IC Tracker

IcTracker is a compact, easy-to-learn, web-based tool set that helps any business or work group define projects, assign tasks, streamline work flow, communicate among team members, assure accountability, track problems, store documents, keep records, and generate reports.

While IcTracker’s features and functions anticipate your project management needs, they don’t over-define your process or dictate your managerial style. User-defined custom fields and preferences let you tailor the application to your own best way of working, using terminology suited to your industry and to the task at hand.

Because the interface is simple, clear, and thoughtful, you can learn your way around the product by using it. When you have questions, context-sensitive help on screen, or this manual, will answer them quickly. Time to mastery is not the only saving you’ll experience. IcTracker runs on your company’s intranet, or on the Internet, depending on your preference, and interfaces with your database through an IIS server. On the client side, nothing is required but a Windows desktop and a browser. One reason IcTracker is so reliable is that there isn’t much to break down.

Getting Acquainted with IcTracker

The IcTracker Class System

Like many networked applications, IcTracker has two classes of users, Normal and Administrative. In addition to the privileges granted to every user, Administrators are entitled to create and maintain Departments, Personnel records, and IcTracker Application Parameters.

System Requirements

All you, the Normal User, need to be up and running on IcTracker is a workstation running Windows 98 or later, and a web browser, Internet Explorer version 5.5 or later.

To find out what browser version you are running, start your current browser.

On the top of the browser window, at the far right, click Help. At the bottom of the drop down menu, click About Internet Explorer.

If you need to update your browser, obtain the latest version free from the Microsoft Download site at http://www.microsoft.com.

For web server system requirements, please visit the IC Soft website at http://www.ic-soft.com/products/ictksysreq.htm.

Before You Start

Before you, the Normal User, can begin using IcTracker, you will need to receive these things from your Administrator:

· A user ID

· A password

· A Department assignment

· A link to your company’s IcTracker website

Logging On

Open your browser and go to your IcTracker website.

To create a shortcut to the IcTracker Login Page, right click anywhere on the Login screen to access the desktop menu. Halfway down the menu, click Create Shortcut. In the dialog box that appears, click OK. This will install an IcTracker icon on your desktop.

In the fields provided, enter your User ID and your password.

Click Login.

Check the box below the Password field to have IcTracker remember your password each time you login.

You can also use this screen to retrieve a forgotten password.

Your home page

The first time you log on to IcTracker, it takes you to the IcTracker Home Page. This page gives you a top down view of the application, access to lists of all existing Departments and all Projects currently underway. If your job requires you to oversee everything that’s going on in your company, this is a good place to start your workday with IcTracker.

Your Home Page is the place from which you can perform three important functions to personalize IcTracker.

§ Change your preferences

§ Change your password

§ Change your background image

You also have the option of choosing a Home Page (Project Summary View) that gives you an overview of the Projects in your own Department, and a convenient interface that lets you drill down into each of them quickly.

Once you know your way around IcTracker and how it fits into your work style, you can use the Preferences link on the IcTracker toolbar to choose the Home Page that’s most efficient for you.

Whichever Home Page you choose, it, like every IcTracker screen, displays the IcTracker tool bar in the left hand column. With this application map always in place, you’ll never lose your way.

Toolbar tour

Clicking your way through the toolbar is a good way to get familiar with IcTracker.

Home brings you to your chosen Home Page.

Department give you a listing of every departments in your

licensed copy of icTracker, and allows you to choose one.

View/Edit shows you all Projects, Tasks, and Problems and allows you to make changes in them.

New allows you to add a Project, Task, or Problem.

Search allows you to search for Projects, Tasks, Problems or Documents.

Reports allows you to print icTracker reports.

Documents lets you view documents by Department, Project, Task, Problem, or by the staff member who originated them.

My Desktop gives each user an instant overview of all Projects, Tasks, Problems, and Documents in which s/he is involved.

My Sites lets each user view and search all web sites s/he has stored in icTracker.

Staff Contacts is a work-related address book, with contact information for department and project colleagues.

Administration accesses the full menu of administrative functions.

Preferences allows you to personalize many features of icTracker.

Help Desk accesses product documentation and online help.

Send Feedback makes it easy to share comments and suggestions with IcTracker developers.

Sign Out closes the application.

Quick Access provides quick access to a Project Detail page, a Task Detail page, or a Problem Detail page. If you already know the Project ID, Task ID, or Problem ID, simply enter the ID and select ID Type and click on Go image icon to quickly jump to the detail page.

Switch changes position of your toolbar (Left position or Top position).

Clicking on the Switch toolbar changes position of your toolbar to the Top position with the following menu.

icTracker Home Page with the toolbar on the top provides more room for the application. You can click on the Switch menu item to switch back to the toolbar on the left position.

icTracker: For people who work on the Web

icTracker is a small footprint, no bloat application expressly designed to facilitate how people work today. Deployable via intranet or on the Internet, it offers workers at multiple sites a virtual nexus for sharing storing work-related information. Created for use in a Windows environment, icTracker integrates the database, browser and email applications you already have in place, so you never have to exit your virtual workspace in order to use familiar tools. Keeping track of the most complicated projects, and managing the most far-flung team is easy once you know your way around the application.

