The piQa QA Navigation Report Tracker

User Documentation

V 1.03

Table of Content

Report Tracker Tasks

Processing a Problem with the Report Tracker

Roles within the Report Tracker

The Client Role

The Supervisor Role

The Service Role

The Administrator Role

The Report Tracker Main Panel

Working with the Report Tracker as a Client

Issuing a new Report

Viewing the List of Reports

Answering a Request for Comment

Closing a Report

Closed Reports

Working with the Report Tracker as a Supervisor

The Supervisor List

Working with the Report Tracker as a Service Employee

Working on a Report

Testing a Fix

Working with the Report Tracker as a Report Tracker Administrator

Administering Users

Administering Problems

Known Problems

General Issues

Tomcat 5.0

MS Internet Explorer 6.0

MS HTA 6.0

Mozilla 1.6

Caution: Phishing!

Figures

Fig. 1: Flow of Processing Problem

Fig. 2: Report Tracker Main Panel

Fig. 3: Report Tracker Main Panel for Supervisor.

Report Tracker Tasks

The Report Tracker is a tool for tracking and processing problem. It provides facilities to report a problem and to carry it through the complex flow of processing a problem for a software solution.

Processing a Problem with the Report Tracker

The Report Tracker is designed to make the process of handling a problem as transparent as possible for all parties involved, to keep it as simple as possible while reducing itself to the features required to execute the task rather then to confuse the user by offering too much functionality.

Once a problem is reported by the client it can be inspected by the client throughout the entire course of the process. When the report reaches a state, that is of importance to the client, a e-mail notification is automatically generated and sent out.

One of the outstanding features of the Report Tracker are the facilities supporting the communication between the client and the service employees. It provides an easy way to get in touch with the client while recording the dialog in the protocol.

The processing of a problem follows the flow, as outlined below:

Fig. 1: Report Processing Flow

The hatched boxes resemble procedures, that are only executed within organizations with refined report processing procedures. They are not part of the standard implementation of the Report Tracker and are omitted.

Being a web based application the Report Tracker does not require any installation on the client side. Only a standard browser is required.

Roles within the Report Tracker

Within of the Report Tracker the roles Administrator (adm), Supervisor (sp), Support Level 1-3 (lvl1-3) and finally the role Client (cl) are offered. A combination of roles for the same user is possible, but in some cases can lead to confusion about the displayed data of the Report Tracker.

The Client Role

As a client you can report a problem, track problem reported by one self and view closed reports. When being asked by a service employee, comments can be stated regarding a reported problem. Only by the reporting client a report can be finally closed.

The Supervisor Role

The task of the Supervisor is manage the processing of the report. The Supervisor is the first to see a newly report. He assigns the report to a service employee, depending on its state. Within the processing cycle, after reaching a certain state, the report appears back on the supervisor list, to be assign again to another function.

The current version of the Report Tracker supports only one Supervisor per installation, but it does not limit the numbers of Supervisors, assigned.

The Service Employee Role

The service employees tasks is to evaluate a problem and to provide a solution. The service employee can request a comment on the report from the client. Depending on the state of the processing the report reaches the states "evaluated", "fixed", "tested", "reviewed" or "shipped".

The service employee can pass on a report, that is assigned to him, to another service employee.

The Report Tracker Administrator Role

The Administrator has the exclusive right to add new users to the QA Navigation installation and to change their data.

An Administrator can also manipulate the state the state of a report, regardless the pre-defined flow of tasks and statuses. Self speaking, this feature is to be used care. It is only meant to be used in exceptional cases.

The Report Tracker Main Panel

When your ID has been added to the Report Tracker an e-mail is generated that informs you about your ID and Password. You are requested to sign on to the Report Tracker with the help of a Link provided and change your password immediately. (Caution: Phishing!). The URL is of the form „http://<Domain>/[<Path>/]<Report Tracker Installation>/Admin/“ (for example: the piQa Report Tracker's URL is „http://www.qa-navigation.com/QANavPT/Admin/“). Save this URL, to be able to change your password anytime.

The URL „http://<Domain>/[<Path>/]<Report Tracker Installation>" gets you to the main panel of the Report Tracker where you have to log on with your user ID and your password.




