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An issue tracking system (also ITS, trouble ticket system, support ticket, request management or incident ticket system) is a
computer software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists o ...
package that manages and maintains lists of issues. Issue tracking systems are generally used in
collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
settings, especially in large or distributed collaborations, but can also be employed by individuals as part of a
time management Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves of various demands upon a person relating to work, ...
or personal productivity regimen. These systems often encompass
resource allocation In economics, resource allocation is the assignment of available resources to various uses. In the context of an entire economy, resources can be allocated by various means, such as markets, or planning. In project management, resource allocatio ...
, time accounting, priority management, and oversight workflow in addition to implementing a centralized issue registry.


Background

In the institutional setting, issue tracking systems are commonly used in an organization's customer support
call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephon ...
to create, update, and resolve reported customer issues, or even issues reported by that organization's other employees. A support ticket should include vital information for the account involved and the issue encountered. An issue tracking system often also contains a knowledge base containing information on each customer, resolutions to common problems, and other such data. An issue tracking system is similar to a " bugtracker", and often, a software company will sell both, and some bugtrackers are capable of being used as an issue tracking system, and vice versa. Consistent use of an issue or
bug tracking system A bug tracking system or defect tracking system is a software application that keeps track of reported software bugs in software development projects. It may be regarded as a type of issue tracking system. Many bug tracking systems, such as those ...
is considered one of the "hallmarks of a good software team". A ticket element, within an issue tracking system, is a running report on a particular problem, its status, and other relevant data. They are commonly created in a
help desk A help desk is a department or person that provides assistance and information usually for electronic or computer problems. In the mid-1990s, research by Iain Middleton of Robert Gordon University studied the value of an organization's help desks ...
or
call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephon ...
environment and almost always have a unique reference number, also known as a ''case'', ''issue'' or ''call log'' number which is used to allow the user or help staff to quickly locate, add to or communicate the status of the user's issue or request. These tickets are called so because of their origin as small cards within a traditional wall mounted work planning system when this kind of support started. Operators or staff receiving a call or query from a user would fill out a small card with the user's details and a brief summary of the request and place it into a position (usually the last) in a column of ''pending slots'' for an appropriate engineer, so determining the staff member who would deal with the query and the priority of the request. The shared conceptual foundation between issue tracking systems and bugtrackers is that a valid issue must be amenable to a decisive resolution (such as "completed", "fixed", or a group consensus that the issue is not worth solving, such as "not a problem" or "won't fix"); that each issue is unique (duplicate problem reports are in most cases promptly amalgamated into a single active issue or ticket); and—beyond the screening stage—that there is precisely one person assigned formal responsibility to move the issue forward (this formal baton will often bounce around many times as the issue evolves). In bug trackers, issues are generally quality or feature related with respect to a codebase (which is inherently a
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...
setting) whereas in generalized issue tracking systems, the tickets are often service-related or relationship-based, with closer ties to
customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information. CRM systems compile data from a r ...
(CRM) concerns.


Issues

Issues can have several aspects to them. Each issue in the system may have an urgency value assigned to it, based on the overall importance of that issue. Low or zero urgency issues are minor and should be resolved as time permits. Other details of issues include the customer experiencing the issue (whether external or internal), date of submission, detailed descriptions of the problem being experienced, attempted solutions or workarounds, and other relevant information. Each issue maintains a history of each change.


Functions

Issue-tracking systems fulfill different functions, in particular: * Entering of dysfunctions, errors and requests (e.g. manually or by e-mail Response Management Systems) * Distribution and assignment of issues to persons in charge * Monitoring of handling, time spent and quality of work * Ensuring the observation of internal processes by forced control with help of workflows * Statistical analysis of the number of tickets * Automatic generation of tickets by alarming systems, e.g.
network monitoring Network monitoring is the use of a system that constantly monitors a computer network for slow or failing components and that notifies the network administrator (via email, SMS or other alarms) in case of outages or other trouble. Network monitori ...
* Fulfillment of external service agreements (Service Level Agreement, SLA) * Systematic collection of questions and answers for FAQs * Assignment of a priority to each issue based on the overall importance of that issue, the customer, date of submission, SLA * Containing a detailed descriptions of the problem being experienced, attempted solutions or workarounds, and other relevant information * Maintaining of a history of each change


Workflow

An example scenario is presented to demonstrate how a common issue tracking system would work: # A customer service technician receives a
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
call,
email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mea ...
, or other communication from a customer about a problem. Some applications provide built-in messaging system and automatic error reporting from
exception handling In computing and computer programming, exception handling is the process of responding to the occurrence of ''exceptions'' – anomalous or exceptional conditions requiring special processing – during the execution of a program. In general, a ...
blocks. # The technician verifies that the problem is real, and not just perceived. The technician will also ensure that enough information about the problem is obtained from the customer. This information generally includes the environment of the customer, when and how the issue occurs, and all other relevant circumstances. # The technician creates the issue in the system, entering all relevant data, as provided by the customer. # As work is done on that issue, the system is updated with new data by the technician. Any attempt at fixing the problem should be noted in the issue system. Ticket status most likely will be changed from open to pending. # After the issue has been fully addressed, it is marked as resolved in the issue tracking system. If the problem is not fully resolved, the ticket will be reopened once the technician receives new information from the customer. A Run Book Automation process that implements best practices for these workflows and increases IT personnel effectiveness is becoming very common.


Use in different sectors


Government

Some government services use issue tracking system to keep track of issues and display them to the public. Issue tracking systems may show all tasks still to be done by the government (in a waiting queue), finished tasks, tasks in progress, order sequence, etc. Finished tasks can also be foreseen with the report, showing what exactly has been done on the issue. Issue tracking systems are for instance used to track which
legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
bills are up for voting and the outcome of them. Transport and infrastructure issues (i.e. obstructions on roads, complains, ...) can also be filed using issue tracking systems.Track progress of a reported road fault or issue
/ref> The issues can then be tackled by the relevant government services.


See also

* Help desk software *
Comparison of help desk issue tracking software This article is a comparison of notable issue tracking systems used primarily for help desks and Service Desk (ITSM), service desks rather than for bug tracking system, bug tracking or project management. See also * Comparison of issue-track ...
*
Comparison of issue-tracking systems This article is a comparison of issue tracking systems that are notable, including bug tracking systems, help desk and service desk issue tracking systems, as well as asset management systems. The comparison includes client-server application, ...
*
Climate Action Tracker Climate Action Tracker (abbreviated CAT) is a research group with the aim of monitoring government action to achieve their reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with regard to international agreements. It is tracking climate action in 32 countries ...
*
Government by algorithm Government by algorithm (also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algocratic governance, algorithmic legal order or algocracy) is an alternative form of government or social ordering, where the usa ...
* Issue log *
National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protectio ...
* Suggestion box *
Open-source software development Open-source software development (OSSD) is the process by which open-source software, or similar software whose source code is publicly available, is developed by an open-source software project. These are software products available with its sour ...
*
Prioritization Prioritization is the activity that arranges items or activities in order of importance relative to each other. In the context of medical evaluation it is the establishment of the importance or the urgency of actions that are necessary to prese ...
*
Resource allocation In economics, resource allocation is the assignment of available resources to various uses. In the context of an entire economy, resources can be allocated by various means, such as markets, or planning. In project management, resource allocatio ...
* User innovation


References


External links

* : This category has a misleading name as it lists both bug and issue tracking systems. * : Helpdesk & issue tracking software at DMOZ * {{dmoz, Computers/Programming/Languages/Java/Development_Tools/Issue_Tracking/, Java Issue Tracking Development Tools : This category lists issue tracking systems developed in
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
. Business software