Getting acquainted with icTracker: Five key ideas

icTracker starts with only a few simple, powerful assumptions about how things get done. Functions it performs are built around these key ideas. Learn these words, and icTracker is easy to understand and use.

Department

A Department is a group of workers organized around a common goal. Depending upon your workplace, a Department might be a separate company within a larger conglomerate; it might be a workgroup charged with carrying out a particular kind of work (for example, Human Resources, Product Design, or Customer Service); it might deal with a discrete group of resources (for example, Fossil Fuels, Solar Power, Nuclear Energy).

Your Administrator must assign you to a Department before you’ll be able to work with IcTracker. Once you belong to a Department, you’ll be entitled to originate Projects, Tasks, and Problems, and your name will appear on all the drop down menus that display your department’s human resources.

Project

A Project is a goal-oriented activity performed by one or more members of a Department. A Project has a defined start and a defined finish. It produces a measurable result. Completing a Project requires an expenditure of time, money, and resources.

Every IcTracker User is entitled to originate a Project within his or her Department.

Task

A Task is an identifiable piece of work that needs to be done by one or more members of a Department if a Project is to be completed successfully. Like a Project, it has a start date, a finish date, a person who defines it, and a person responsible for its accomplishment.

Every IcTracker User is entitled to originate a Task within his or her Department.

Problem

Whether your industry refers to them as bugs, issues, or demons, problems are the obstacles you encounter in successfully accomplishing a Task or a Project. They are the things that go wrong, the schedules that slip, the bit of code that crashes the machine. Success in a Project requires identifying Problems, assigning responsibility for them, and resolving them.

Every IcTracker User is entitled to originate a Problem and to assign it to himself or another Department member for resolution.

Document

A Document is an artifact generated by the staff of a Project. Within IcTracker, the term “document” is format-agnostic and may refer to any type of file, whether it was created in Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, or any other application. Documents can be attached to Projects, to Tasks, or to Problems, and accessed from all Summary View screens.

Every IcTracker User is entitled to attach a Document to a Project, Task, or Problem. Categories of Documents (e.g. Project Reports, Expense Reports, Emails, Images, etc.) are created and maintained by IcTracker administrators.

Working with Projects

Choosing your view

Think of your IcTracker application as a brand of car. Think of your Department as a particular vehicle. The Project Summary View is the dashboard of that vehicle. It lets you monitor your car’s performance and the state of its various internal systems at a glance. It also gives you instant access to what’s under the hood.

The four buttons at the upper left of the Project Summary View screen – Short, List, Detail, and Tab - give managers and team members a choice of how minutely they want to monitor their Department’s activity.

SHORT is the jump-in-and-get-to-work view. It shows you what’s going on without going into detail. View, Edit, View Task, and View Problem icons attached to each Project let you navigate quickly to exactly the place you want to be to find the information you need or to make necessary changes to a particular Project.

LIST is the global Project Summary View. It allows you to quickly see the state of Projects relative to one another. Providing at-a-glance information about project status, time frame, complexity, and number of outstanding issues, the Project Summary View helps managers and others get the big picture.

DETAIL offers a narrative view of projects, displaying the Project Description (definition) in addition to quantifiable information.

TAB is the search results page like view. It displays the project name, description, status, project manager, and its start date.

Whichever view you choose, IcTracker provides both icons and hypertext links to take you exactly where you need to go next to work efficiently.

The drop down STATUS menu, the ADD, SEARCH, and PRINT buttons appear in all views, giving you instant access to these functions.

How to enter a new Project

1. Access the New Project page one of two ways:

· On the Toolbar, click New, then click Project.

· On the Project Summary View page, click the New Project icon.

2. Use the Project Name field to give your project a working title. The best project names are either catchy and memorable (for example, Whistler for pre-release versions of Windows XP) or self-explanatory (New Operating System).

3. Select the Project Manager from the drop down menu.

4. Select the appropriate Status from the drop down menu.

5. On the Project Staff menu, highlight the names of all staff members who will take part in your project. (To highlight, hold down the left hand button on your mouse. To select non-contiguous names, hold down the control key and click on the desired name(s).)

All Project Staff must be selected from this menu. If a desired staff member does not appear on the list, contact your IcTracker Administrator and request that his or her name be added to your Department.

6. Enter the Project Start Date. (A calendar window will appear to assist you.)

7. Enter the Project End Date. Even if you don’t have a defined deadline, specifying an end date helps a team to direct its energies. (A calendar window will appear to assist you.)

8. In the Project Description field, take the time to define your Project as clearly as possible.

9. In the Project Scope field, enter a concise and accurate description of the end products or deliverables to be expected from the project and that meet specified requirements as agreed between the project’s stakeholders.

10. In the Goals & Objectives field, enter statements that describe what the project will accomplish, or the business value the project will achieve.

If you need more room in this or other text fields, click Preferences on the IcTracker Toolbar. At the top of the General Preferences screen, click the Text Editor tab. On the Text Editor screen, enter the number of lines of text you wish to allow in each specified field.

11. In the Project Costs section, enter the following project cost fields:

· Estimated Cost - Specify the estimated work or duration for tasks and assign resources to the tasks to calculate the total estimated costs for the project.

· Actual Cost – cost that has actually been incurred to date.

