Managing the backlog

The Backlog view enables you to access help desk issues and tasks from Agile Factory:

An issue is a management object that is used to ask for assistance, to request evolutions or to report bugs. Issues can be created directly by customers or internally.
A task represents an action that must be done to contribute in resolving an issue. A task can be assigned to a work group or to a specific employee. Employees can enter their time spent on tasks directly from the task section of an issue to save time. When a task is done, it is completed and the next task is created. This way, the issue's progress is managed internally using tasks.

The Backlog view displays all the context needed so that developers can easily process their tasks (corrective, maintenance, and so on.) without having to open the Desktop Application.

To access the Backlog view, click on the tab on the left of the Agile Factory's screen.

Searching for and filtering tasks

To access tasks, click on the Backlog tab. This screen displays all the tasks of the connected user or of a specific work group.

Searching for tasks

Two search fields are available at the top of the screen:

The first field, at the top right, can be used to search for all the existing tasks in the database. Fill in the number of the associated issue to display the relevant tasks. For a multi-field search, use the * character or add a space between the searched terms. This search does not take into account the other criteria or filters specified.

The second field, above the tasks list, can be used to filter the tasks displayed on the screen. Fill in the first letters of the task's type or label, the issue number, the associated customer, and so on.

Important

The partitioning by customer is checked for the results. If you are partitioned by customer:

Only the tasks for which you are partitioned on the issue's customer will be displayed.
From a hyperlink, you will be able to open the issue only if you are partitioned on its customer.

For more information about partitioning, refer to Restricting user access.

The tasks matching the search criteria are updated directly so it is easy to find the desired task.

From the top of the screen, it is also possible to narrow down the tasks displayed to easily find the desired one:

Field	Description
Assigned to	Select your tasks or a work group from the drop-down list to only display the tasks linked to the selection. Me - your tasks Other work groups - the tasks assigned to the selected work group
Pending	Displays the pending tasks.
Completed <=3 D	Displays the tasks completed during the last 3 days.
Completed <=3 M	Displays the tasks completed during the last 3 months.
Sort by	Select how the tasks are sorted from the drop-down list.

Filtering tasks

From the Backlog tab, click on

Filters.

The Filter results window opens.

In the window, check the relevant boxes for the filters that should be applied. You can combine as many filters as necessary.

Click Apply.

The tasks matching the specified filters are displayed. The other tasks are hidden. The filters applied are kept until they are modified or deleted.

To delete the filters applied, click on Filters then Remove filters.

Description of the task form

Click on a task from the list in the Backlog tab to display the task's detailed form. Click on to expand the form and on to collapse it.

A task form is made up of two parts:

The first part shows the task's context with all the information from the associated issue: the issue's title and number, its description, the customer response, the internal and visible information, the linked documents. This information cannot be modified.
The second part contains the fields that the user must fill in to process the task:

Field

Description

Tags

Tags allows you to categorize the issues and are setup from the Desktop Application.

Adding a tag to the issue

In the Tags field, fill in the first characters of the desired tag.

Tip

Press F2 from the Tags field to open the list of all tags available for issues.

The list of tags matching the search opens. This list only displays the tags with the Helpdesk issue type.

Select the desired tag from the list.

Click on Save.

The tag is added to the issue.

Creating a new tag

In the Tags field, enter the label of the new tag then press Tab, Enter or click on another field.

Fill in the required fields in the New tag window that displays.

Reference

For more information about tags and fields to enter, refer to the Setup Guide - Advanced Setup.

Click on Save.

The tag is created and added automatically to the issue.

Modifying a tag

Click on this tag from the Tags field, modify the desired information and click on Save.

Removing a tag

Click on for the relevant tag from the Tags field, then click on Save.

Task type

The task type enables to categorize the task and the work to be done. Resolving an issue requires to go through multiple task types. These tasks can be for classification, software development, quality control, and so on. The different task types can be set up.

If needed, select another task type from the drop-down list.

Group

The task group enables to assign the task to a work group. The different work groups can be set up.

If needed, select another work group from the drop-down list.

Assigned to

The employee assigned for the task, meaning the employee who is working on the task to complete it and move the issue forward.

The list of employees available from the help list includes:

the employees that belong to the company associated with the issue;
the employees who can be assigned tasks for issues of multiple companies.

Click on to assign the task to yourself, signifying that you are currently working on the task. If needed, click on to free the task.

Visible information

The task-related information to let the customer know about the issue's progress.

Note

If the use of the Help Desk Portal is enabled from the Settings Portal, this field cannot be specified. For issues managed using the Help Desk Portal, it is no longer possible to enter this visible information and the customer is directly notified with issue messages.

This field is still available in read-only mode for the issues created before the Help Desk Portal was enabled, in order not to lose the information entered in the Visible information field.

Internal information

The internal task-related information to give details about the actions carried out and how the issue is processed. This information can only be viewed internally.

Custom data

The Custom data section is only displayed if custom data are associated with issues.

Custom data are additional fields set up by Akuiteo users to meet their specific business needs. It is possible to create as many custom data as necessary to manage issues. These data can be accessed from specific tabs of the issue in the Desktop Application, but some custom data can also be displayed in the task form in Agile Factory.

