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Tutorial 9: Scheduling New Issues Quickly and Efficiently

This tutorial takes about 25 minutes and is intended primarily for project managers. It covers:

  • Reviewing a new issue;
  • Accepting an issue and scheduling it;
  • Deferring an issue;
  • Rejecting an issue.

Scenario

This tutorial assumes that you have the example database installed. This database illustrates various Ketura concepts applied to a fictional firm, XYZ, Inc.

The action of scheduling an issue usually involves:

  • Changing an issue’s milestone (possibly even to one on a different project).
  • Changing an issue’s state. Depending on the workflow configured for the issue’s topic, this might automatically mark existing tasks as complete and/or add new tasks to the issue from a task set.
  • Reassigning some of the issue’s tasks.

All these actions are possible in one convenient location using the Reschedule issue section of an issue’s Schedule tab, making it quick and easy to reschedule any issue.

XYZ wishes to process some newly-created issues; this tutorial shows various ways to do this by rescheduling.

1. Review a new issue

In the example database, Eric Samet has a task outstanding to review a new issue I1029.

Go to the relevant issue’s page and review it

  • Ensure that you are logged onto the example database as Eric Samet, a partner at XYZ. Eric’s log on id is ‘es’, and the password for this account is the same as the password for the ‘admin’ account that was provided during the installation of the Ketura server.
  • Click the global Home navigation tab to take you to Eric’s Home Page.
  • Select the Pending tab.
  • Locate issue I1029. Note that there is a task on this issue for Eric to review the new issue.
  • Click the Start button for the task, to begin logging working time to the task. The task is moved to the In progress tab, which is now selected.
  • Click the I1029 issue id link to go to the issue’s page and select the Schedule tab.
  • Review the issue. At present, note that it is on milestone O1 of the ‘Website and Intranet Maintenance’ project.

You can go to the issue page in any way that is convenient (for example, you might follow a link from a milestone’s Issues tab), but this method is very convenient if you wish to log the time that you spend reviewing new issues appropriately. The other steps in this tutorial will use different ways of reaching an issue page.

2. Re-schedule the issue

Eric has reviewed the issue, and decided to schedule the issue for ‘M1 – Maintenance’ on the ‘Website and Intranet Maintenance’ project. It makes sense for John Street, the QA manager, to undertake the required work.

  • In the Reschedule issue section, click the checkbox on the first row of the form.
  • In the adjacent drop-down list box, ensure that Move is selected.
  • In the to milestone drop-down list box, select the M1 – Maintenance milestone of the Website and Intranet Maintenance project.
  • Check the checkbox in the second row of the form, in front of the Change the state to text.
  • In the Change the state to drop-down list box, choose the Pending Resolution state.
  • Check the checkbox on the third row of the form, in front of the Assign text.
  • In the Assign drop-down list box, choose the all incomplete tasks option.
  • In the following to drop-down list box, choose js [John Street].
  • Click the Apply button.
  • Observe that the issue has been moved to milestone M1 (without changing project) and that the existing ‘Review New Issue’ task has been marked as complete because of the issue topic’s workflow. This has automatically stopped the work timer on this task that was started in step 1, above. Notice too that the workflow has resulted in a new set of tasks being added to this issue, because it has entered the ‘Pending Resolution’ state. Finally, those new tasks have been assigned to John Street, as we requested with the Reschedule issue form.

3. Defer an issue

Some issues represent a goal that is worthwhile, but not appropriate to schedule at the present time. Such issues can be deferred.

Eric wishes to create a new issue and defer it immediately.

  • Create a new issue for the topic ‘Asset Tracking System’, with the summary ‘Product start-up should be faster’. The issue type should be ‘Enhancement’ and its severity should be ‘Minor’.
  • Select the Schedule tab on the issue’s page.
  • Notice that the issue has been added to the O1 milestone of the project “Client ‘Extended Ltd’: Create Asset Tracking Software” by the workflow configured for the issue’s topic.
  • In the Reschedule issue section, click the checkbox on the first row of the form.
  • In the adjacent drop-down list box, ensure that Move is selected.
  • In the to milestone drop-down list box, select the X1 – Deferred milestone of the Client ‘Extended Ltd’: Create Asset Tracking Software project.
  • Check the checkbox in the second row of the form, in front of the text Change the state to.
  • In the Change the state to drop-down list box, choose the Deferred state.
  • Uncheck the checkbox on the third row of the form, in front of the text Assign. Since the ‘Deferred’ state is inactive, all existing tasks will be marked as complete and no new tasks will be added. Consequently, no reassignment is necessary.
  • Click the Apply button.
  • Follow the X1 – Deferred link in the Milestones section of the Schedule tab. The Manage Milestone X1 – Deferred page appears, showing the deferred issue.

4. Reject an issue

Not all submitted issues require work to be carried out on them. For example, a customer might request an enhancement to a product, and a member of your organization’s support staff might create an issue for it. However, the relevant product manager might review the request and decide that it is not in the strategic interests of your organization to implement the enhancement. Such issues can simply be rejected.

Eric has reviewed issue I1136 and has decided to reject it.

  • Use the Find section of the sidebar to the right of the page to go to the page for issue I1136.
  • Select the Schedule tab.
  • In the Reschedule issue section, click the checkbox on the first row of the form.
  • In the adjacent drop-down list box, ensure that Move is selected.
  • In the to milestone drop-down list box, select the M4 – Final Release milestone of the Client ‘Extended Ltd’: Create Asset Tracking Software project. This milestone is chosen simply because it is the current milestone, and as convenient a milestone as any to record the fact that an issue has been rejected.
  • Check the checkbox in the second row of the form, in front of the text Change the state to.
  • In the Change the state to drop-down list box, choose the Rejected state.
  • Uncheck the checkbox on the third row of the form, in front of the text Assign. Since the ‘Rejected’ state is inactive, all existing tasks will be marked as complete and no new tasks will be added. Consequently, no reassignment is necessary.
  • Click the Apply button.
  • Observe that the desired changes have taken effect.