As of now we have reviewed the functionality which is available for projects in Redmine. But, in my opinion, it's not enough to learn what functionality is available, it's much more important to learn how to use it properly. So the main thing that I would like to share with you in this chapter is my experience of what should be done and what should be avoided. Earlier, while reviewing different available functions, I was trying to give you some hints and advices. In this topic, I would like to list some best practices for better projectmaintenance. So let's get started:
- Specify the target version when you close an issue as it is used for the roadmap.
- Have a future version added to the version list. If you are unsure what version name or number this will be, name it Next version, you can always change the name later. If no future version is added a developer won't be able to select a value for the Target version field.
- Write the changelog for each released version using the the associated Wiki page functionality. Just the list of fixed issues, which is provided automatically, is not enough as this list is often huge, issue subjects are not intended to be clear enough for the changelog, and so on.
- Try to keep the done ratio of the issue accurate while you work on it. There are several reasons for doing this. First, customers may follow the issue and, in particular, its done ratio. Second, the grand total of issue done ratios is used to show the overall progress for the project version.
- Write news every time you make a release. Customers, who are waiting for a new release of your project, may subscribe to your news expecting to get one about the new release.
You should not expect your users to learn all the issue filter functionality and to configure it to their needs on their own. Where possible you should ensure that they feel comfortable while browsing your issue lists. This is not only about your customers but also, and especially, about your project members.
Let's review some examples of custom queries. Some of them, possibly, will be useful for you, others, I hope, will give you an idea about custom queries you may need:
|
Name |
Filters | |
|---|---|---|
|
Field/Option |
Condition/Value | |
|
My open issues |
Status |
|
|
Assigned to |
| |
|
My open issues in the next version |
Status |
|
|
Assigned to |
| |
|
Target version |
" | |
|
Issues watched by me |
Status |
|
|
Watcher |
| |
|
Unassigned issues |
Status |
|
|
Assignee |
none | |
|
New features in the next version |
Tracker |
|
|
Target version |
| |
|
Changelog for current stable version |
Target version |
|
|
Sort |
| |
|
Roadmap |
Status |
|
|
Group results by |
| |
|
Issues grouped by assignees and sorted by priority |
Status |
|
|
Group results by |
| |
|
Sort |
| |
|
Issues by trackers sorted by status |
Group results by |
|
|
| ||