-add-document-content-in-a-rich-text-editor).
- Please put a link to a task on the agenda event (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/223380-please-put-a-link-to-a-task-on-the-agenda-event): we actually did much more by having full internal links.
- Need to add subscription event for when a new version of a document is uploaded (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/624803-need-to-add-subscription-event-for-when-a-new-vers).
- Display agenda items in planByResource like in worklogWeek (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/142356-display-agenda-items-in-planbyresource-like-in-wor).
- Search for specific custom fields.
- You can have a customized help message in the “help” page, just add in the labels CUSTOMIZED_HELP_CONTACT (http://feedback.twproject.com/forums/6995-suggest-features/suggestions/599247-add-a-customizable-area-on-the-help-page-so-local-)
- Notes on issues are on the main tab and self-resize.
- Issue assignee selector got simplified.
- Now you can create subtasks as sub-fluxes.
- Counters can now be reset and deleted.
- When changing a task on an issue, notify the new assignees.
- Since version 4.5 custom fields support also “typing” of data. E.g. “cost,20,java.lang.Double” will add a custom field of length 20 and type “double” (a floating point number).
- Holiday settings: now you have year-specific settings.
- In issue list you can now filter by task type.
- Resource print includes my assignments.
Bug fixes
- Check why in the assignment notification we add a link to the task even if the resource has not the rights to read task … .
- Meetings are not full-indexed.
- Index custom forms data.
- Create issue from task editor menu does not launch creation nor filters???
- Issue multi edit: bulk change gravity do not close actions clicking “close”.
- Fixed MIME for teamworkMenuPlusCss.jsp,
- Issue cloning did not raise events,
- Fixed various combo positions in bulk update screens in case of scroll.
- Summa is not saved on document link and file storage on tasks and resources.
- A fix for Oracle on Resources with no surname.
- An operator may change his own password even if cookies are enabled.
- Do not notify disabled users.
Technical points
- In order to optimize memory usage,
If you log as administrator and go to the label management section, open the “label rules” container (it is closed by default), and say if you want to have only English as language, type EN in the enabled languages field and select SAVE.
- Teamwork 4.5 is no more on quirks mode – we dropped support for Internet Explorer 6 – and pages are in HTML 5
Important for upgrades. Several JARS have been updated, added and removed. If they are present these JARs should be deleted by hand from WEB-INF/lib:
o commons-collections-2.1.1.jar
o commons-logging-1.0.4.jar
o poi-3.0.1-FINAL-20070705.jar
o jcaptcha-all-1.0-RC3.jar
- Added -server configuration to the Java JVM distributed.
- If using HsqlDB you can make a dump of the current log by hand from system check instead of having to wait Teamwork restart:
Notes for updating to 4.5:
Any custom filter on issues will need to be redone as the issue statuses are a lookup field.
Unfortunately all document list attached to discussion points of meetings will be reset.
P.S. We’re building the beta of a new online service – called Licorize – a cocktail of Delicious bookmarking and light to-do management. If you’d like to beta-test it, just send an e-mail to info@twproject.com with “Licorize” in the subject or body – we will soon give you access and also a year of free usage to your entire group.
Everybody contributes!
One of the features appreciated by Teamwork users in contrast with other web applications for project management is that it is not exclusively oriented to technical users. For example, about 8% of Teamwork customers are software houses, and several of them migrated from bug-tracking oriented software to Teamwork, simply by realizing that there is more to software development than just bug tracking.
In order to facilitate usage and group contributions, a trick to enable issue add for everyone in the project area, even if not assigned to projects, is to simply extend the “operational” role, created by default by setup, with the “task read” and “issue create” permissions. 
This was suggested by Roberto and closes a feature request here.
Note: the logo on the left is the logo of our “error serving and collecting” new online service which will go in public beta soon: bugsvoice.com.
Teamwork release 4.3 available for download
Filed under: IT integration, issue tracking, news, project management, releases, time recording, work logging, usability | Tags: multi Gantt
Leave a Comment 
Teamwork 4.3 multi-Gantt view.
A free upgrade release for all users of version 4.0-4.2, this release includes some major extensions of functionality; while there is no “revolution”, this kind of release makes your “Teamwork life” more comfortable. Several features requests from the feedback service have been fulfilled. Also the user guide has been updated.
Download this release here.
