This page describes the proposed process for tracking openIMIS issues. This process is divided in two parts:
- Capture issues and requests from users and the wider community through a dedicated portal (service desk)
- Log and track software development issues
Service desk
The service desk is the entry point for general questions and requests on openIMIS.
1. Making a request
In order to submit a requests, a "customer" has to register (by providing and email and password) to the service desk, this allows for a more personalised service: The customer can then log in and follow his/her requests' activity. Anyone can register.
Once logged in the customer should start by searching the openIMIS knowledge base for documentation related to the current inquiry.
If the above search does not return any satisfactory result, the customer can raise one of the following request:
- Question about openIMIS
- Raise a bug
- Request a new feature
2. Handling the request
The dedicated Service Desk Team receives all requests sent by customers via an admin portal. The role of this team is to sort, assign, categorise, and act on the request in order to provide support to the customer. The team is composed of agents.
The process is as follows:
- Any new request comes in with the status "Waiting for support".
- An agent picks up the new request and assigns it to a member of the team. The request's status is then "In progress".
- The assignee can then act on the request in different ways:
- if more clarification is needed about the request -> send a response to the customer -> set request status to "Waiting for customer"
- if it the request can be fulfilled by the agent -> send a response to the customer -> set request status to "Resolved"
- if it is a request for a new feature -> send a response to the customer -> set request status to "Pending" until it is assessed by the openIMIS product committee
- if it is a bug (or an approved request for a new feature) -> send a response to the customer -> set request status to "In progress" -> create a linked issue in the Software development issues tracking project
Software development issues tracking
1. Raising an issue
Issues to be dealt with at technical / developer level can be initiated in two ways:
- via a service desk agent
- directly via the issue tracking portal (registered users only)
2. Acting on the issue
To begin with, all created issues are staged in a backlog. The product team then decides to allocate issues in "Sprints". Currently, the development methodology is not agile based, so sprints are not used. Instead, sprints will be used to define a time window to accomplish the work needed for a given release.
Developers and other technical users can then move issues to different status as work progresses via a board:
- To do: a developer needs to be assigned or take up this issue
- In development: the developer is currently working on this issue
- In testing: the work related to this issue is completed, and testing can start
- Done: once testing is signed off, this work is considered as done and will be reflected in the next code release