Re: Unofficial SPI Issue Tracking System (Re: Issue #0 - No general-purpose issue tracking system)

According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for reimbursements, but not for other issues (see http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ). If there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.

Therefore, in the absence of such a tracker, I am using this email to officially request SPI to put in place an issue tracker for all issues, or for issues which are not already covered by a dedicated tracker.

Unfortunately, the one ITS engine I liked using is Atlassian JIRA, which is not free software. I have been unsatisfied with all open source engines I used. I have no strong opinion on which engine should be picked. Obviously, having a web interface would be extremely important, particularly one which is not read-only, though email notifications are very useful.

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

* Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2016-07-30 10:55]:
> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for
> reimbursements

Just to clarify, we have an RT queue for treasurer and one for sys
admin related issues.

--
Martin Michlmayr
http://www.cyrius.com/

On 07/30/2016 07:55 AM, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for
> reimbursements, but not for other issues (see
> http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ).
> If there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.
>
> Therefore, in the absence of such a tracker, I am using this email to
> officially request SPI to put in place an issue tracker for all issues,
> or for issues which are not already covered by a dedicated tracker.
>
> Unfortunately, the one ITS engine I liked using is Atlassian JIRA, which
> is not free software. I have been unsatisfied with all open source
> engines I used. I have no strong opinion on which engine should be
> picked. Obviously, having a web interface would be extremely important,
> particularly one which is not read-only, though email notifications are
> very useful.
>

If we use existing infrastructure, it would be RT which is plenty
capable (if a bit oldschool).

JD

> --
> Filipus Klutiero
> http://www.philippecloutier.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Spi-general mailing list
> Spi-general(at)lists(dot)spi-inc(dot)org
> http://lists.spi-inc.org/listinfo/spi-general
>

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Hi,

On 2016-07-30 10:55, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>
> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for reimbursements, but not for other issues (see http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ). If there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.
>
> Therefore, in the absence of such a tracker, I am using this email to officially request SPI to put in place an issue tracker for all issues, or for issues which are not already covered by a dedicated tracker.
>
> Unfortunately, the one ITS engine I liked using is Atlassian JIRA, which is not free software. I have been unsatisfied with all open source engines I used. I have no strong opinion on which engine should be picked. Obviously, having a web interface would be extremely important, particularly one which is not read-only, though email notifications are very useful.

Since I wrote this, one of my projects started using Redmine. I did not use it much and left that project several months ago, so I cannot recommend it with all my weight, but my memory indicates a good impression. Redmine is implemented in Ruby and a recent version is distributed in the stable and unstable suites of our associated project Debian (though not in testing, due to a serious bug reported 2017-11-14). I think it should be considered.

Pending the creation of a proper general-purpose issue tracking system, I have created an unofficial and fully manual tracker at http://philippecloutier.com/Software+in+the+Public+Interest+Issue+Tracking+System+-+Unofficial
It is a simple wiki page ediable by all, which currently links to reports made via mailing lists.

By the way, I recommend to require report submitters to agree to licence their reports under a free licence (probably Creative Commons), and to confirm that any content in their report not created by them can be redistributed, so that cloning the ITS is not an issue.

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

On Mon, 1 Jan 2018, Filipus Klutiero wrote:

> Hi,
>
> On 2016-07-30 10:55, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>>
>> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for
>> reimbursements, but not for other issues (see
>> http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ). If
>> there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.

Hi Filipus. I've been off the board for some time but SPI certainly *had*
a general purpose issue tracker and AFAIK still has. This was implemented
as part of the same "request tracker" instance that tracks reimbursements.
Ask the sysadmins.

Cheers,

Rob

Hi Robert,

On 2018-01-01 19:39, Robert Brockway wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Jan 2018, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> On 2016-07-30 10:55, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>>>
>>> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for reimbursements, but not for other issues (see http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ). If there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.
>
> Hi Filipus.  I've been off the board for some time but SPI certainly *had* a general purpose issue tracker and AFAIK still has.  This was implemented as part of the same "request tracker" instance that tracks reimbursements. Ask the sysadmins.