· Cost Variance – difference between the estimated cost and actual cost.

· Estimated Billing

· Actual Billing

· Actual Labor Cost

12. Click the Save button.

How to update an existing Project

1. On the Toolbar menu, click Edit/View. This produces the IcTracker Edit/View page.

2. To Select the Project you wish to edit, click View All Projects. The Project Summary View screen will appear. Click the Project you wish to edit. This will be displayed on the Edit/View screen as Current Project.

3. Click Edit Current Project. This accesses the IcTracker Edit Project screen.

4. Use the Edit Project screen to update, add, and delete information about your Project.

Use the navigation buttons at the top and bottom of the screen to make changes, send alerts to project staff members, access project details, print and cancel.

Use the Notes, Documents, Sites, Emails, and Summary buttons at the top of the screen to view and edit these functions.

Use the arrows at the top right of the screen to change the Project you are editing. (Project sequence here reflects position on Project Summary View page.)

5. Enter your changes and click Save. To alert all project staff members of your edits, click Save and Email.

How to add a Site to a Project

1. On the toolbar, click Edit/View. Click Projects. The Project Summary View is displayed.

2. Click the name of the Project you want to work with. The Edit Project form is displayed.

3. From the buttons at the top of the form, select Sites. The Project Sites screen is displayed.

4. Click the Add Site button. The Add Site form is displayed.

5. Fill in all fields marked with red asterisks.

· Site Name: enter a working name for the site

· Site Location (URL): use the drop down menu to choose site type (e.g. http, https, ftp). Then type or paste in the rest of the site address in the Site Location box. (To make sure you’ve entered the URL correctly, click the Launch button to the right of the Site Location box. If entered correctly, the site will open in a pop-up window.)

· Company name: enter the name of the company or organization that authored the site.

· Site Category: From the drop down menu, select the appropriate category. (Note that categories are added, edited, and deleted by your icTracker Administrator and can be customized for your work group.)

· Site Description: use this field to make notes for yourself or other Project staff about this
Web site.

6. Click the Save button. After the site is added, the Project Sites screen is displayed. The newly added site will now appear on this screen. Use the navigation buttons on this screen to move freely through icTracker.

How to send an email to Project Members

1. On the toolbar, click Edit/View. Click Projects. The Project Summary View is displayed.

2. Click the name of the Project you want to work with. The View Project form is displayed.

3. From the buttons at the top of the form, select Emails tab. The Project Emails screen is displayed.

4. Click on New Email button. The Project Email page is displayed.

5. Enter your email information in the appropriate field:

· To: Type the recipient’s e-mail address, or select a name from the Quick Email List. If you are sending the message to more than one person, separate the addresses with a comma. To select names of staff outside of your current project, click on Show All button. The Project Staff Contacts list page is displayed. Click on the Department Staff or Company Staff to select persons outside of your current project.

· CC: Copy your message to someone else using the Cc option.

· Bcc: Blink copy your message to someone else using the Bcc option.

· Subject: Type a brief description of the message.

· Message:

6. Click Send Email button to send. After your email is sent, the Project Email Sent confirmation screen is displayed. The newly sent email can be viewed by clicking on the View Emails button.

View Project Summary

1. On the Toolbar menu, click Edit/View.

2. On the Edit/View screen, click View All Projects. The Project Summary View page is displayed.

3. Find the name of the Project you wish to view summary for and click on the Summary button.

4. Project Summary page (shown in next page) is displayed.

The Project Summary page provides the following information about a project:

· Project Task Summary showing the number of tasks categorized by each task status and task priority.

· Task Status Vs Assigned Chart shows the number of tasks assigned to each person by the task status.

· Project Problem Summary showing the number of problems categorized by each problem status and problem priority.

· Problem Status Vs Assigned Chart shows the number of problems (issues) assigned to each person by the problem status.

How to delete an existing Project

1. On the Toolbar menu, click Edit/View.

2. On the Edit/View screen, click View All Projects. The Project Summary View page is displayed.

3. Find the name of the Project you wish to delete. Click the View icon, or the View button at the bottom of the screen. The View Project form is displayed.

4. Click the Delete button at the top of the View Project screen.

5. A dialog box will ask if you want to permanently delete this project. Click OK.

(Note that deleting a project eliminates all record of that project from IcTracker. The View Project screen is the only location from which a project can be permanently deleted. A project can be closed or suspended using the Status drop down menu. This preserves Project records in the system.)

How to Search for Projects

1. On the Toolbar, click Search, then click Projects. If you are on the Project Summary View page, simply click the SEARCH button. In either case, the Project Search form is displayed.

2. Enter your search argument(s) in the appropriate field:

· Project ID. Search by Project ID number.

· Project Name. Search by a specific project name, or a word as part of the project name you are searching.

· Project Status. Select the desired Status from the drop down list, e.g. search for all Open Projects.

· Project Manager. Select the desired Manager from the drop down list.

· Project Staff. Select the desired staff member(s) from the drop down list.

· Project Priority. Select the desired project priority from the drop down list.

· Project Type. Select the desired project type from the drop down list.

· Project Start Date range. Use the calendar windows to specify the desired date range.

· Project End Date Range. Use the calendar windows to specify the desired end date range.