Fig. 2: Report Tracker Main Panel

On the left side of the window there are buttons, which vary, depending on your role. These buttons provide you with all other menus and take you to the other panels of the Report Tracker. In the lower left corner there is an indicator for the state of the Report Tracker, similar to a traffic light. Green indicates "Everything is OK", yellow signals "Processing" and, if a problem has occurred, a red light is displayed. In case of an error detection, further information is displayed to the right of the state indicator.

By specifying your ID your role within the Report Tracker is determined. To simplify the work with the Report Tracker the authentication method "BASIC" was chosen. It enables the storing of the users ID and password in the browser session, so the user only has to identify himself once per session. The downside of this approach is, should you want to switch roles of instances of the browser have to be closed to enable you to log on again, with a different ID. As an alternative you may want to use the HTML application „QNNavPT.hta“, which can be found under http://www.qa-navigation.com/QANavPT/Downloads/. To make proper use of the tools please read the manual.

Working with the Report Tracker as a Client

The Report Tracker put the client and his needs in the center of service. It is the client who opens and closes a report, once is has been processed. The button "Report Problem" in the main is where a new problem is reported. „Report List“ shows the list of reports already reported by the client. "Closed Reports" lists reports that have been already closed. The "Help" button displays this tutorial. "About" displays information about the Report Tracker.

Reporting a New Problem

The button „Report Problem“ leads to the page where a problem is reported. The fields „User“, „Date“ and "Time" are already pre-set and can not be changed. Depending on the number of products the user is registered in the Report Tracker the field "Application" offers one or more titles to select from.

At first enter the title of the report, preferably in a self-explaining way, recognizable for you and the members of service. If relevant specify the version of the application. Name the function, that was executed and that lead to the problem. To unambiguously identify the function it is recommended to name the entire path of menus and buttons that leads to that function. Separate the parts of the path for instance with slashes („/“) and mark buttons with percentage signs („%“). Example: „/File/Save As %Cancel“. Then specify the severity of the problem. To give a good understanding of the consequences of the problem, you have to assess to the condition of the system after the problem occurred. You are asked to asses the state of the application state after the occurring of the error, the problem code, the state of the data and the reproducibility of the problem. For the "Application state After Error" you are asked to define in what state the application was at the time the error was detected, by selecting the according button.

For the "Problem Code" you are asked to define the consequence of the occurrence of the error by selecting the according button.

For "Data state" please specify the loss data that occurred as a consequence of the error. The classification "Minor Data Loss" is appropriate, if only data that just have been entered were lost. The classification "Major Data Loss" is valid, if the other data, than the ones resulting from the last action where lost or changed.

Please specify for "Reproducible" if the error could be reproduced and select the appropriate button. Based on the severity assessment the problem classification is calculated and displayed.

In the following text fields the problem can be described in detail. In the field titled "What Lead to the Problem?" you are asked to describe the actual activity that triggered the observation. In the field titled "What Was Expected?" as description of the expected reaction is to be given. Finally under "What Was Observed?" the actual behavior, as observed is to be described.

All fields, except "Version“ and the describing text fields are mandatory fields and need to be filled out, otherwise the report can not be submitted. The text fields are limited in size, nevertheless they should big enough to hold the information required.

Additional data can be appended to the report. To do so press the button "Select" in the section "Additional Data" at the end of the form and select the requested file. Selecting the button "Reset" resets the selection. A description can be added to the file optionally. Pressing the button "Load Up" initiates the transfer.

Appended files are accessible as hyperlinks. They can be removed from the list by selecting the associated "Delete" button to the right.

Due to the restricted technology of the HTML standard, when attempting to save a file from the link, instead of the clear name the unique name of the file is offered in the "Save As" dialog. To store the file with the desired clear name one has to specify the name themselves.

If you do not wish to submit the report straight away it can saved by selecting the according button. To continue the processing of the report select "Edit" from the menu in the list of Problem Reports.

Pressing the button "Submit" sends off the report. But before the report is sent, all mandatory fields are checked. If the check fails, the report is not sent. If the report has been sent successfully you will receive an e-mail, that confirms that the report has been received, together with a link that brings you directly to your report.

"Cancel" aborts the recording of the report

Viewing the List of Reports

The button "Report List" displays the list of reports reported by you. The list shows the name the application, the specified function, the given title and the current state of the report. When hovering with the mouse over an entry of the list the line below is highlighted by giving it a grey background. When clicking the left mouse while being over such a line a menu is displayed, valid for the current report. Such kinds of menus are called an object context menu. "Cancel" removes the menu without any action taken.

