Issue Tracking Software

elaborate is not necessarily effective!

Basic Information Needed

Issue tracking has to concentrate on the very basic information needed - defining the issue and tracking progress to resolution, including responsibility.

Balance is needed. Definition that is made too complex and detailed takes too much time and effort to record, so accuracy drops. Too simple and it is not useful. So, issue tracking software has to be flexible to let the user determine what is best.

It has to have the same flexibility for the user to adapt the tracking. Require something to be logged in and out of every little step through resolution and the system bogs down under its own weight. No responsibility and things get lost.

Issue Tracking Software Secondary Information

It also needs to record what we call secondary information - things that help describe or track the issue, but do not necessarily define it. Often this type of information is used more in analysis and studying trends in the Issues that an organization is facing.

So, it should allow some fields to track information. Priority, Type of Issue or Source of Issue.

Many Uses for Issue Tracking Software

Many issues occur over and over again. The first step in reducing and resolving these problems is to keep track of them. When the scope of a problem is better understood, appropriate corrective action can be put in place and monitored.

• Organize family issues for families in business together.
• Project Management. We devote an entire section to Project Management.
• Software Development. Bug tracking. Coding errors affect current or potential customers.
• Risk Management. Requires audit trail to identify and manage risks.
• Manufacturer. Defects result in scrapped material and lost customers.
• Help Desk. Here's where the company's reputation is at stake with its customers.
• Service Provider. Missed deadlines result from incomplete information.
• Prototype Development. Before you select an elaborate issue tracking system, use a model to build your own prototype. Use secondary information fields to track useful information using simple coding that it appropriate to your needs. Change the order of the fields. Change the name and use of the fields. Add or delete fields. Watch over time as you actually use the model software in your operation. You'll soon start to see trends and emphasis on what you really need. Then you'll know what to shop for if you need more elaborate issue tracking software.