RT vs Bugzilla

Tue Mar 7 15:32:47 PST 2006

The issue in Bugzilla is taht it has too many fields to be relevant,
however, I have organized it as follows

Product --> Location (we have offices in 3 countries)
Version ---> Unused
Component ---> What part of the system (Email, Server, desktop,
network , don't know)
Severity --> Critical, High, Normal, Low, RFE, Project

The RFE helps to log requests which  "extend" existing infrastructure
which don't
fall into a new project category.Project is for new requests. This
also helps me put in stuff
which I want to do and don't have time for (cfengine, load balancing etc)

Users often don't use this correctly and I have to at times change the
severity to reflect the
correct classification, however, once that is done, I can see at any
time, my unworked projects, my RFE's and buglists as different views
so it doesn't confuse the hell out of mgmt who think the sysad  is
slacking ;)

Another bonus for users is that they are seeing better response times
to issues since they have taken the trouble to document them, rather
than writing cryptic emails with little or no info and spending the
time playing phone tag...

On 3/7/06, Jim Hickstein <jxh at jxh.com> wrote:
> >> One really needs that sort of structure to force users to provide useful
> >> feedback.  While that'll put people off at the same time, some pressure
> >> from the developers in question might do the trick to keep people in line
> >> and filing reports via bugzilla.
> >
> > Ah, personally, I HATE any system that makes "reporting a bug" any
> > more cumbersome than absolutely needed.  You need to make it as easy
> > as possible to record that "something is wrong" and then query your
> > customer for missing data as needed.
>
> An interesting dilemma, indeed.  Somebody's got to do it, but who, and
> how much?
>
> This also affects how easily the "workers" can update tickets with the
> information, when and if they get it, and as they change things.  What I
> call "ticket discipline" is high on my list[1] of important qualities
> for people in these positions.  If you don't tell the ticket, it didn't
> really happen[2].  See also, "Spent 5 minutes filling out time sheet."
>
> I guess I should buy Tom's book and see what, if anything, he says about
> all this.
>
> --
>
> [1] Well, OK, it's at the bottom:
>    - Customer focus
>    - Detail orientation
>    - Ticket discipline
>    But it's on the list!
>
> [2] http://www.jxh.com/slogans.html
>