NetResults Tracker

Keep users from accessing your system while you make administrative changes such as changes to the fields or workflow.

It's best to make changes that affect end user operations when users aren't accessing the system. This can be done by putting the system into Single-User Mode.

When the system is in single-user mode, only the user that put it into that mode can login. A custom message can be configured to provide an explanation (and perhaps an ETA for when the system will be available again) to users who try to access the system while it's in single-user mode.

Instructions are available in the Changing User Mode section of the Online Help Guide.

There are two ways to process a record and send it to the next step in the workflow. Which one is right for your environment?

The answer might be that you need both.

Task: A Helping Hand for Your Users

The Task operation prompts users with the choices available at the current step in the process,

prompts them with the fields that need to be filled out at that step,

and routes the record automatically to the next state and assignee.

Edit: Freedom for More Experienced Users

The Edit operation allows users to make changes to any of the fields available on the Edit Page. However, the user would need to know what to do since there are no hints to fill out certain fields and no automatic routing.

The Bottom Line

In a more structured organization, have most users use the Task operation since it enforces the workflow configuration. More experienced users (e.g. managers or user that need to handle special cases as they arise) can use Edit.

In an environment where a formal process hasn't been defined, Edit has the flexibility necessary for this situation.

Tracker's templates are configured by default assuming most users will use Task. Some templates have the Edit privilege enabled for Managers.

For more information, check out the video below that compares Task and Edit or review the Edit vs. Task Knowledge Base article.

Set up a field where an email address can be entered to be notified as a record is processed.

Sometimes someone other than the reporter wants to be kept up to date about an issue or enhancement. Tracker has an "Unregistered Email Address" field that can be used for saving an email address within a record.

Email notification rules can be set to notify this email address by selecting <Unregistered User>.

For step-by-step instructions for setting this up, check out the Per-Record Email Address Knowledge Base Article.

Use a field to track how much time was spent working on an issue.

Perhaps you need to keep track of time spent by your developers or support / help desk engineers for billing purposes. This can be done using a Floating Point or Integer field.

Prompt users to fill in the time they spent when they mark an issue as completed.

You can generate metrics with this data.

For more detail on how to create this field, check out the Track Time Spent Knowledge Base article.

Delegate smaller pieces of a project or large task by using the Clone feature to create "sub-task" (child) records that remain linked to the original (parent).

You can set up a transition to be used to create the sub-tasks.

The transition will create a copy of the original. Any changes made to the fields displayed are applied to the clone. In this example, a sub-task is being created and assigned to another user.

When you view the original (parent), the Clone Info section shows any clones that were created as well as who is assigned to them and the current status.

More information about the Cloning feature can be found in the Online Help Guide.