FIT Tracking Solutions

Relative Dates :

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Worthing) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:45:00 +0000

When you add actual dates to a filter, they are really only useful when the filter is used. If you want to save the filter for later use, you probably will need to modify the date each time you use it.

To solve this issue, date fields also allow you to enter relative dates, which reflect the time they are used.

Relative Dates : [m D] {1..N} where :
•m is the multiplier and
•D is displacement : Year / Month / Week / Day / Hour / MINute / Second

Other options: now / today / yesterday

Example 1: create a filter that shows a data for all issues that were entered more than 1 year 33 days -44 minutes from the time the filter is run.

Date Entered > -1 Y -13days +44 Min

Example 2: Find all issues that were closed in the last month.

Close Date > -1 month

Metrics : Finding the duration of time that an issue was in a specific status.

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Worthing) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:13:00 +0000

A number of customers have expressed interest in finding ways to provide metrics, using the history information that is recorded in issues. The best way to achieve this is to create a custom field to define the information you are looking for (it can be hidden if desired). Then the contents of this field can be accessed in issue details and ultimately in reports. The following classes can be used for advanced user defined fields :

FormulaDateCustomUserField - end result is a date value
FormulaCustomUserField - end result is a numeric value
FormulaIntCustomUserField - end result is an integer value
FormulaStringCustomUserField - end result is a text value

To use any of these classes, you must provide an OGNL formula (see Rank documentation), which is used to retrieve data from the issue history. This formula allows you to access values and methods for the internal BugStruct class for each issue. Some valueable methods for metrics include :

// finds the date that the issue was changed FROM a value for a specified field
// or (last=true) the last time it changed FROM that value
dateChangedFrom(int fieldId, String value1, boolean last)

// finds the date that the issue was changed to a value for a specified field
// if value2 is not null, it finds when the issue changed from value1 to value2.
// or (last=true) the last time it changed to that value
// if value1 is null, this will just return when the field was changed (to any value)
dateChangedTo(int fieldId, String value1, String value2, boolean last)
dateLastChangedTo(int fieldId, String value1, String value2)

// find the time taken for an issue to move from one value to another
// fieldId : the id of the field holding the desired value. (Reference ids in custom field setup)
// Note: custom fields are > 100, default fields <100)
// format may take the form of "m", "h", or "d" for (months, hours, or days)
elapsedTimeBetweenStates(int fieldId, String value1, String value2, String format)
elapsedTimeBetweenDates(Date d1, Date d2, String format)

I will look at a few examples that have come up in the past few months :

Example 1: Time taken to move from status A to status B

- Find the id (SID) of the field that holds the status you are interested in.
- Define a custom field called TimeTakenAB using the "custom" advanced field option as follows:

Custom Class : com.other.FormulaIntCustomUserField
Custom Class Formula: elapsedTimeBetweenStates(SID, "A", "B", "d")

The TimeTakenAB field should now show the number of days that each issue took to move from state "A" to state "B". A value of 0 is given for issues where the states were not found.

Example 2: Which issues had a field changed to XYZ during the last week.
- Find the id (SID) of the field that holds the values you are interested in.
- Define a custom field called DateChangedToXYZ using the "custom" advanced field option as follows:

Custom Class: com.other.FormulaDateCustomUserField
Custom Class Formula: dateChangedTo(SID, XYZ, null, true)
(alternatively) dateLastChangedTo(SID, XYZ, null)

- The DateChangedToXYZ should then display the desired date.

Example 3: How many issues were fixed in the last 4 Weeks

- Find the id (SID) of the status field is 20.
- Define a custom field called DateFixed using the "custom" advanced field option as follows:

Custom Class : com.other.FormulaDateCustomUserField
Custom Class formula : dateChangedTo(5,"Fixed")

- Create a filter that uses a relative date ( ie: DateFixed <= -4 weeks) on this new field. The results should only include the issues you are looking for and the field is available in the details section also.

Customizing FIT Made Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Worthing) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:42:00 +0000

The developers for FIT have always strived to make end user customizations one of the major benefits in choosing their software. The benefits of customization are :

1. Being able to customize the appearance of the tool through html and css changes can be as simple as adding a logo and matching the colors of the interface to those of the company. This allows customers to make the software fit (pardon the punn) in an existing web site or match the pages that take the users to it. It also allows you to add html and links to other sites or tools which might be useful to users.

