T E C H N I C A L B R I E F

PVCS® Tracker™ Web Interface

Overview

MERANT PVCS Tracker’s web browser interface extends the power of issuemanagement to teams around the globe. The web browser interface enables directcollection of customer feedback and provides immediate status.

PVCS Tracker’s web browser (“I-Net”) interface is enhanced with the release ofTracker 7.0. The latest enhancements provide a consistent user experience acrossPVCS Professional web browser interfaces. Performance improvements were alsoadded to the submit, update and query operations to promote greater efficiency whileworking remotely.

Other recent enhancements to Tracker’s web interface include the ability to attachfiles to change records (e.g. source code excerpts, problem descriptions, htmldocuments) and custom queries, as well as support for user-defined project terms,remove from in-tray, project secure log-in and flexible query-by-ID.

Web Browser Interface Capabilities

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PVCS Tracker is web-enabled, meaning that in addition to the Windows andTrackerLink™ interfaces, it can operate with web browsers across the Internet andintranets. You can use a browser from anywhere in the world to submit new changerequests, query and modify existing change requests, or manage the Tracker in-tray.

The benefits of using a web browser interface include:

Lower overhead, thin-client installation. To get started, a user needs only to install abrowser on the client desktop and surf to a Tracker web page. The Tracker programis centrally installed at the web server level, with centralized upgrade ability, and noODBC installation or maintenance at the client. A web interface also lowers trainingcosts because users are familiar with browser interface and web operation.

More users than ever can provide project input, allowing more complete capture oftechnical and business issues. With both anonymous submission of issues and named-user access, non-core team members can now provide direct issue input.

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• Project log-in – named users can log-in to any Internet-enabled Tracker project towhich they normally have access. Tracker also supports a unique “anonymous”user log-in, which can provide anyone with access to the URL the ability to submitan issue to Tracker directly. An “I-NET Administration” dialogue allows projectadministrators to enable and configure projects for web browser access.

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• View and update In-Tray – Users can view their in-tray, as well as remove itemsfrom their in-tray that they have addressed.

Figure 1: Tracker’s web browser In-Tray highlights key issues to a user.

• Submit and update records – Users can submit new issues, as well as updateexisting records, via the web browser interface. User permissions follow the samerules as the Windows client. (Anonymous submitters, a special case supported byPVCS Tracker, can only submit issues.)

Figure 2: Users can submit and update Tracker records via an easy browser interface.

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• Add/view/update notes – users can attach, remove, and view notes that areassociated with a Tracker record. These notes can use pre-defined titles, or usercreated. (Anonymous submit cannot add notes.)

Figure 3: Additional details for records can be added and updated as notes.

• Attach/remove/view files – new with Tracker 6.5, users can attach, remove andview any type of attached files (e.g. source code, html pages, graphic images, worddocuments, etc). (Anonymous submit cannot attach files.)

Figure 4: PVCS Tracker supports attaching files to records upon update of an SCR..

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• Run predefined queries – Tracker’s web interface provides access to predefinedshared and private stored queries, and allows viewing of the detailed results.Query-by-ID can also be enabled, either automatically or following userpermission (build query).

Figure 5: User can run queries, view summary results and view record details.

• Create, modify, execute, and save customized queries — web users can buildcustom queries to precisely filter project records to retrieve just the information ofinterest.

Figure 6: User can create, modify, and save custom queries for greater flexibility over the web.

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• Project customizable dictionary terms — Tracker web interface follows projectterms defined for records (e.g. such as WCR), In-Tray, and submit/updatefunctions.

Although major Tracker functions are provided through the web interface, somefeatures are not available. The following Windows-interface Tracker functions arenot supported through the browser interface: project administration (users, fieldvalues and so forth), import/export of Tracker data, notification and moduleassociations.

PVCS Metrics

PVCS Tracker also includes PVCS Metrics, a powerful web reporting tool. This toolenables a Windows-client user to generate and post reports and query results tospecified web pages. It can also create trend reports based on query counts over time,and can be setup to run at predefined intervals to automatically update the displayedresults. Anyone with access to the posted URL can view the results, providing animmediate snapshot of project status (dashboard indication) and of changes overtime.

Figure 7: PVCS Metrics enables automatic reporting from Tracker to the web for team visibility.

Tracker Web Browser Technology SupportedFor the latest systems requirements for PVCS Tracker, please go towww.merant.com. From there, select the “Products” icon, then “MERANT PVCS.”On the left column under “PVCS,” select “Tracker.” At the Tracker page, select“System Requirements.”

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Also available at authorized resellers.

With experience gained from supporting the entire Fortune 100, the majorityof the Global 500, hundreds of dotcoms and more than 5 million users atmore than 35,000 sites worldwide, MERANT is the global leader forEnterprise Application Development. MERANT expertise, best practices,technologies and industry partnerships combine to create Egility™ solutionsfor e-business development and data integration, as well as completeenterprise solutions for Internet commerce, from design throughimplementation. MERANT processes, people and products help companiescreate, transform, integrate and manage development and digital informationassets for fast, sustainable e-business success.

Copyright 2000 MERANT. All rights reserved.PVCS and Net Express are registeredtrademarks and PVCS Professional, PVCSVersion Manager, PVCS Tracker, andTrackerLink are trademarks of MERANT. Othertrademarks are the property of their respectiveowners.

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