5.4 Task Tracking

Task Tracking will record all development work performed in LANSA at partition level on the following LANSA objects:

• Fields

• Visual LANSA components

• Files

• Functions

• Processes

• Application templates

• System variables

• Multilingual variables.

Whenever the term 'object' is used in relation to task tracking, it is intended to describe one or all of these objects.

Task Tracking is used to keep a history of all work performed on objects for a particular task and then the task identifier can be used to export all objects worked on for a task.

To do this, task tracking enforces locks when changing or deleting objects. An object which is locked to one task cannot be used by another task.

When setting up task tracking you need to consider how much control you want to maintain over the development effort, how much administration overhead you are willing to bear, how big your team is and whether development needs to be controlled by individual developer or by product or by both.

For example:

• Task-oriented tracking is used to keep track of units of work. A unit of work can be, for example, a new program feature or a program fix. Developers are assigned a new task identifier for each new unit of work to be performed on any product. When a task is completed, the task identifier is removed from use.
  The style of task tracking ensures that your development work is carefully controlled. Its use is recommended for large, professional development teams. It should be noted that it involves a relatively high level of planning and administration.

• Product task tracking requires less adminstration and is configured by assigning unique task identifiers to products (groups of objects). In product-oriented tracking all developers use the same task identifier when working on a particular product.

• Another simplified way of using task tracking is to assign task identifiers to individual developers. The developers use their own task identifier regardless of the product they are working on.

• Task tracking should not be disabled, but in small teams with highly trusted developers a minimalist task tracking setup can be used. In this setup there is only one task per system.

You set the user's Task Tracking options when you create (or amend) a partition, as described in 5.8.2 Partition Definitions - Create, Change or Delete.