2. Our workflow feature allows you to define rules about what users can see and which users are able to modify specific fields or issues. It can also be used to control or make modifications to issues based on the values which are saved during modifications.

3. Language strings can be changed across the tool in the language settings feature where language translations can be modified or created for any string in the system. These strings will localize the product to any language, if someone is available to do the translations. The product is shipped with Spanish, French, German and English base translations.

4. Complex customizations can be achieved by adding javascript to the product, which opens up an endless list of possibilities. Some common examples are :

- changing field values based on the current user, or the values of other fields

- hiding/displaying parts of the page depending on what is currently happening in an issue.

- adding custom instructions or options to the user for a specific purpose

One problem that has always been a nuisance to administrators, especially those on hosted systems, has been the ability to upload files where FIT can actually access them. Until now, access to the actual machine where FIT resides, has always been necessary. This meant that the system administrator or FIT team (for hosted systems) has always had to be involved.

A new upload feature has just been added to FIT which will allow any administrator for FIT to simply upload a file to a public directory served by the system, so it can be accessed directly by the tool. So, if you have a new logo, a pdf with special instructions, or want to store your javascript in a .js file, rather than a custom string, you can now upload them directly to your server, where they can be accessed by FIT immediately. You no longer need to make a request to your IT tech or to the FIT team. (hosted systems)

Example:

A recent request came in about how to customize the favicon file which is used for the URL icon in the browser address bar.

This image is configured by changing the sFAVICON custom string. If you have a proper .ico file that you would rather see in the address bar and on browser tabs, you can upload the file to FIT and then change this string to something like the following (since the upload goes to public) :

This is equivalent to the following (leave out the port if you are redirecting through apache) :

** Note: the two lank tags above should actually be "link" this blog would not allow me to format link tags properly within the text.

FIT TIP #2

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline Redekopp) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:09:00 +0000

CREATING USERS

Action: Admin Menu>General Setup>User

Complete the following fields: User Id (the name others will see, you can keep this a short form of their name as it also the name the user will have to login with), Password (user can always change it later), Confirm Password, User Tag (optional, this is where you can put the user’s full name if you want, which will be displayed in brackets after their User Id), Email address (this is the address that their notifications will be sent to). Select their user type. Profile to Copy is handy and can save you a lot of time if you are creating a large number of users and they all have the same profile. Add User to selected tracks is available as an option if you have more than one track. Here you can select which tracks to give the user access. Then select Add User.

How to Add Formulas to Custom User Fields

noreply@blogger.com (Peter Worthing) — Thu, 19 May 2011 20:11:00 +0000

FIT has always offered a Rank formula which allows the administrator to configure Rank to show a calculated value for each issue, based on the states of issues, or based on the values of specific fields for an issue.

The most common use for the Rank field is to create an escalation order for issues based on a combination of :
A) the priority of the issue, and
B) how long the issue has been sitting open

This way, a quick report can be made using the Rank field to order the issues.
Any issues which have been sitting more than X days will become more important.

The value for Rank is calculated using an OGNL formula, which allows us to use the values for fields of each bug structure, or methods defined in the BugStruct class, to make a custom calculation. For example, the default Rank formula :
(100-mPriority*10)+getElapsedTime()

This formula calculates an escalation value where any issue that is open for more than 10 days will escalate to a rank of a new issue in the next Priority scale.
This is very useful but it is limited in that it only allows one calculation.

With Version 8.03+, a few new classes have been created as part of the base code set for FIT. These are :
FormulaCustomUserField - create a custom formula showing a Double value
FormulaIntCustomUserField - create a custom formula showing an Integer value
FormulaDateCustomUserField - create a custom formula showing a Date value

Each of these new class types can be very useful to create your very own custom field.

Note the new custom option in the Advanced settings of the Admin -> Custom Fields menu.
Generally, this is used for classes that are created by our team as an add-on feature.

