Product Reviews
Track the Software Lifecycle
DevTrack 3.5 and ServiceWise 1.1 integrate development with technical support.
DevTrack 3.5 and ServiceWise 1.1 are a
pair of applications that work from a single database. DevTrack
is designed to help you get a product through the development
cycle by tracking work items and defects together with their
status and the actions taken by developers. ServiceWise then
extends the same database to handle customer support issues,
helping you manage support proactively by making a knowledge
base available over the web.
The products work with any ODBC database
to help everyone involved with a product—developers,
testers, and managers—keep an eye both on the overall
status and their own particular job. DevTrack keeps track
of issue priority and helps managers quickly identify overdue
work items or overloaded workers with a large stable of built-in
reports. It features a flexible search interface that can
find text in any field in the database. DevTrack also comes
with a Web interface, so it can be easily used by off-site
developers as well as those on the corporate LAN.
ServiceWise then lets users submit support
requests via a Web interface. It can automatically assign
these incidents to support personnel based on skills and workloads.
As incidents are resolved, it builds a knowledge base of support
ideas that your customers can query themselves over the Web,
reducing costs for direct support.
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| In combo, DevTrack and ServiceWise
can break down tasks into seemingly manageable components. |
While DevTrack and ServiceWise sport a
good set of features, I wish there had been a bit more attention
paid to fit and finish issues. The manuals and help files
in particular are marred by numerous editing mistakes—it
appears that the company needs to hire a good technical writer
or two. I’d want to use the software for a month or two
before committing to it for a major project. Fortunately,
you can download a trial version or test-drive the Web version
on the company’s Web site.
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.