Multi-Gantt support
This was motivated by this request: “Manage graphical Gantt-type overview of all projects”. We then realized that all it needed was the filtering power of projects search together with a Gantt style visualization. So this is what we’ve done: we added an additioanl visualization of the search results. So for example you can see all your root open project closing in 2 weeks in a Gantt style view.
Also all the Gantt scales have been extended to 5 years.
Import from CSV – Bugzilla
Import of issues and resources from CSV files: issues get imported from the Bugzilla CSV export format, but of course in this way you can import from anything.
Collapsible project trees
Projects trees can be collapsed and there are options to keep them open by default etc. . This was this request; thanks to Halil for the first implementation.
More Twitter integrations
Twitter integration with any action and there is a new portlet for filtering tweets on any topic: see the user guide, section 8.3.3.
Little improvements
- All notifications have in the subject the task they refer to, if it exists (this request).
- Display log on descendants (this request).
- Balloons have no more the confusing Roman number.
- Use darker gray on Gantt duration background – better prints.
- Search analysis worklog: make the field “action” larger.
- In resource list there is no more the bothering default filter by company.
- Snapshot of a task can be edited.
- Search analysis worklog: make the column “action” larger.
- Issue multi editor: if there is a task on the issue and you have an assignment on it, let the watch icon appear even if the issue is not assigned to you.
- Experimental: supporting SSL over LDAP (LDAPS)
Bug fixes
- Issues didn’t get indexed any more for full text search.
- Order in company news doesn’t work.
- Portlet news doesn’t show news ordered by order factor.
- Resource hourly cost sometimes gets set to zero.
- Meeting: drag&drop multi editor doesn’t work for the just inserted.
- The link to resource drawn by the smart combo if the resource is from another area on which you have no right you see the link but you get an error.
- Search of a string containing ” in issues looped the application.
- Sometimes the rollover menu opened in the wrong direction.
- If you change the allowed file storage roots, disable links to old locations.
Technical notes for upgrade
This release build is 11250; it contains no database schema changes for all users of 4.2.10080 and following. As it contains an issue full-text indexing fix, you should reindex your data: see 17.4 of the user guide.
| try darker gray on gantt duration background |
More Teamwork – Twitter integrations
Filed under: IT integration, issue tracking, time recording, work logging | Tags: twitter integration
Comments (1) 
Sending an issue to Twitter.
Forthcoming Teamwork 4.3 will include among many new features, a richer Twitter integration, extending the existing worklog import/export functionality.
In the picture on the left you see how you can use the tag field to send any issue to Twitter, similarly to delicious. So not only worklog can be sent back and forth between Twitter and Teamwork, but you can send specific issues and worklogs actions to your Twitter account, and also send sticky notes in copy to Twitter, eventually as Twitter answers (“@user”).
In the case of issues, to send the description to Twitter just add “@twitter” in the tags field.
Teamwork / Twitter integration.
In the issues’ worklog action, put the “@twitter” at the end of the action.
When sending a sticky, you can “CC it to Twitter, as in the picture. Notice that the checkbox “send to Twitter” will appear only if you have enabled Twitter in your user options.
In case you are sending the sticky to a user with Twitter set in options, it will be sent to their attention.
Actually the worklog action trick works anywhere you are writing actions, not only from the issue list, as shown above.
Scrum tools: visually creating Sprints – a mockup
Filed under: issue tracking, project management | Tags: agile, scrum
Comments (2) Following Skype, Twitter and e-mail discussions with Rick Cogley, looking for example at Scrum-ban, we thought about how to improve the current Scrum module, creating a more “visual” interface for creating Sprints. So this is our first mockup of the new “create sprint” page:
Teamwork visual Sprint creation page- first update
Now if you have a suggestion for this interface, just download the mock-up here, modify it and publish the link on our UserVoice or send it back to me (ppolsinelli at open – lab dot com).
Teamwork is (fortunately) not just a specific Scrum tool, in fact in the same company different methodologies may be used in different projects; sometimes only some parts of a methodology may be used. For example, in Open Lab we use pair programming and short cycles, taken from XP, but we do not use test-first coding; Teamwork is flexible enough to adapt to all these, so that you may use a single tool to manage differently structured projects.
First update. Received a mock-up with suggestions from Mr. Cogley:
Cogley update #1
adopted all, apart from “info on tasks” as left side is a single backlog hence from a single task. Thanks!
