One of the key strengths of IssueNet is the capability of multiple distinct and even custom issue types to exist in the same database.  Allowing that level of diversity requires several housekeeping functions to keep things organized and easy to find. 

A new feature introduced in IssueNet 5.1, "Sequence Number Inheritance", allows different issue types to pull their unique ID numbers from a common pool.  The default behavior prior to this addition was to assign the ID number based on the issue class, so you could have DEFECT 1, SUPPORT TICKET 1, and OPERATIONS ISSUE 1.  With the new setting these would not share an identical numeral.  For more on this feature and how to best apply it to an existing database, please see our Tech Tip on the subject. 

Sequence Number Inheritance Tech Tip

Elsinore is on schedule to release IssueNet 4.7 at the beginning of February, and a beta is now available. This short beta period will allow you to test drive and provide feedback on a couple of significant new features, performance enhancements, and fixes.

The most significant new feature of 4.7 is integration to Exchange Server. The integration allows issues, tasks and other items to be created and updated via e-mail sent to a designated e-mail address. The integration also provides the ability to execute workflow transitions and workflows via e-mail. The message syntax is simple enough to be implemented in a simple mailto link or a simple command typed into the e-mail subject. More sophisticated messages can update multiple properties of an item or append information in multi-line text fields. The goal of the integration was to make execution of simple e-mail commands obvious and more sophisticated updates and workflow actions possible. In addition to e-mail based issue submission and updates, we are very eager to see organizations use the integration to allow users to execute workflow transition and other workflow actions via Blackberry and other mobile devices.

We have also seen a lot of increased interest in use of IssueNet Workspace. If you are not familiar with Workspace, it is a series of integrations which allows you to access your issue management system from within Outlook, Visual Studio, and Project. Workspace also allows you to leverage features specific to the host application such as creating issues from e-mail items or importing issues and tasks into a project plan. Accordingly, 4.7 makes it easier for users to access Workspace by allowing users to launch it from the IssueNet Central deployment site. In the past Workspace required an installation package. Now it can be launched from a URL like all other IssueNet Products.

4.7 also includes a round of performance enhancements and bug fixes. If you are interested in evaluating the beta contact John Lockhart at: john.lockhart@elsitech.com.

With the release of the 4.6 version of the IssueNet Platform I’d like to talk a little bit about one of its major new features, Microsoft Project integration, and how it differs from the MS Project integration we have had in previous versions. Some of the differences are based on features of the integration itself while others stem from the new workflow model introduced in version 4.0.

Synchronizing MS Project with the Issue Management System

One new feature is synchronization of task data. Once a task in a project plan has been linked to a task in IssueNet, the task start and end dates, percent complete, estimated and actual work, notes, and assigned resource can be synched up from a click of a button in Project.  The benefit of synchronization is twofold. Synchronization eliminates the double entry of information such as estimates and also helps ensure accuracy since there can be a one to one correspondence between tasks in the plan and IssueNet. In other words there is no ambiguity or guessing about what a particular work item maps to in the plan.

While synchronization of task data is pretty standard stuff, IssueNet’s workflow features introduce some significant new possibilities in how a plan is built and maintained. One example is the dynamic creation and addition of tasks to the plan. The MS Project integration not only updates existing tasks, it will also add newly created tasks linked to the same issue. So, for example a workflow transition that creates a documentation task for a product enhancement will result in that task being automatically added to the MS Project project plan on synchronization. Workflow actions are also used extensively to update items, like tasks, during the workflow process. So, you can, for example, have workflows automatically update the percent complete on tasks as users transition them through the workflow. Via the MS Project integration the updates will automatically be reflected in the plan. Estimated and actual times can be updated in a similar fashion. At Elsinore we have the workflow set default estimates for common tasks as a part of the workflow. Like other workflow updates these automatically generated estimates can be synched up to the plan.

Streamlining the Interaction Between Project Planning and Issue Tracking

What this automation is driving toward is the ability to generate project plans from your product backlog which are largely self generated and self maintained throughout the project.  Leveraging workflow automation for plan management would eliminate much of the tedious drudgery of plan maintenance, make the plan a dynamic real time document, and eliminate some of the subjectivity associated with defining hours and percent complete by basing most of those updates on a common workflow model. That’s always been the vision of the Project integration, and in this latest version of the IssueNet platform the new integration features combined with the workflow model makes a high level of automation a practical goal.

Getting the integration in the hands of more of our customers is another goal for this version of the integration. That points to another great ‘feature’ of the new Project integration. The Project integration is now included as a standard part of the Workspace series of integrations to Office and Visual Studio. So, once you upgrade to version 4.6 or greater anyone in your organization can use Workspace for Microsoft Project.