TestTrack includes built-in time tracking features that make it easy to manage estimates, get updates on actual and remaining effort, and gain insight from the data about project status. You can track and report on time for specific items or across all items in a project—all directly in TestTrack.

Before you configure time tracking, it is important to have a basic understanding of how it works, including the available data, how values are captured and calculated, and where you can view the data.

Available time tracking data

You can capture, group, and calculate the following time tracking data:

• Estimated hours—Approximate number of total hours it should take to complete an item.
• Actual hours—Actual number of hours it takes to complete an item.
• Remaining hours—Estimated number of hours needed to complete an item from its current state.

TestTrack also automatically calculates the following values based on estimated, actual, and remaining hours:

• Percent done—Percentage of work completed compared to the remaining hours reported.
• Variance—Difference between the number of actual hours and remaining hours compared to the estimated hours. A positive variance indicates an activity is taking more time to complete than the estimate and a negative variance indicates it is taking less time.

How values are captured and calculated

Time tracking values are captured in workflow event dialog boxes. When users enter a workflow event, such as providing an estimate to implement a feature, they can enter time spent on the item or the time needed to complete the item.

As items move through the workflow and users continue to enter time tracking values, TestTrack automatically calculates actual, estimated, and remaining hours totals. You can choose the field values used in totals for each category for each item type, such as defects, requirements, and test cases.

Note: Time tracking is configured in new TestTrack projects based on the default workflows. If you modify the default workflows, review the time tracking settings to make sure they are configured correctly. Information about the default time tracking configurations is available in the TestTrack User Guide.

Where time tracking data is displayed

Time tracking data is available in TestTrack list windows, reports, and the Work Items tab.

List windows

You can add columns to list windows to display time tracking values for each item. The Percent Complete column displays a graphical progress bar for each item. You can also display the totals for each column at the bottom of list windows.

Time tracking reports

Time tracking reports include information that helps with tracking and communicating actual work performed, organized by items or users.

Work Items tab

The Work Items tab in Add and Edit item dialog boxes displays workflow events with time tracking information. Variance information is also displayed on this tab.

How to configure time tracking

To get started with configuring time tracking, see Tips for Setting Up TestTrack Time Tracking. The TestTrack User Guide also provides help for setting up and using time tracking features.

Related posts:

1. TestTrack Workflow Tutorial
2. Pulling data from workflow events
3. Escalation Rules in TestTrack
4. Up for Grabs Assignments
5. Better Workflow Metrics in Grouping Reports