Thanks for this. I would be delighted to discover an existing general-purpose ITS, but that does not look easy. I requested one on spi-general on 2016-07-30 via the quoted email and nobody replied anything suggesting one existed. I re-scanned SPI's website and could not find a link to that. I even searched using terms "issue tracker" and "issue tracking system" using Google Web Search and that did not help. However, I also couldn't find the tracking system for reimbursements, which apparently does exist, so perhaps others can help?

Joshua, could you point to the tracker you referred to? Is it possible that it can be used as a general-purpose ITS, and if not, could it be that this used to be the case?

If a general-purpose ITS does exist, please consider Issue #0 as a request to document that on SPI's website.

>
> Cheers,
>
> Rob

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

* Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-01-01 21:32]:
> Thanks for this. I would be delighted to discover an existing
> general-purpose ITS, but that does not look easy. I requested one on
> spi-general on 2016-07-30 via the quoted email and nobody replied
> anything suggesting one existed. I re-scanned SPI's website and
> could not find a link to that. I even searched using terms "issue
> tracker" and "issue tracking system" using Google Web Search and
> that did not help. However, I also couldn't find the tracking system
> for reimbursements, which apparently does exist, so perhaps others
> can help?

SPI uses RT at rt.spi-inc.org. It's mentioned e.g. here
https://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/onboarding/directors/ and
https://www.spi-inc.org/treasurer/newprojects/
It could probably be documented better.

--
Martin Michlmayr
http://www.cyrius.com/

On 2018-01-02 03:43, Martin Michlmayr wrote:
> * Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-01-01 21:32]:
>> Thanks for this. I would be delighted to discover an existing
>> general-purpose ITS, but that does not look easy. I requested one on
>> spi-general on 2016-07-30 via the quoted email and nobody replied
>> anything suggesting one existed. I re-scanned SPI's website and
>> could not find a link to that. I even searched using terms "issue
>> tracker" and "issue tracking system" using Google Web Search and
>> that did not help. However, I also couldn't find the tracking system
>> for reimbursements, which apparently does exist, so perhaps others
>> can help?
> SPI uses RT at rt.spi-inc.org. It's mentioned e.g. here
> https://www.spi-inc.org/corporate/onboarding/directors/ and
> https://www.spi-inc.org/treasurer/newprojects/
> It could probably be documented better.
>

I would state this more affirmatively. While https://www.spi-inc.org/treasurer/newprojects/ could be considered as a mention, it never indicates, either explicitly or implicitly, that it refers to an issue tracking system.

As for the former, my first scan of the page did not see a mention since there is no link. After reading, I now see the mention you refer to in the Access to services section. I thank you.

This leaves a huge question: who can consult the tracker? Can anyone who is not a director consult any ticket?
And is the answer to that available publically?

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

* Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-02-13 07:09]:
> This leaves a huge question: who can consult the tracker? Can anyone
> who is not a director consult any ticket? And is the answer to that
> available publically?

The board and certain volunteers and contractors (e.g. those dealing
with reimbursement requests) have access. It's not open because it
contains a lot of sensitive information (receipts, bank information,
etc). Potentially some RT queues could be opened up for public view.

Anyway, since the system wasn't documented properly, I've now added a
page and linked to it from various pages on the web site:

http://spi-inc.org/corporate/rt/

--
Martin Michlmayr
http://www.cyrius.com/

On 2018-02-16 11:42, Martin Michlmayr wrote:
> * Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-02-13 07:09]:
>> This leaves a huge question: who can consult the tracker? Can anyone
>> who is not a director consult any ticket? And is the answer to that
>> available publically?
> The board and certain volunteers and contractors (e.g. those dealing
> with reimbursement requests) have access. It's not open because it
> contains a lot of sensitive information (receipts, bank information,
> etc). Potentially some RT queues could be opened up for public view.

Thank you

>
> Anyway, since the system wasn't documented properly, I've now added a
> page and linked to it from various pages on the web site:
>
> http://spi-inc.org/corporate/rt/
>

Thank you very much. I would replace "you can open a new ticket by sending an email to the following address at the |rt.spi-inc.org| domain" with "you can open a new ticket by sending an email to *one of the following addresses* at the |rt.spi-inc.org| domain".

