InfoQube IM - Community

Submitted by davet on 2011/04/06 15:46

Cell selection is still fickle.
Should not be able to change Start and Finish dates in Summary bar.
Summary bar is non-standard.
Next ID is non standard with respect to project management. Standard term is ~~Predecessor~~ Successor.
When moving tasks with dependencies, the dependent tasks should move too.

See Video:

/drupal5/files/351/MS Project comparison.swf

Mantis ref:

http://mantis.sqlnotes.net/view.php?id=111

ExG2antt standard summary bar example:

http://www.exontrol.com/images/exg2anttf.jpg

Dave

Comments

Hi Dave,

These are all excellent comments and can all be implemented. The current plan is:

v0.9.26: Enhanced calendar
v0.9.27: Enhanced Rich Text Pane
v0.9.28: More Ecco-like grid and filtering
v0.9.29: Enhanced Gantt and other changes in preparation for v1.0RC

Have a great day !

Pierre,

It's exciting to know that you can work the Gantt changes into release 1.0RC.

Thanks for the roadmap...now, I'm looking forward to the other stuff you have planned.

You, "Have a Great Day" too!

Dave

Hi Pierre,

I have few questions about general procedures:

Since I am new to IQ, I have not been looking at Mantis. Last night I looked at Mantis for the first time. I don't see any entry in there concerning the Gantt chart issues discussed in this thread. So, since your plate is so full...and mine too. How do we know that these kinds of issues will ever get addressed and not drop through the crack? Is it the users responsibility to put these in Mantis? It would be nice if you could add some statements about the roles and procedures for moving issues from discussion to commitment and resolution in your rules and guidelines section.

In a case like this one "Gantt chart problems in version P" for example, it would be nice to see something like "these issues will be addressed in v0.9.29," and I could see that in Mantis. In this particular case you've said, " These are all excellent comments and can all be implemented." So, I sort of think you have committed to addressing these issues in v0.0.29, but I'm not quite sure. And, I feel a little uncomfortable not knowing if you have a personal issue tracking thing in addition to Mantis...or if it is not in Mantis then I'm relying on your memory to fix the problem when the time comes.

Further, I don't know if you can add fields to Mantis, but I think it would be good if you could add a URL field to link back problem discussions. It could be weeks before you get around to addressing issues and both you and the reporter could forget a lot by then. So, I think a link back to the discussions with screen shots and video could be useful to refresh what lead up to the decisions in Mantis.

Having said all that, I really like it best when you just smash the bug with your magic flyswatter and it's over with. I know that is not always possible and you must resort to Mantis. And in some cases this does cause new problems to pop up elsewhere, but you seem to knock these out quickly too. And...Ah!..the surge of adrenaline and instant gratification that goes with the quick fix is great! I think you probably fix many bugs faster than you could write them up in Mantis. I have really seen rapid application development in action the past couple of weeks here.

Thanks again for this remarkable product and your commitment to user concerns.

Dave

Dave, I'm not sure what the official policy is but...

Generally stuff is added to mantis after being discussed in the forums.

Lately Armando started trawling the forums once every couple of weeks and adding stuff to mantis.

But as you have seen, sometimes stuff gets fixed too quickly !! and never makes it to mantis

I never use gantt, so I cant really say if these should go in mantis, but if Pierre says "These are all excellent comments and can all be implemented" I would personally add them. That is the best way of ensuring that they dont slip through the cracks.

It's up to him then to fill in the details of which version it's planned for etc.

There was a thread lately about "how" to add stuff to mantis - I cant find it

when it's found maybe the details should be added to the manual as you suggest.

Generally I simply add a link (to the related forum thread) to the mantis entry (naturally along with the details of the issue/request)
One mantis entry for each issue/request.
once added, make a post in related thread with mantis entry details (you could simply copy paste the full row when it's entered to mantis)
if it's your thread, edit the first post and add (M) at the end of the title

I think that's the important stuff...

