Issue Tracking Systems

Masaryk university

Faculty of Informatics



Issue Tracking Systems

Diploma Thesis
Jiří Janák

Brno, spring 2009

Declaration
I, hereby declare that this paper is my original authorial work, which I have worked out on my own. All sources, references, and literature used or excerpted during the elaboration of this work are properly cited and listed in complete reference to the due source.

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Advisor

RNDr. Jan Pavlovič

Abstract
There have been many applications oriented around controlling and tracing the lifecycle of project, tasks, and requirements. In the beginning of this work, the author provides an introduction into the problematic of the above-mentioned tracing, mentioning also software development methods and how they relate to this theme.
In the second part of the work, the currently most popular tools for issue / bug tracking will be examined and then the reader will get acquainted with the possibility of their integration into development environments.
In the last chapter, the development of plug-in for NetBeans IDE is presented, which would make it easier for developers to use advantages of the JIRA tracking system.

Keywords

Configuration management, Requirements management, Issue tracking, Bug tracking, CMMI, Bugzilla, CodeBeamer, Rational ClearQuest, JIRA, Trac, Mylyn, Cube°n, NetBeans IDE.

Contents

1Introduction 5

2Modern issue tracking 7

2.1Issue/Requirement tracking systems 7

2.1.1What should issue tracking systems do? 7

2.1.2Way of collecting change requests 7

2.1.3Benefits of using issue tracking systems 8

2.2Change requests 8

2.2.1Composition of a Change request 8

2.2.2Change request types 9

2.2.3Change request workflow 10

2.2.4Issue reporting best practices 12

2.3Quality metrics & Issue tracking 16

2.3.1Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) 16

2.3.2ISO standards (concerned with software development) 22

2.3.3Issue tracking role within CMMI and ISO standards 24

3Tracking systems overview 27

3.1Bugzilla 28

3.2CodeBeamer 35

3.3IBM Rational ClearQuest 41

3.4Trac 48

3.5JIRA 54

3.5.1GreenHopper plug-in for JIRA 61

3.5.2Atlassian Bamboo 66

3.5.3Atlassian Crucible 67

3.5.4Atlassian FishEye 69

3.6Head to head comparison 70

4Tracking systems IDE integration 72

4.1Mylyn 73

4.2Cube°n 80

4.3CodeBeamer ALM plug-in 83

4.4Atlassian IDE Connector 87

5Atlassian NetBeans Connector 93

5.1Specification & Design 93

5.2Deployment & Configuration 96

5.3Conclusion 97

6Conclusion 98

Bibliography 99

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Screen shots

1Introduction

“Every program contains at least one bug, and can be reduced in length by at least one instruction.”

-- Old programmer’s bible Chapter 211 Verse 20-21
Change is a constant feature of software development. All projects have their main objective to change something. A system or its parts are upgraded, fixed, or replaced, presumably to provide better or greater functionality, ease of use, reduction of operating expenses, etc.; however, change is not universally benign and must be controlled in its introduction to a project. If not properly handled, change can slip the schedule, affect the quality, and even kill the project. As a project draws closer to its completion, the impacts of change are more severe. Clearly, a mechanism is needed to control change.
A part of the overall change management approach is called Configuration Management. Configuration Management is the process of controlling and documenting change to a developing system. As the size of an effort increases, so does the necessity of implementing effective Configuration Management. It allows large teams to work together in a stable environment, while still providing the flexibility required for creative work.
The key part of Configuration Management is Requirements Management. Requirements Management involves establishing and maintaining agreement between customer and developer on both technical and non-technical requirements. This agreement forms the basis for estimating, planning, performing, and tracking project activities throughout the project and for maintaining and enhancing developed software. Key activities include:

• 
  planning the requirements phase
  
• 
  establishing the requirements process
  
• 
  controlling requirements changes
  
• 
  minimizing the addition of new requirements (scope creep)
  
• 
  tracking progress
  
• 
  resolving issues with customers and developers
  
• 
  holding requirements reviews
  

[MIT-LUD] [MIT-PRF] [MIT-WIK2]

This work is concerned with software tools used in Requirements Management. They are called in many ways: Issue Tracking Systems, Trouble Tracking Systems, Bug Tracking Systems, Requirements Tracking Systems, etc.; however, their purpose remains the same: collecting requirements, their management, and tracking their progress.
In the beginning of this work, the author provides an introduction into the problematic of the above-mentioned tracing. There, the lifecycle of the requirement and roles involved in this lifecycle will be explained. One of the goals of this part should also be to explain the importance of issue tracking. The end of the chapter takes a look at development and management methods like CMMI and ISO standards (which can also be used as metrics of development quality) and how they relate to this theme.
In the second and third parts of this work, the most popular tools today for issue / bug tracking will be examined and then the reader will get acquainted with the possibility of their integration into development environments.
In the last chapter, the development of plug-in for NetBeans IDE is presented, which would make it easier for developers to use the advantages of JIRA tracking system.