Reference

The number of custom data to be displayed and the index of the first custom data are specified in the preferences. For more information, refer to Preferences.

Timesheet and Action code

Enables to input the time spent on the task.

Reference

For more information, refer to Filling in the timesheet.

To be corrected

The product revision number where the problem described in the issue occurred or the evolution was needed.

The help list displays all revisions linked to the template product of the issue.

Corrective revision

The product revision number that contains the fixes or evolutions.

The help list displays all revisions linked to the template product of the issue.

Click on to fill in the last corrective revision available automatically.

Next task

Before completing the task, select the next task's type from the drop-down list.

Next group

Before completing the task, select the next task's work group from the drop-down list.

Next assigned employee

Before completing the task, fill in the first characters of the searched employee and select it to assign it to the next task.

Creating an issue from a template

A template is used to create similar simplified issues without having to fill in the same values multiple times. It is included in a template grouping that can be shared with specific employees or work groups.

Note

If a template is crossed out, it means it is not detailed enough to be used in Agile Factory. To be able to use this template in Agile Factory, the owner must fill in the template's missing values in the Desktop Application.

From the Backlog tab, click on the

icon at the top right of the screen.

The Select your template window opens to display the different templates set up in the Desktop Application.

Select the desired template.

Fill in the issue by specifying a Title and a Description if needed.

Click on Add.

The issue is created and is added to the list of issues in the Backlog.

Reference

For more information about simplified issues and templates, refer to the Managing issues.

Putting issues on hold

An issue can be put on hold to let the customer know the issue is paused because it cannot be processed as it is. The GRT and GFRT counters are stopped until the issue is resumed.

Example

An issue is created at 2 AM, after office hours. The GRT and GFRT counters start at 9 am. You call your customer at 9:42 am to ask for more information but nobody answers. To avoid exceeding the delay of response, you must put the issue on hold until the customer answers. Once you get an answer, you can resume the task.

From the Backlog tab, click on the desired task to display its details then click on

Note

An issue cannot be put on hold when it is resolved or closed.

Fill in the following fields:

Field	Description
On hold start date	Displays the date and time when the issue will be put on hold.
On hold reason	Select the reason why the issue is put on hold from the available values in the drop-down list. The different reasons can be set up in the Desktop Application and are used to explain why an issue is put on hold.
Details (customer visible)	Add any details to explain why the issue is put on hold. This comment can be viewed by the customer on the Customer Portal.
Appointment	Check this box to set an appointment with the customer to talk about why the issue is on hold. The date and time of the appointment are for informational purposes only but can be viewed by the customer on the Customer Portal.
New status	Displays the list of statuses available to put an issue on hold.
New state	Displays the list of states associated with the New status.

Click on Put on hold.

Once the reasons for putting the issue on hold have been resolved, the issue must be resumed manually. An issue "on hold" can be resumed from the task's detailed form.

Click on

In the window, fill in the required fields.

Click Resume to cancel the issue's "on hold" status and restart the time counters.

Sending an email

From the task form, it is possible to send an email to the desired recipients in order to discuss about the task.

From the task form, click on

Fill in the following fields:

Field	Description
To	Add one or multiple employees, or enter the recipients' email addresses.
Cc	This field is only displayed if the recipients details is shown. Add one or multiple employees, or enter the cc recipients' email addresses.
Bcc	This field is only displayed if the recipients details is shown. Add one or multiple employees, or enter the bcc recipients' email addresses.
Reply to	This field is only displayed if the recipients details is shown. By default, if the recipients reply to the message, the email address of the connected user will be used. If you want the reply to be sent to other recipients, add one or multiple employees or enter the recipients' email addresses.
Object	By default, the US title is filled in but the object can be modified if needed.
Message	Fill in the message's body.

Click on Send.

The message is sent to the recipients specified.

Filling in the timesheet

Time spent on a task can be entered directly from the task form. There are two ways to enter time:

Direct time entry to enter time with just one click.
Detailed time entry to open a window to enter time spent, already filled in with all the information from the issue.

Direct time entry

From the task form, fill in the time spent on the task in the Timesheet field.

Select the Action code from the drop-down list.

Click on

The time is automatically added to the timesheet of the connected user, on the current day. The project, phase, sub-phase and project task fields are filled in automatically using the issue information.

Detailed time entry

The detailed time entry is done in the time entry window to have more control over the values entered and change fields if needed.

From the task form, click on Enter.

The Time input window opens.

In the Time input window, fill in the following fields:

the Date to use for the time entry (current day by default);
the time spent on the task in the Timesheet field. Click on or to add or remove 10 minutes.

The other fields are filled in with the issue's information, however the values can be changed if needed.

The Templates section displays the list of the user's quick entries. Click on a quick entry to automatically fill in the fields in the Timesheet input section.

The Weekly timesheet section displays an overview of the time spent by the user during the week of the task's Date. The time spent on the current task can be adapted depending on the weekly overview, for example if the daily number of work hours should not be exceeded.

When the fields are filled in, click Validate.

The time is added to the timesheet for the connected user, on the specified day.