Tom

Tom,

Thanks for your help. I'll need that info on how to add stuff to Mantis. And I did not realize that you could put a hyperlink in Manits back to the issue in Drupal, but from what you are saying it sounds one can do that. I have not got a clue as to what you mean by "if it's your thread, edit the first post and add (M) at the end of the title." I think a help topic on all this including an example would really be useful.

Maybe not just anyone should be able to post whatever they want to Mantis. I see where this could clutter things up. Maybe there needs to be an approval process before issues and requests get added to Manits.

Dave

If Armando finds the related thread (or if anyone else finds it - I just say Armando cause I think it was his thread so he might find it easier) - I can create a manual page working through an example

Here's an example of a mantis report, forum link has been simply pasted in the body text.

1106

Thousands of auto-generated blank items (filter or auto-assign related problem ?)

Bug

average

new

2011-02-13 14:42

Armando

Generally:

being reported in the forum, and discusssed, is an informal approval process that has worked quite well (with major kudos to Armando for keeping it going).

Davet : I'll let Pierre address your more specific concerns.

------

Here are the places where bug reports procedure is described at the moment:

1- In the Forum main page you get a summary of the procedure:

2- Then when you click on Bug reports, the first sticky post/thread is about the Bug reporting procedure.

Here's the link to that thread : Bug reporting procedure

Then, as tom said, you can enter bugs in Mantis. if Pierre hasn't fixed them already or if he said he'll do it later. E.g. :
[quote=Tom] [...] if Pierre says "These are all excellent comments and can all be implemented" I would personally add them. That is the best way of ensuring that they dont slip through the cracks. It's up to him then to fill in the details of which version it's planned for etc. [/quote]

Maybe, part of the problem is that most users access the forum through the >> What's New << page and miss all other important sticky posts.

Solution ? 1- Maybe the "what's new" page could contain a few important sticky posts. 2- Maybe the same procedure could be described in the suggestion part of the forum

----------------------------

A few extra comments...

[quote=Tom] Generally: being reported in the forum, and discusssed, is an informal approval process that has worked quite well (with major kudos to Armando for keeping it going). [/quote]

Thanks Tom. As you say, that process has worked well. When something has been properly discussed in the forum it's then possible to see if it's worth adding to Mantis, and it's also easier to do. I'll let Pierre address your more detailed questions, but I can orient you towards the bug reporting info you're looking for :

[quote=davet] Is it the users responsibility to put these in Mantis? [/quote] It's pretty much shared between users and Pierre.

[quote=davet] Further, I don't know if you can add fields to Mantis, but I think it would be good if you could add a URL field to link back problem discussions. It could be weeks before you get around to addressing issues and both you and the reporter could forget a lot by then. So, I think a link back to the discussions with screen shots and video could be useful to refresh what lead up to the decisions in Mantis. [/quote]

In the bug reporting protocol, I indicated that it was best to add in Mantis a link to the forum report, and in the forum post a hyperlink pointing to the Mantis issue. If my indications aren't clear, I'll make modifications.

[quote=davet] It would be nice if you could add some statements about the roles and procedures for moving issues from discussion to commitment and resolution in your rules and guidelines section. [/quote]

That would be possible. You think users would see it more easily than in the bug section ?

[Edit : added a few links and a proposed solution.]

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Windows XP Home Edition, Service pack 2

Dell Vostro 1500, Ram:3gb, CPU:Core2Duo T7500 2.2ghz

Tom and Armando,

Thanks for your time and help. I think I pretty much understand the procedure now.

Dave

Good to know. I saw your mantis issue , thanks.

Just 2 things :

- it's best to have 1 problem per mantis issue. It makes it easier to keep track of the issues (but it doesn't matter if 5 different Mantis issues point to the same thread).

- it's also good to have a link in the thread pointing to the Mantis issue.

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Windows XP Home Edition, Service pack 2

Dell Vostro 1500, Ram:3gb, CPU:Core2Duo T7500 2.2ghz

Note: There is a change to item number 4 above as a result of the discussion at http://www.sqlnotes.net/drupal5/index.php?q=node/2323. As a result of that discussion, my current thinking is that NextTaskID could be used as an equivalent to Successor in MS Project, and that there is no need to create a Predecessor field at this time.

Dave