· All Texts. Enter keyword(s) to search against all project text fields.

· Project Text Fields (Project Description, Project Scope, Goals and Objectives). Enter keyword(s) to search against any of these text fields.

· Click the SEARCH button. The Project Search Result form displays projects matching your search criteria. Use the icons on the Project Search Result form to View Project, View Tasks, or View Problems. Click the Edit icon to update Project information.

How to print a Project Report

Sometimes you need a hard copy record of your team’s work. Sometimes you simply want to work offline. You can print a comprehensive Project Report for these and other uses.

1. On the Project Summary View, find the Project you want to work with. Among the icons to the right of the Project entry, find the one that looks like papers. This is the Report icon. Click it. The Project Report appears in a pop-up window. Note that you can also access the Project Report from the Project Detail form, using the same Report icon.

The Project Report is an all-in-one-place overview of everything associated with the Project—staff, goals, dates, tasks, problems, fixes, sites, documents. In the web view, all information is hyperlinked.

1. On your browser bar, go to the File button. From the drop down menu, select Print.

2. To return to icTracker, simply close the Project Report window.

How to save/print a Project Summary as an Excel spreadsheet

1. On the Project Summary View form, select the View (Short,List, Detail) you want to print or save.

2. At the Action prompt at the top left of the form, click PRINT TO EXCEL. A File Download dialog box is displayed.

3. If you want to save the form as an .XLS file, click Save and follow the usual file download procedures. If you want to print the file, click Open. The Project Summary View form is displayed as an Excel spreadsheet.

4. On your browser menu, click File. On the drop down menu, click Page Setup. At Orientation, click Landscape.

5. Before printing, make sure cells are large enough to display all text.

6. Click Print.

How to print a Project Summary page without Excel

1. On the Project Summary View page, select the Detail View.

2. On the toolbar at the top of your browser window, select File. From the drop down menu, select Print. The Print preferences screen is displayed.

3. In the Print frames panel, click Only the selected frame. Click OK.

Working with Tasks

Once your Project is set up in IcTracker, you need to identify the discrete Tasks that have to be performed in order to complete the Project successfully.

Any member of a Project staff is entitled to enter a New Task. If your name, or another Project member’s name does not appear on Originator and Assigned to lists, contact your Administrator and request that it be added.

How to enter a new task

1. On the IcTracker Toolbar, click New. On the IcTracker New screen, click Task. The New Task form is displayed.

Note that the line just below the Task Detail tab title shows your name, your Department, and the current Project Name.

2. Note that much of the work of entering a New Task is done using drop down menus. Note also that you must complete the fields marked with red asterisks (*) to create a valid New Task.

This is the information you need to enter:

1. Task Name. Give your Task a brief descriptive title.

2. Originator. Select from drop list of project staff members.

3. Task Priority. Select from pre-defined values.

4. Task Status. Select from pre-defined values.

5. Assigned to. Select the party responsible for this task from the drop down list of project staff members.

6. Start and Due dates. Enter these using the calendar windows provided.

7. Related Task ID. If there is a related task, enter its task ID or click on the Related Task ID link to select the task.

8. Related Problem ID. If there is a related problem to this task, enter its problem ID or click on the Related Problem ID link to select the problem.

9. Task Category. Choose a category from the drop down menu.

10. % Completion. Estimate how far along your team is.

11. Original Estimate. Estimate how many hours it takes to complete the task.

12. Current Estimate. Enter how many hours spent of the task.

13. Task Description. Describe the new task as clearly and simply as possible in this text field. (The number of lines of text you’re able to enter can be adjusted at toolbar / preferences / texteditor / task description lines. Remember to click SAVE before exiting this screen.)

3. When you have entered all necessary information, click SAVE. IcTracker will save your Task and proceed to the View Task page. You will not be able to add Documents or Sites to the Task until it has been saved.

If you have Automatic Email Notification option set to Yes in your General Preferences, icTracker will send an email to the person assigned to the task.

4. From the View Task page, you will be able to see task detail as well as task notes and task emails. You can also add Documents, Sites, and Sub-tasks from the View Task page.

Use the Notes, Documents, Sites, Sub-Tasks, Emails, and History buttons at the top of the screen to view and edit these functions. Use the Navigation buttons at the top right of the screen to change the Task you are editing. (Task sequence here reflects position on Task Summary View page).

How to update an existing task

1. On the Toolbar, click Edit/View. Then click Tasks. The Task Summary View is displayed.

2. Find the task you wish to update, and click the Edit icon on the upper right hand side of the Task entry. (Second in the icon sequence, it resembles a piece of paper.) The Edit Task form is displayed.

3. Use this form to add Documents, Sites, and Sub-tasks to the Task, as well as to send email to Task staff. SAVE before exiting.