These Formula types allow you to use the OGNL functionality as a formula for a readonly calculated field type which you can use for reports, other calculations, etc.

As an example, one custom recently inquired about how to include the date that an issue was closed. Unfortunately, the Closed Date is not an existing default field in the system. However, the data does exist for the calculation of the ElapsedTime (time until closed) field.

The new FormulaDateCustomUserField allows us to define a new field called "CLOSED DATE" which will simply take the value of the mClosedDate field, which is in the system. The formula in this case is very simple, but it shows how useful the field can be.

The following images show the configuration option :

and the resulting details for a given issue:

We appreciate that OGNL can be complicated but we do list the BugStruct fields as part of the Rank documentation. Also, you are free to discuss with us if you are not sure, but you think this field could be of use to you.

FIT TIP #1: IMPORTING USERS

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline Redekopp) — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:57:00 +0000

Action: Admin Menu>General Setup>User>FileImport

You can import Users from a file (excel spreadsheet) that has lines formatted as follows: [login,password,tag,email,type,group] for example: jsmith, password123, Jane Smith, jsmith@alceatech.com, normal, IT Group (add group only if you have already created groups previous to importing users)

ALCEA TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE, FIRE STATION #11, IS HOT SPOT FOR LOCAL FILM STARRING FORMER OTTAWA NEWS ANCHOR

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline Redekopp) — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:30:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2011

CONTACT: Robert Lacasse or Sue Norton at 613-563-9595, 424 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 1H1

OTTAWA: Former Fire Station #11, which now houses local IT staffing/software technology company, Alcea Technologies Inc. transformed once again, but this time into a movie set. Phsychological Thriller, September Runs Red, began shooting at 424 Parkdale Avenue this weekend. “We fell in love immediately with the old firehall location (Alcea Technologies) because of its rich character, mix of old brick and twisting hallways, hardwood floors and massive ceilings,” says Director Dan Forgues of Blackhouse Pictures Inc. For the owners of Alcea it was about supporting the arts. “We jumped at the chance to support Canadian low budget film making and our local talent,” said Alcea Technologies President, Robert Lacasse, “It didn’t hurt either that the lead actress just happens to work here too!”

September Runs Red is about a successful, modern day woman, Taylor Evans, starring former Ottawa News Anchor and now Alcea’s Sales Manager, Caroline Redekopp, who finds her world rapidly collapsing around her as a sudden and unexplained phobia to water grips her psyche and shatters her fragile world. “After watching a number of Caroline’s previous performances in various films (and her audition) my gut told me she could pull off the range needed in this complex character,” explains Forgues.

Redekopp accepted the role without hesitation, “It’s exciting to play a lead role in my hometown especially one that is such an intriguing character and one that could help others confront their own fears,” says Redekopp. Taylor is forced to seek help from an unorthodox Doctor Cane, played by Xavier Sotelo, another Ottawa actor. “It has been nothing short of a real, genuine pleasure to work with Caroline. She, without question, inspires me to give nothing short of 'above-and-beyond' and to really focus. She’s a real pro!” says Sotelo. Sotelo’s character is nothing short of the worst kind of therapist who takes your breath away. “There’s nothing better than breathing life into words,” explains Sotelo, “with a Latino accent that will no doubt capture our female audience,” adds Redekopp.

Dr. Cane, a notorious psychiatrist, is linked to a successful but controversial behavior analysis treatment he's pioneered on a desolate island.

Reluctantly, Dr. Cane agrees to treat Taylor's irrational fear of water but on the sole condition the treatment take place on the remote island for her safety and wellbeing.

Once on the secluded island, Taylor begins to suspect that Dr. Cane might not be giving her the whole truth, and that a terrible fate will befall her if she doesn't find a way off the island. Complicating matters further, Taylor learns Dr. Cane has a collaborator and a secret he's been hiding for more than thirty years, a secret he desperately wants to keep concealed at all cost.

Driven to escape the island and the eerie Doctor, Taylor must face the demons within and enter the dark creepy lake water to reclaim the strength she desperately needs to salvage her being and escape the island alive. “Who knows,” explains Redekopp, “I just might exorcise a few of my own personal demons during the process,” On the island nothing is ever what it seems.