As a user one can see only the reports that have been reported by oneself.

From the list the processing of a report can be continued or a submitted report can be viewed. From the Report View the report can be printed.

Answering a Request for Comment

If a service employee needs some information on the report an e-mail with a request for comment is created. The e-mail contains a link the gets you to the report (Caution: Phishing!). The report displays a view that contains all related information. If offers a button labeled "Give Answer" to provide an answer to the question stated, which is then appended to the log of the report. After answering the question, the report changes into the state "Response Given" and is assigned back to the service employee.

You can navigate to reports where additional is required, yourself: select in the list the reports those that have the state "Comment Requested". Select the report and choose "View"

The processing of the report will not continue as long as a request for comment is outstanding.

Closing a Report

Once the problem reported is solved the report receives the state "Solution Shipped" and an e-mail announcing this is sent out.(Caution: Phishing!). Please confirm the receiving of the solution and approve its correctness by closing the report. Open the view of the report from the list of reports a select the button "Close".

As long as the report is not closed it stays in the list of reports.

Closed Reports

A report that has been closed remains visible, in case the information contained in the report is needed for any other purpose. The option to delete Problem has been omitted with a purpose.

To see the list of closed reports select the button "Closed Reports" in the main menu.

Working with the Report Tracker as a Supervisor

The task of a supervisor in the Report Tracker is to administer incoming reports and to distribute them to the individual service employees, either based on the load distribution or the areas of knowledge. Newly incoming reports are always assigned to the first Supervisor found in the list of Report Tracker users.

For these tasks an extended selection of buttons is provided.

Fig. 3: Report Tracker Main Panel for Supervisor.

The different buttons lead to different views of the supervisor lists. Additionally to the standard buttons the supervisor is provided with the menus "Manage Reports", "Open Reports", "Fix List" and "Closed Fixes".

The button "Manage Reports" take you to the list of all reports assigned to you, "Open Reports" to the list of all reports, that are not in the state "Closed", "Fix List" to the list of all outstanding fixes "Closed Fixes" to the list of all closed reports.

As a Supervisor you can also process a report, that is assigned to you, just like any service employee.

The Supervisor Lists

The lists, that you see as a supervisor contain all reports, that are assigned to you. New reports are always assigned to a Supervisor first. The Supervisor view of the reports has one column more, compared to the user's view: the first column displays the ID of the client. The report can be forwarded directly from the list. To do so, select the report and choose "Forward" from the context menu, that is display when clicking the left mouse button. Forwarding a report does not change the state of a report.

Working on a Report

The typical first step after receiving a new report is assigning it to a service employee. To do so select "View" from the object context menu. In the view select the button "Assign". This action changes the report's state from "submitted" to the state "assigned".

If the problem was solved it is again assigned to the supervisor assigned with the state "ready for testing". The report than has to be assigned to a service-employee for testing. This is done by selecting the button "Assigned for Testing". The changes it's state then to "assigned for testing" (at).

If a solution has been rejected during the test, the report is also again assigned to the supervisor. He then has to pass it on to a service employee to continue working on the solution.

A comment can added to the report at any time. At that stage the report can also be forwarded to another service employee, as described above.

Working with the Report Tracker as a Service Employee

The task as a service-employee is to provide a solution to the reported problem. The Report Tracker guides you through the phases of processing a problem.

As a service employee you can add a comment to the report at any time. You can also forward the report to a colleague. None of these actions change the state of the report.

Processing a Report

When starting to work on a report the state of the report, set the state of the report to "evaluating". This signals that you have commenced working on the report. To do so, select the button "Evaluate" in the report view.

If more information on the problem is required or you have questions you can use the function "Request Comment" to get in contact with the author of the report. The question appended to the log of the report, while an e-mail is sent to the client who reported the problem, which the inquiry to answer the question. The report changes to the state "Comment Requested". As long as the client has not given an answer, the report can not be processed any further.

As soon as the client has given a response another e-mail is generated, informing you that an answer has been given. To signal that the processing is continued, select the button "Evaluate".

When a solution to the problem is found signal it by selecting the button "Fix". The report changes to the state "Fixing".

As soon as the problem is solved signal this by selecting the button "Fixed" in the view panel of the report. At this stage the solution is ready for testing. A pop-up provides you to append information about the solution to the report. The report changes to the state "Queued for Testing" and is assigned to the supervisor, who the forwards it the another service employee to execute the tests.