How to add a Site to a Task

1. On the toolbar, click Edit/View. Click Tasks. The Task Summary View is displayed.

2. Click the name of the Task you want to work with. The View Task form is displayed.

3. From the buttons at the top of the form, select Sites. The Task Sites screen is displayed.

4. Click the Add Site button. The Add Task Site form is displayed.

5. Fill in all fields marked with red asterisks.

a. Site Name: enter a working name for the site

b. Site Location (URL): use the drop down menu to choose site type (e.g. http, https, ftp). Then type or paste in the rest of the site address in the Site Location box. (To make sure you’ve entered the URL correctly, click the Launch button to the right of the Site Location box. If entered correctly, the site will open in a pop-up window as shown here for the Expedia.com site.)

c. Company name: enter the name of the company or organization that authored the site.

d. Site Category: From the drop down menu, select the appropriate category. (Note that categories are added, edited, and deleted by your icTracker Administrator and can be customized for your work group.)

e. Site Description: use this field to make notes for yourself or other Task staff about this
Web site.

6. Click the Add Site button. After the site is added, the Task Sites screen is displayed. The newly added site will now appear on this screen. Use the navigation buttons on this screen to move freely through icTracker.

How to delete an existing Task

1. On the Toolbar, click Edit/View. Click on Tasks. The Task Summary View form is displayed.

2. Find the Task you want to delete. Click the View icon (a magnifying glass) on the upper right of the task entry. The View Task form is displayed.

3. Click the DELETE button at the bottom of the screen

4. A dialog box is displayed—Is it OK to permanently delete this task? Click OK.

How to search for Tasks

1. On the Toolbar, click Search, then click Tasks. The Task Search form is displayed.

2. Enter your search argument(s) in the appropriate field:

· Task ID. Search by Task ID number.

· Project Name. Select the desired Project Name from the drop down list.

· Task Name. Search by a specific name, or use keyword(s).

· Task Originator. Select the desired Originator from the drop down list.

· Assigned to. Select the desired staff member(s) from the drop down list.

· Task Priority. Select one or more task priorities from the list.

· Task Status. Select one or more task statuses from the list.

· Task Category. Select the desired task category from the drop down list.

· Task Start Date range. Use the calendar windows to specify the desired date range.

· Task Due Date Range. Use the calendar windows to specify the desired end date range.

· Completion Date range. Use the calendar window to specify completion date range.

· All Texts. Enter keyword(s) to search against all task text fields.

· Task Text Fields (Task Description, Task Comment, and Task Name). Enter keyword(s) to search against any of these text fields.

3. Click the SEARCH button. The Task Search Result form displays tasks matching your Search criteria. Use the icons on this form to View or Edit identified tasks.

How to print a Task Report

Sometimes you need a hard copy record of your team’s work. Sometimes you simply want to work offline. You can print a comprehensive Task Report for these and other uses.

1. On the Task Summary View, find the Task you want to work with. Among the icons to the right of the Task entry, find the one that looks like papers. This is the Report icon. Click it. The Task Report appears in a pop-up window.

Note that you can also access a Task Report from the Task Detail page, by clicking the Report icon.

2. The Task Report is an all-in-one-place overview of everything associated with the Task—originator, assignment, descriptions progress reports, due dates, sub-tasks, sites and documents. In the web view, all information is hyperlinked.

3. On your browser bar, go to the File button. From the drop down menu, select Print.

4. To return to icTracker, simply close the Task Report window.

Note: For hard copy of all Tasks associated with a Project, print a Project Report.

How to save/print the task summary as an Excel spreadsheet

1. On the Task Summary View form, select the view (short, list, detail) you want to print or save.

2. At the Action prompt at the top left of the form, click PRINT TO EXCEL. A File Download dialog box is displayed.

3. If you want to save the form as an .XLS file, click Save and follow the usual file download procedures. If you want to print the file, click Open. The Task Summary View form is displayed as an Excel spreadsheet.

4. On your browser menu, click File. On the drop down menu, click Page Setup. AT Orientation, click Landscape.

5. Make sure cells are large enough to display all text.

6. Click Print.

How to print a Task Summary page without Excel

1. On the Task Summary View page, select the Detail View.

2. On the toolbar at the top of your browser window, select File. From the drop down menu, select Print. The Print screen is displayed.

3. In the Print frames panel, click Only the selected frame. Click OK.

Working with Sub-Task

Sub-tasks are usually used to split up a parent task into a number of sub-tasks which can be assigned and tracked separately.

How to add a Sub-task to a Task

1. On the toolbar, click Edit/View. Click Tasks. The Task Summary View is displayed.

2. Click the name of the Task you want to work with. The View Task form is displayed.

3. From the buttons at the top of the form, select Sub-Tasks tab. The Sub-Tasks screen is displayed.

4. Click on the Add Sub-task button. The New Sub-Task form is displayed.

5. Fill in all fields marked with red asterisks.

· Sub-task Title: Give your Sub-Task a brief descriptive title.

· Description: Enter description of your sub-task.

· Comment: Enter additional comments.

· Originator: Select from drop list of project staff members.

· Assigned To: Select the party responsible for this sub-task from the drop down list of project staff members.

· Status: Select from pre-defined values.

When you have entered all necessary information, click SAVE. IcTracker will save your sub-task and proceed to the View Sub-Tasks page is displayed. You can click on Save and Add Another button to add a new sub-task.

Working with Problems

While Projects and Tasks are matters of planning and intention, Problems (issues, bugs) are unforeseen errors, defects, or circumstances that produce negative impacts or incorrect results. Their speedy resolution depends on how carefully they are reported and how clearly they are analyzed. When entering Problems in IcTracker, be as thorough as possible in your description of the circumstances that produced the problem and how it manifested itself.