Adam Beach is confirmed to play Taylor’s boyfriend, Dylan. He joins Redekopp on the set Monday, May 9, 2011.

Shooting is expected to wrap up on a lake near Portland, Ontario May 26, 2011. September Runs Red will be available on the airwaves Spring 2012.

424 Parkdale Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 1H1 Phone: (613) 563-9595

City of Ottawa’s Light Rail project on track with FIT Tracking Solutions – Risky Business?

noreply@blogger.com (Caroline Redekopp) — Wed, 04 May 2011 19:38:00 +0000

Ottawa, ON (May 5, 2011) – It may be about risk, but it’s no risky venture for City of Ottawa’s Light Rail project. City employees have fully integrated a local software solution into the risk management of its Light Rail project to help avoid costly and time-consuming risk.

This local solution developed by Ottawa based company FIT Tracking Solutions, is a risk analysis application specifically configured for the city. “It’s a first for us, but it’s certainly not a first when it comes to providing tracking software,” said Robert Lacasse, Co-founder of FIT Tracking Solutions.

FIT software developed from an in-house need for a bug tracking tool in 1999, and like the city’s speeding Light Rail transportation, the software has sped up quickly in growth to numerous applications, from issue to project to helpdesk tracking to now risk analysis tracking.

“We’re always open to new ways to provide our customers with the tools they need,” said FIT Sales Manager, Caroline Redekopp, “you see a need, you fill it, that’s just good business.”

That good business sense led to the creation of the OLRT RAID or Ottawa Light Rail Track Risk Analysis. OLRT RAID was designed to systematically help users identify, analyze and respond to project risk maximizing the probability and consequences of positive risk and minimizing the probability and impact of negative risk.

The OLRT RAID system officially went into production November 2010 and is definitely on the right track with city employees. While the city’s no quote policy deters us from using direct quotes, we have been told FIT’s Risk Analysis Track is being well received and has now been fully integrated with the city’s Stakeholder Database.

If you would like to see how this tool can be utilized in your company, please click on the following link and create your own hosted trial:
http://www.fittrackingsolutions.com/demos/trialhosted.html

Lest We Forget

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Stefanik) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:28:00 +0000

November 11, 2010: 11:11, a number we so often see when we quickly glance at our watches or clocks. The number’s constant appearance,

“is… a powerful confirmation that we are on the right track,” and “tend(s) to occur during times of heightened awareness, having a most powerful effect on the people involved. This causes a reactivation of our cellular memory banks. There's a stirring deep inside, a hint of remembrance of something long forgotten.”*

On this November 11th at 11:00 A.M., we give that symbolic meaning, homage, lest we forget, as some 30-thousand people gather among our Canadian soldiers around the War Memorial in Ottawa’s epicentre on Elgin Street. The sun shines brightly blanketing us with its warmth masking what cannot be unnoticed as a chill in the air.

Regardless if that cold is brought on by fall’s brisk wind or the solemnity of the ceremony, in a poignant moment of silence we pay tribute to the men, women and dog, who served and are currently serving in the Army, Air Force, and Navy to protect our freedoms.

It is in that silence one has to wonder what their thoughts carry. Are they catapulted back in time to the bloodshed, the massive graves left behind, the constant harsh explosions burning and ringing in their ears, the smoke of artillery blinding them to safety? Is it sadness? Is it respect? Is it honour?

A canon fires its tribute, breaking the silence and the Veterans’ haunting thoughts, or so we surmise, only to be filled with the droning notes of the Scottish bagpipes. Canada’s snowbirds rip through the skies overhead with precision and force in an air salute. The trumpet sounds out its so familiar call to these war veterans.

The families, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and children who died or were wounded in the line of duty are honoured in a gesture of tradition, the laying of the wreaths. We look around, they stand tall, but the deep respect and sorrow pushes through their courageous stance and tears well in their honest stares.

We cannot forget, the Canadian flag blowing in the wind, and our song reminds us, why they sacrificed so much: “our true north strong and free.”
*Global Physics Inc.