Testing a Fix

Your task as a Tester is to verify the correctness of the fix. By selecting the button "Testing" the report changes to the state "Testing". If the solution is insufficient, it is to be rejected by selecting the button "Reject". A pop-up, to add a comment on the reasons of the rejection, is displayed automatically. The report is again assigned to the supervisor, who then has to forward it again to a service employee to get it fixed.

If the solution is verified to be correct, the solution can be shipped. To do so select the button "Ship" and add test reports and other information to the shipment as a comment to the report.

Working with the Report Tracker as a Report Tracker Administrator

The administrator of the Report Tracker is assigned three tasks: administration of the user of the piQa suite, administration of the reports and administration of the suite. Administering the systems does not require specific Report Tracker functionality. The Administrator receives automatically produced e-mails, that point out problems detected by the suite.

The dialogs for administering users do not have any national language support yet; the are held in English, only.

Administering Users

The URL „http://<Domain>/[<Path>/]<Report Tracker Installation>/Admin/AdminUsers.jsp“ leads to the page, where the users of a system are administered. Only user IDs with the role "piQa administrator" assigned are granted access to this page.

In the upper part of the new users and their data can be specified. As you may have different clients from different companies it is recommended to use the form "miller@acme" for a user ID.

Choose for the product names always the same labels, so the reports referring to the same product can be identified. A password is to be specified and an e-mail address, through which the client can be reached, his role in the Report Tracker suite and the product he is assigned to.

The user is automatically notified about his new account by an e-mail, with the new password.

The lower part if the user administration panel shows profiles that are already stored in the system. They can be changed or deleted entirely.

A user can be assigned more than one role and more than one product.

Administering a Report

Different from other roles the administrator sees in the list of reports all reports that are not closed and not only the ones assigned to him. In the list of reports the administrator can change the state of a report at any time to any state.

Only the administrator is able to delete a report. Under normal circumstances reports are not meant to be deleted, as they still continue to be of use as references after they have been processed.

The administrator can execute all functions that a service employee can execute, including those that the supervisor has at hand.

Known Problems

The Report Tracker is based on other applications which unfortunately are not always trouble-free. Especially the representation and functionality of the various web-browsers provide a wide range of problems. The QA Navigation Suite tries to avoid these problems as good as possible and tries to provide a unified appearance, independent from the platform it is running on, but is not always entirely achievable. The following lists all known problems:

The problems detected are valid only for the versions mentioned. They may be solved in other versions of the Software.

General Findings

Problem F5 takes me back to the start.
Description When selecting the key "F5" the dialog switches back to the opening dialog, instead of refreshing the display.
Work Around No work around available. Support of the "F5" key is not implemented yet.

Tomcat 5.0

Problem User is locked out after failing to specify the correct password after three attempts.
Description If a user fails to specify the correct password three times in a row he is locked from the system for an unspecified amount of time (approx. 12 hours). It could not be determined which module controls the access and how to reset an user ID. The only thing that is known, is that after 12 hours a new attempt can be undertaken.
Work Around Wait until logging in is possible again.

MS Internet Explorer 6.0

Problem
Description
Work Around

MS HTA 6.0

Most problems that apply to the MS Internet Explorer apply as well to the MS HTA, as it is based on the MS Internet Explorer. To our surprise it also features its own problems.

Problem Pop-up menus are not positioned correctly.
Description If a function is called a pop-up menu may be created in an area, that lies outside the visible part of the screen.
Work Around Scroll, until the menu comes into view.

Mozilla 1.6

Problem No cursor in text field.
Description It cannot be detected which text field has the current because the cursor is not visible
Work Around Select the text field and start typing.

Caution: Phishing!

Fraud over the Internet is something everyone has certainly heard of. In a new variation thugs attempt to get information about user ID and the password, to use it for their fraudulent activities. In the case of Phishing you typically receive an e-mail, that is by the looks and the content rather an innocent request to proceed to a web site, that requires you to specify your user ID and your password. The link to the web site is added to the e-mail. The link takes you to a web site that looks like what you are expecting to see. You are asked to specify your user ID and password. Everything looks unsuspicious. Only if you take a closer look at the URL you will recognize that you are not where you expected to be. If you provide your ID with a password, the information given is stored and used for any kind of fraud.

The QA Navigation is not an application that contains very sensitive data. But in any case you should make sure that the URL, that the link in the e-mail leads you to, is where you actually expect to go.