How to enter a new Problem

1. On the toolbar, click New, then click Problem. The New Problem form is displayed.

2. Note that much of the work of entering a New Problem in IcTracker is done using drop down menus. Note also that all fields marked with a red asterisk (*) must be filled in to create a valid New Problem.

This is the information you need to enter:

· Project Name. Select from drop down list of projects in your department.

· Originator. Select from drop list of project staff members.

· Priority. Select from pre-defined values.

· Status. Select from pre-defined values.

· Assigned to. Select the party who will be responsible for solving this problem from the drop down list of project staff members.

· Open date. Enter this using the calendar windows provided.

· Original Version. Enter the version number in which this problem was found.

· Related Problem ID. If there is a related problem, enter its problem ID or click on the Related Problem ID link to select the problem.

· Related Task ID. If there is a related task, enter its task ID or click on the Related Task ID link to select the task.

· Description. Describe the problem as clearly and simply as possible in this text field. Include error messages. (The number of lines of text you’re able to enter can be adjusted at toolbar / preferences / texteditor / problem description lines. Remember to click SAVE before exiting this screen.)

· Recommendation. Enter your proposed solution in this field.

3. Click SAVE. This not only saves the information on the New Problem form, it sends email to the person you assigned to resolve the problem.

How to update an existing Problem

1. On the Toolbar, click Edit/View, then click Problems. The Problem Summary View form is displayed.

2. Find the name of the problem you want to update, then click the Edit (bug) icon to the right of the name. The Edit Problem form is displayed.

3. Make the changes you want, then click Save. If you are reporting the resolution of the Problem, click Save and Email to alert the Problem Originator of your actions.

How to add a Site to a Problem

1. On the toolbar, click Edit/View. Click Problems. The Problem Summary View is displayed.

2. Click the number of the Problem you want to work with. The Edit Problem form is displayed. From the buttons at the top of the form, select Sites. The Problem Sites screen is displayed.

3. Click the Add Site button. The Add Site form is displayed.

4. Fill in all fields marked with red asterisks.

· Site Name. Enter a working name for the site

· Site Location (URL). Use the drop down menu to choose site type (e.g. http, https, ftp). Then type or paste in the rest of the site address in the Site Location box. (To make sure you’ve entered the URL correctly, click the Launch button to the right of the Site Location box. If entered correctly, the site will open in a pop-up window.)

· Company name. Enter the name of the company or organization that authored the site.

· Site Category. From the drop down menu, select the appropriate category. (Note that categories are added, edited, and deleted by your icTracker Administrator and can be customized for your work group.)

· Site Description. Use this field to make notes for yourself or other Task staff about this
Web site.

5. Click the Add Site button. After the site is added, the Problem Sites screen is displayed. The newly added site will now appear on this screen. Use the navigation buttons on this screen to move freely through icTracker.

How to delete an existing Problem

1. On the Toolbar, click Edit/View, then click Problems. The Problem Summary View form is displayed.

2. Find the name of the problem you want to delete, and click the View icon to the left of the name. The View Problem form is displayed.

3. Click the DELETE button at the top of the form.

How to search for Problems

1. On the Toolbar, click Search, then click Problems. The Problem Search form is displayed.

2. Note that most Search Arguments are pre-defined and entered using drop down menus. (Your IcTracker Administrator can change pre-defined fields.) On the default Problem Search form, you can search by the following arguments:

· Problem ID # (assigned when a Problem is opened)

· Project Name

· Problem Opened Date Range

· Originator

· Problem Priority

· Problem Status

· Problem Fixed By

· Problem Fixed Date Range

· Problem Closed Date Range

· All Texts. Enter keyword(s) to search against all problem text fields.

· Problem Text Fields (Problem Description, Problem Recommendation, Problem Resolution). Enter keyword(s) to search against any of these text fields.

3. Select the information you want to search by and click Search. The Problem Search Result form is displayed.

4. To review all information entered about a Problem, click the View icon on the far left of the entry.

To make changes to a Problem, click the Edit icon on the left of the entry.

How to print a Problem (Bug) Report

Sometimes you need a hard copy record of your team’s work. Sometimes you simply want to work offline. You can print a comprehensive Problem Report for these and other uses.

1. On the Problem Summary View, find the Problem you want to work with. Among the icons to the right of the Project entry, find the one that looks like papers. This is the Report icon. Click it. The Bug Report appears in a pop-up window. Note that you can also access the Problem Report from the Problem Detail page, using the Report icon.

The Bug Report is an all-in-one-place overview of everything associated with the Bug originator, assignment, description, progress reports, fixed and closed dates, sites and documents. In the web view, all information is hyperlinked.

2. On your browser bar, go to the File button. From the drop down menu, select Print.

3. To return to icTracker, simply close the Problem Report window.

Note: For hard copy of all Problems (Bugs) associated with a specific Project, print the Project Report.

How to print/save the Problem Summary as an Excel Spreadsheet

1. On the Problem Summary View form, select the view (short, list, detail) you want to print or save.

2. At the Action prompt at the top left of the form, click PRINT TO EXCEL. A File Download dialog box is displayed.

3. If you want to save the form as an .XLS file, click Save and follow the usual file download procedures. If you want to print the file, click Open. The Problem Summary View form is displayed as an Excel spreadsheet.

