ST to RT Investigation: Factors for success

For us to switch to RT, there are a number of factors for success. Some of these are process-related. Some relate to features and workflows that we make use of in ST, including particular features which are necessary, others that will be important but not critical, and still less "nice to have" features.

Last updated: 20 September 2016

Critical Factors and Features

• We need a smooth process for making improvements to the software, whether it's in order to add or modify features, or in order to accommodate our workflow (including changes we make to our workflow to meet our client needs).
• We need prompt updates about planned changes to the software that are outside of our control.
• Feature: tracking time spent, with a convenient interface (ie, not editing the total time worked)
• Feature: ability to view all tickets in queue, not just ones you're involved with
• Feature: Item dependencies and see-also
• Feature: Ability to update tickets via email
• Feature: Attachments to related documentation- uploading files, as well as links to private/public files.
• Feature: Auto lookup barcodes in inventory and hostnames in inventory and DNS, fill in corresponding info and room number, warn on typos, canonicalize hostnames, link barcodes and hostnames to inventory
• Feature: Auto lookup users and email addresses, canonicalize, show real name, link to WatIAM, warn on typos
• Feature: Handle simultaneous update by multiple users of multiple fields in the same request without locking or losing updates
• Feature: Sort search results by due date, date created, or last acted (or any field displayed)
• Feature: Arbitrary SQL searches (e.g. date_created>unix_timestamp()-3600*24*7 and subject like '%print%') with ability to bookmark and API (e.g. needed for Bill's run-on sentence)

Important Factors and Features

• We'd like to collaborate with IST and other RT stakeholders to implement an RT-connected Knowledge Base
• Feature: flexible search; if possible, ability to include SQL (eg., Fraser will fine-tune search query with SQL wildcards such as "evergreen%MC%3007")
• Feature: API so our inventory system can continue to report on related work items
• Feature: custom field, for subscription code, that we can easily extract work-hours on particular codes, and replicate the ST functionality within the "subscriptions" database.
• Feature: recording data to allow budgeting / managing spending using cost-estimate (and keywords and dependency trees - such as summing cost-estimates including dependencies)
• Feature: direct access to the uploaded attachments, eg., smbmount
• Feature: Arbitrary choice of columns and their order and optional abbreviation in search results with ability to bookmark and API

Nice-to-have Factors and Features

• Feature: command-line access to perform searches and updates
• Feature: batch dependency creation with particular fields set to arbitrary values

Parking-Lot for Identified but not Prioritized Factors, Features, and issues

• 2016-08-30: emailing RT: if you have email aliases / reply-to which is different from your regular userid, RT will create the item with the wrong user.
• 2016-08-30: Factor: need in-house expertise to customize RT front-page / dashboards / search page.
• 2016-08-30: RT doesn't have a summary field.
• 2016-08-30: can RT create dependencies via email?

References

• https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/cscf/internal/edocs/rtattach/103960/RT-requirements-v2.xls -- Requirements identified in Campus RT Investigation Project (2012)
• ST To RT Investigation Factors Sorting 20160602
• ST To RT Investigation Factors Assessment
• ST To RT Investigation 20160830 meeting notes, with CSCF Management
• ST To RT Investigation Change Requests 20161000 for Lisa

-- DanielAllen - 2016-06-01