WebAsyst Issue Tracker: Questions & Answers

What is WebAsyst Issue Tracker and how can I use it?

WebAsyst Issue Tracker is a system to track tasks which require action by several people and go through a number of different states while being processed. You can use WebAsyst Tracker to store descriptions of these tasks, organize them, assign to members of your team, and follow their progress. It is a powerful tool to organize recurring tasks workflow, ensure tasks are resolved in a timely, orderly manner, and distribute them among several people. WebAsyst Tracker provides centralized storage of issue related data and can be accessed from any computer with Internet connection.

Why would I track issues on the Internet instead of sending emails or just asking someone?

Of course, if your work process has one issue per week, there is no need to use a system. Just tell your office manager to “buy new toner cartridge, please”. However, if your needs are more complex, like managing a team of programmers creating and testing a new web site project, you would have a substantial number of items to be evaluated and re-worked (e.g. “when viewed in Opera, heading crawls over the table – needs to be fixed”, “countries drop down list needs to be sorted alphabetically”, etc.). Once identified, these issues need to be tracked, assigned to one of the team, checked by a tester, and approved by the project manager. WebAsyst Issues makes these tracking tasks simple and organized.

Which is right for me, online service or software version?

If you have never purchased software before, or PHP and MySQL abbreviations mean nothing to you, then you should use our online service. Sign up for an account and begin using it in less than a minute.

If you are a corporate customer, an IT manager, or web developer, you may prefer to purchase WebAsyst Issue Tracker software (with 100% released source code) and install it on your own web server. Our scripts can be successfully installed on most hosting server configurations. The installation procedure is simple and thoroughly described.

Can an issue be assigned to several people at once?

No. Issue assignment means delegation of responsibility to a single person for a part of the work. When tasks are handled by a work team, you should break them in parts manageable by a single person, or set up workflow stages of its implementation and assign one stage to one team member.

I initiate issues, but their completion should be confirmed by another person. Can this be done?

Yes. You must set up workflow so that completed issues are assigned to another user. WebAsyst Issue Tracker allows you to create custom workflows. It consists of several statuses through which an issue passes as it is processed. For example, new issue receives “in progress” status. Assigned user tries to resolve it and then transfers it to the next status “review” for the assigned user in your work flow. This last user performs a review, and either closes the issue by setting its status as “complete” or returns it back to “in progress” if it requires additional attention.

How will user know he was assigned to an issue?

He will receive an email notification.

Can I assign an issue to myself?

Of course. To not forget to do it.

Can I attach files to issues?

Yes, any number of files. It is very useful when, for example, you need to provide additional data such as a customer's requirements or a screenshot of an error.

I have many projects and people working on them. Can I distribute issues by projects?

Yes. WebAsyst Issue Tracker works in conjunction with WebAsyst Projects. The list of issues is grouped by projects and tasks within it. Each separate task can have its specific workflow template assigned to it. This makes issues tracking very flexible and handy to use with many projects at one time. For example, “Web site development project” can be developed by one group of users and have its issues' workflow set up in “development –> testing –> publication” stages. A separate “Preparation of contracts with clients” project will be handled by another team from the legal department, and will use “prepare draft –> legal review –> management approval –> print and send to client”.