4. On your browser menu, click File. On the drop down menu, click Page Setup. AT Orientation, click Landscape.

5. Check to make sure that the excel cells are large enough to display all text.

6. Click Print.

Working with Documents

Most Projects have two distinct parts—process and product. IcTracker’s Document Manager lets you save and share both. Whether the format is email, image, web page, spreadsheet or text, you can attach all files related to your Project as Documents, store them in your database, and share them among all stakeholders on your staff. Because IcTracker stores documents as their native file type, it’s able to piggyback on the sharing and versioning features in the application of origin, giving users all the functionality without the footprint.

Documents can be viewed, added, edited, and deleted from multiple locations in IcTracker. The Categories of documents your workgroup uses are created and maintained by the IcTracker administrator. See the Administrator’s Guide for details.

How to add a new document

1. On the Toolbar, click the Edit/View folder, then click the category—Project, Task, or Problem—you want to work with. The appropriate Summary View Form is displayed.

2. Find the name of the Project (Task, or Problem) you wish to work with, then click the Project (Task, or Problem) Documents icon corresponding to it. The Document Summary by Project (Task, or Problem) form is displayed.

3. Make sure the drop down menu at the top of the form displays the Project (Task, or Problem) you want to work with. Then click the Add Document button.

4. In the designated fields, type in the title of your Document and any comments you want to share with your workgroup.

5. To access the file (Document) you wish to add, click Browse. A Windows Choose File box is displayed.

6. In the Choose File box, find the file (Document) you want to add to IcTracker and click Open. The selected file name and path is displayed on the Add Document form.

7. Click the Add Document button to save your selected file in IcTracker. The Document Summary by Projects (Tasks, or Problems) form is displayed, with the new document added to the list.

How to open a stored document

1. On the Project (Task, or Problem) Summary View form, select the Project (etc.) you wish to work with, and click the Documents icon. The Document Summary form is displayed.

2. From the drop down menu at the top left of the form, select the name of the Project you wish to work with. All the documents associated with that project are displayed.

3. Find the title of the document you want to open. Click the Open icon to the left of the document title.

A File Download dialog box is displayed. Click Open.

Note that if the application of origin is loaded on your computer, the document opens in that application. Use the infrastructure of the parent application to close the document when you are through using it. If the parent application is not installed on your computer, use the Escape button at the top left of your keyboard to close the document.

How to update an existing document

1. On the Project (Task, or Problem) Summary View form, select the Project (etc.) you wish to work with, and click the Documents icon. The Document Summary form is displayed.

2. From the drop down menu at the top left of the form, select the name of the Project you wish to work with. All the documents associated with that project are displayed.

3. Find the title of the document you wish to update and click the Update icon to its left. The Update Document form is displayed. You can enter new information about the document on this form.

4. Make the desired changes and click the Save button. This saves changes made to the update document form.

5. To update the saved document itself, open the document, make desired changes, then upload the edited document using the Browse bar on the Update Document form.

How to delete an existing document

2. From the drop down menu at the top left of the form, select the name of the Project you wish to work with. All the documents associated with that project are displayed.

3. Find the title of the document you wish to delete and click the Update icon to its left. The Update Document form is displayed.

4. Click the Delete button at the bottom of the form.

How to search/review/update/open documents in IcTracker

1. On the Toolbar, click View Documents. The View Documents screen is displayed.

2. The View Document screen displays links to different views of IcTracker Documents:

3. All documents for the Department.

4. All documents added by current user.

· All documents defined by Projects. Click here to display the Document Summary by Project form. Use the drop down menu on the top left to select the project whose documents you wish to view, open, or modify.

· All documents defined by current project tasks. Click here to display the Document Summary by Task form. Use the drop down menu at the top left to select which current project task documents you wish to view, open or modify.

· View by Document Categories. The links here display Document Summary by Category forms. The Categories displayed are those established by your IcTracker administrator to match the needs of your company or workgroup—for example, Legal Document, Budget Report, Task-related Document. To learn how to create custom document categories, consult your IcTracker Administrator’s Guide.

5. On the selected Document Summary form, use the document-related links and icons to open, update, or modify the selected document. Note that these actions are fully explained in the Working with Documents section of this Guide.

6. Click the Search Documents button at the bottom of the View Documents screen to find desired documents using specific search criteria. The Document Search form is displayed.

7. Use this form to enter search arguments in any or all of these fields:

· Document Title

· Document Author

· Document Category

· Added by

· Comments

· File Name

8. Click Search. The Document Summary form displays search results. From this screen, you can open the document itself or the update document form.

Working with sites

Through Personal Site Manager, IcTracker users can maintain a personal catalog of Web sites that can be visited without exiting IcTracker or opening another browser window. Use this feature to save the URLs of sites you visit frequently for work or recreation. Note that Site Manager is an entirely personal feature; no other user can view your IcTracker Personal Site Manager.

How to manage sites with your icTracker Personal Site Manager

1. On the toolbar, click Site Manager, then select Site Manager on the menu that appears. The icTracker Personal Site Manager screen appears. Use the buttons to Rename, Delete, or Add a Site Folder. (Note that a Personal Site Folder designates a storage category for the personal sites you want to save. For example, you might add a site folder called Reference Tools to contain URLs of sites you visit regularly.)