Also, it would be important to either link to RT documentation explaining how it works, or to explain:
1. The format of mails. If Subject corresponds to ticket title and the body directly corresponds to ticket description, just stating that would clarify.
2. How to obtain a ticket identifier, or if that is not possible, a confirmation that a ticket was opened.

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

* Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-02-17 10:10]:
> > http://spi-inc.org/corporate/rt/
>
> Thank you very much. I would replace "you can open a new ticket by
> sending an email to the following address at the |rt.spi-inc.org|
> domain" with "you can open a new ticket by sending an email to *one
> of the following addresses* at the |rt.spi-inc.org| domain".
>
> Also, it would be important to either link to RT documentation
> explaining how it works, or to explain: 1. The format of mails. If
> Subject corresponds to ticket title and the body directly
> corresponds to ticket description, just stating that would clarify.
> 2. How to obtain a ticket identifier, or if that is not possible, a
> confirmation that a ticket was opened.

I believe these points are now addressed. Thanks.

--
Martin Michlmayr
http://www.cyrius.com/

On 2018-02-17 13:12, Martin Michlmayr wrote:
> * Filipus Klutiero <chealer(at)gmail(dot)com> [2018-02-17 10:10]:
>>> http://spi-inc.org/corporate/rt/
>> Thank you very much. I would replace "you can open a new ticket by
>> sending an email to the following address at the |rt.spi-inc.org|
>> domain" with "you can open a new ticket by sending an email to *one
>> of the following addresses* at the |rt.spi-inc.org| domain".
>>
>> Also, it would be important to either link to RT documentation
>> explaining how it works, or to explain: 1. The format of mails. If
>> Subject corresponds to ticket title and the body directly
>> corresponds to ticket description, just stating that would clarify.
>> 2. How to obtain a ticket identifier, or if that is not possible, a
>> confirmation that a ticket was opened.
> I believe these points are now addressed.

I completely agree.

> Thanks.
>
Thanks to you, once again

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com

Hi,
This mail recaps what I learned and what changed regarding issue tracking since I reported this issue.

Thanks to Robert Brockway and Martin Michlmayr, I confirmed that SPI does have an issue tracking system. Thanks to Dr. Michlmayr, this system is now documented on http://spi-inc.org/corporate/rt/

This system has 2 major issues: it cannot be used to report any issue, and cannot be used to report an issue publically. Pending resolution of these, I created an unofficial general-purpose tracker available at http://philippecloutier.com/Software+in+the+Public+Interest+Issue+Tracking+System+-+Unofficial

Since I reported issue #0, one of my projects started using Redmine. I did not use it much and left that project several months ago, so I cannot recommend it with all my weight, but my memory indicates a good impression. Redmine is implemented in Ruby and a recent version is distributed in the stable and unstable suites of our associated project Debian (though not in testing, due to a serious bug reported 2017-11-14). I have [virtually] no experience with the Request Tracker engine currently used by SPI, so I cannot say that Redmine is superior to RT, but before deciding to use RT to power a general-purpose ITS, I suggest to make a decent comparison of both.

On 2016-07-30 10:55, Filipus Klutiero wrote:
>
> According to Joshua D. Drake, SPI has an issue tracking system for reimbursements, but not for other issues (see http://lists.spi-inc.org/pipermail/spi-general/2016-July/003466.html ). If there is already a genera-purpose ITS, this is indeed far from obvious.
>
> Therefore, in the absence of such a tracker, I am using this email to officially request SPI to put in place an issue tracker for all issues, or for issues which are not already covered by a dedicated tracker.
>
> Unfortunately, the one ITS engine I liked using is Atlassian JIRA, which is not free software. I have been unsatisfied with all open source engines I used. I have no strong opinion on which engine should be picked. Obviously, having a web interface would be extremely important, particularly one which is not read-only, though email notifications are very useful.
> --
> Filipus Klutiero
> http://www.philippecloutier.com

--
Filipus Klutiero
http://www.philippecloutier.com