In our bugzilla, we use 'Bugs' to track new features. We tag those feature with the keyword 'Feature'. Then developpers create task required to impemement these features using the 'Depends On' field but WITHOUT the 'Feature' keyword.

What I would like to be able to do to track features progress is do a Query for bugs with the 'Feature' keyword and all bugs listed in the depends on field. (like adding a option on the search).

Right now I can get close to what I want in the tree view with the 'depend' pull down, but this will also gives me 'normal' bugs not related to feature.

Alex

Alex,

Thanks for your post. I can see several features that we can add to Deskzilla that would help:

1. Add an option to any query to "expand" the normal query result by including all the bugs that the original query result depends on. (Gee, it's so awkwardly described.) Obviously, those extra bugs may depend on other bugs, so there might be an option for how many "steps" of expansion to make, or maybe go for a "full closure". That sounds like a very advanced feature -- maybe there would be a simpler solution.

Note that the query will still produce a flat list of bugs. You can arrange them in hierarchy using Depends On pull down, but it only works if there are no two bugs that depend on the same other bug.

2. Something like "links explorer". Not exactly sure how it would look like, but you'll have a collection of bugs, and some links (depends on / blocks) from that set to other bugs. You would be able to traverse those links and see what's there.

3. Maybe some improvements to the bugs table, which would allow to "expand" every row with a bug and show more info on the bug right in the table -- for example, other bugs this bug depends on.

Which one of these looks best for what you're doing?

Thanks!
Igor

Igor,

In my case option 1 seems the best even if it is probably not the simplest... Our database don't have a lot of 'dependency chain' so I don't think we would end up with more than 3 levels of bugs.

One tricky part, and this is already a problem in the tree view, is how to represent the tree when a bug block 2 separate bugs! I ran into this and at first did not understand why I did not see a bug in the tree view under it's parent bugs until I realize it was under the other bug it was blocking... To have the perfect tree view you would need to duplicate (or more) bugs causing other types of problems!

Alex

Alex, thanks. Got it. The issues are http://jira.almworks.com/browse/PLO-717 and http://jira.almworks.com/browse/JCO-782 -- feel free to vote for them. We'll have them addressed in a future version.

Kind regards
Igor