2. To add a site folder, click Add Site Folder. The Create Folder screen appears.

3. On the Create Folder screen, enter the name of the new folder you wish to add. This folder now appears on your Personal Site Manager.

4. On the Personal Site Manager screen, click the name of the folder you want to work with. This opens the Personal Sites by Folder Name screen.

5. Click the Add Personal Site button at the top of the screen. The Add Personal Site screen appears.

6. In each field marked with a red asterisk, enter the requested information. When entering the Site Location (URL), use the drop down menu to select the appropriate address prefix (http, https, ftp, etc.) for the site type. Use the Site Description text field to enter your personal notes about the site.

7. To visit the site, click the Launch button that follows the Site Location box. The site will open in a pop-up window. Click the enlarge button in the upper right corner to expand the pop-up to full size. To close the site, use the X button at the upper right corner of the pop-up window. IcTracker will remain open in its own browser window.

8. To save the information you’ve entered about this site, click the Add Site button. The site now appears in the Personal Site Folder and on the View All Sites screen, accessed from the Site Manager.

9. To visit the site, click GO TO. To view the information you entered on the Add Site screen, click the edit icon or the site name.

Using Staff Contacts

Staff Contacts, accessed from the icTracker toolbar, is your work related address book. It sorts your contacts according to your association with them:

Project Staff. Displays contact information for all current Project staff members.
Department Staff. Displays contact information for all current Department members.
Company Staff. Displays contact information for all current Company employees.

To send email from any of these Staff Contact views, simply click the email address of the staff member you want to contact.

Setting your preferences

IcTracker allows Users to personalize many program features to match their own working styles. On the Toolbar, click Preferences. The General Preferences screen is displayed.

1. Click the General tab to enter the following choices:

Current Project. Use this drop down menu to choose the Project to which you’re currently assigned.
Number of Results. Use this box to choose how many search results you want displayed per page, up to a maximum of ten.
Toolbar Position. Choose the position of toolbar. This option is automatically set whenever you click on the Switch toolbar menu item.
Project Status Code/Problem Status Code/Task Status Code. These boxes allow you to select the default setting for each of these fields; whichever code you select will determine what is shown on your corresponding Summary View screens.

Note: If you want your Summary View screens to display ALL Projects, Tasks, or Problems, leave this field blank.

Automatic Email Notification. Click yes if you want IcTracker to send an automatic email alert to the person to whom you have assigned a Task or a Problem.
Project Status Automatic Email Notification. Click yes if you want icTracker to notify all assigned project team members when there is a project status change.
View Home Page Summary. Click yes if you would like a Department and Project Summary to always appear on your Home Page.
Summary View Type. Choose the default view for your Project, Task, and Problem Summary View screens. For a discussion of these Views, click here.
Detail View Font Size. Choose the font size for these text-heavy screens.
Initial Display Page. Choose which information is automatically displayed when you login to IcTracker. (The IcTracker Home Page gives a global view of activity within the application. The Project Summary View offers granular information about the Project to which you are currently assigned.)
Automatically Open Menu Page. Click yes if you want icTracker to open Menu Page when toolbar menu item is clicked. This option applies to the Toolbar on Left Position.

Remember to click the Save Preferences button at the top right or bottom left before leaving this screen.

2. To enter your text display preferences, Click the Text tab at the top of the My General Preferences screen. The Text Editor screen is displayed. Use the boxes on this screen to enter manually how many lines of text you would like IcTracker to display by default in each of these fields:

Project Description
Project Scope
Project Goals & Objectives
Problem Description
Problem Recommendation
Problem Resolution
Task Description
Task Notes
Task Comment

Use this screen to make adjustments to text field size as needed.

Remember to click the Save Preferences button at the top right or bottom left before leaving this screen.

3. To choose the Background Image IcTracker displays on your Home Page and your Login Page, click the Background Image tab at the top of the My General Preferences screen. The drop down menus allow you to preview the images IcTracker makes available by default. Choose the images you prefer, and click the Save Preferences button before exiting this screen.

4. To change your password, click the Change Password at the top of the My General Preferences screen. Fill in the fields on the change password form, then click Save.

To Report a Problem

IcTracker provides free troubleshooting and support to Registered Users.

The fastest way to get a response to your query is to email support@ic-soft.com. For the most accurate assistance, please provide as much of the following information as you are able to compile.

Web Server Operating System Version (Windows 2003, 2000 or NT 4.0 & Service Pack)
Internet Browser Version
What you were doing when the problem occurred
What you expected to happen
What really happened
The exact wording of any messages that appear on your computer screen
A screenshot of the browser page, with error message, if available
Instructions on how to reproduce this problem

(Even if you don’t have all this information, we’ll try to help anyway.)

To contact IC Soft by phone:	1 (925) 254-2731
To contact IC Soft by Fax:	1 (925) 253-1574
To contact IC Soft by mail:	IC Soft, Inc. 21C Orinda Way, # 332 Orinda, CA USA
To contact our Webmaster:	webmaster@IC-soft.com

All of this information is also available by clicking Help on the IcTracker Toolbar.