-By Caroline Redekopp, Sales Manager - FIT TRACKING SOLUTIONS

Issue Tracking just got easier!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy Stefanik) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:43:00 +0000

Version 8.02 (8.02 - [rev 4] updated September 12, 2010 - 5,325,582 bytes)

Feature List:

New option to add/edit groups/projects across multiple tracks.
New parent/child custom field types for Cross Context relationships
New drill down links to the summary menu.
New multi-list ability to user lists.
New Rich Text Formatting option for text areas
New Attachment Feature with versioning / folders.
New Filter Interface - added more explanation to the new filter menu and toggle to use old method (also allows oldFilterMenu option to default to old style).
Workflow can now handle multiple rules with separate OGNL formulas.
Quickview Improvements (allow ESC key to close window properly, larger quickview window to improve scrolling, allow close icon to scroll for access during scrolling.
New checkDate routine to edit menus to confirm date formats before commit.
New multiple edit warning to Live Update, which warns you if another user is currently updating the same issue.
New checkbox to reports (for userlist fields) to use groups as headings rather than user names.
New option to add blank to top of custom list type fields.
Allow dates to default to a relative date.
New notes option to export
New comment/description to .Define filter. tab
New second security string option to enable/disable security string in basic response.
Added new .email new password. option to login screen for recovering passwords.
New edit link to filter definition.
Allow accented characters in field hierarchy names
Allow substitutions in return messages for email retrieval
Make a log of when shutdown option is used.
Added oldFilterMenu and oldAttachmentsModel server config options for those wishing to use the old behaviours
New OGNL java.util.Date() objects are formatted with sDateFormatInput.
New security options - enforce password changes every 90 days, validate that new passwords are significantly different from old ones (by xx amount of characters)
Added a checkbox to copy profile tab settings to all groups
Event logging feature added
Added ability to use AND/OR in searchString field on Quick Filter tab. This was a simple implementation for just a single field but we hope to add more depth in the future.
Added filter speed improvement which runs security filters first if the user is using mSearchString which checks all fields and takes longer.
Added clone link to quick view menu
Added AND/OR option to quick filter tab
New option for adding blanks to user dropdowns
New priority ladder field (custom feature)
new server config option (disableTrackCreateChoices) to disable create dropdown menu choices for other tracks.
Field Hierarchy import option to add new field values to the field options when reading in new values for an issue. Fixed single relationship rows for importing.

New TestSpec Features

Testspec - export to Excel/Word added to Generate Document
Testspec - added export functionality
Testspec - added import functionality
Testspec - test set date stamps now reflect the given time zone
Testspec - Active test run results are now updating while test run is set
Testspec - Added generate document option to test runs

Everybody's got issues!!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:23:00 +0000

Yes it’s true!! We all have issues!! I’m not talking about raising a teenager, that’s another story altogether! I’m talking about team communication issues. We get so fragmented with tele-workers (our development staff work from home), global clients and less and less time for teams or departments to “get together” and talk.

Using an issue tracking tool can certainly help communications. Forget the old way of doing it with spreadsheets or lists that become old and outdated the minute you send it out in an email. What about these meetings, were people come in with different lists? Let’s face it, meetings are boring!! If I could skip every meeting I’d be a happy camper. In real life I know I have to sit down with my staff but I prefer it to be the “exception to the rule”. If I’m going to have meetings then wouldn’t it be nice to view a screen at these meetings and update the tasks/issues on the fly! Forget meeting minutes, it’s already done when you leave and everyone sees the same thing when they go to their desks. If you’ve ever had to write up the minutes, you know what I’m talking about.

How often have you tried to share a list of tasks within a department or small group and before you know it, it’s so big it takes hours to update it and tasks are late, and people have no idea who’s working on what and where it’s at!!

In a nutshell that’s when most people give up on the list, and go back to their even less manageable “Cover your butt” mentality. As a consultant for years, I couldn’t believe how many of my clients still did it the old way. There was no accountability, no history or traceability and tons of finger pointing. On the other hand when someone is using a real time issue tracking tool that generates reports to themselves or/and their manager there is total accountability and these people are so much more organized!!

Whether you are 3 or 300 people solving issues, a good tracking tool is the most effective way of managing it and worth its weight in gold!

Robert