Axsoft's OnTime v4.2.6 Review

By Andrew Sutton

Introduction

OnTime is a software defect and feature tracking application. There are both web and windows versions available. For the purposes of this review I will restrict myself to the windows version. I use the free single user of OnTime. You might also want to check out my Powertrack review. Powertrack is a Visual Studio add-in for OnTime.

Installation

The download was just over 10Meg. My installation involved updating v4.2 to v4.2.6. The installation was straight forward and took less than 2 minutes to perform. When I first ran OnTime afterwards I was prompted to upgrade my database, which I did. One thing to note when performing an installation for the first time is that if you did not include a company name as part of the registration you still need to enter [not provided] and not leave the company name blank. OnTime uses SQL Server 2000 or MSDE 2000 as its database. This should be installed and running before you install OnTime. OnTime creates a database sensibly called OnTime. A shortcut is installed on the desktop and a All Programs menu group called Axsoft is also added along with a sub group OnTime 2004 Windows Edition. There are two entries: OnTime 2004 Win User's Guide.pdf & OnTime 2004 Windows Edition.

Use

Basically there are two types of issues that can be tracked through onTime; Defects & Features. The information associated with each varies between the two. OnTime allows you to create projects, which in turn can contain sub projects and so on. Defects & Features are associated with a particular project. The GUI follows the traditional layout of a vertical split pane with a tree view of projects on the left and details of either defects or features on the right. The right pane is split horizontally with a list of defects/features on top and additional info for the defect/feature highlighted in the bottom pane.

OnTime allows you to assign tasks to a configurable list of developers, allocate estimated time for completion, assign priority, due date, add any relevant attachments etc. Developers can then add notes, attachments, enter in the time actually taken up so far with the feature/defect, update the task status, enter a completion date, build# etc.

The feature list of OnTime is quite extensive. A few of the highlights I found are listed below:

·         Ability to set filters on the information displayed on the screen and ability to create your own filters. E.g. you can filter displays to show only items still open or your items that are still open.

·         Ability to print a report of pretty much whatever appears on the screen. The reports use the screen filters so no need to set these separately.

·         Ability to export reports to Excel, Word, Rich Text & PDF formats.

·         Ability to add custom fields to screens (and consequently detail reports). These fields can be text, date or lists and you can enter your data that lists can contain.

·         Group By function which allows defects or features to be grouped together under group headings when displayed and the ability to sort items within these groups.

·         Full audit trail listing all modifications to defect and feature entries.

·         Each Defect/Feature can have attachments associated with it, either stored as a link to the attachment or by storing the actual attachment in the database.

There are other features I have not had a look at yet like the setting up of roles and assigning them to users, setting up of email notifications and also workflows. The first two are more relevant to multi user use and the latter I have just not had chance to find out what it is all about.

Conclusion

Pros

• The single user version is fully functional and is free.
• I find the GUI intuitive and easy to use. There is a good mix of toolbars, menus, and tabs making access to all OnTime’s options very easy.
• There are freely available forums. (Generally expect to wait 2 or 3 days for a response but I have always got a response within that time)
• SDK kit available for free with no additional licensing costs.

Cons

• Occasionally I have found that the defects disappear from the GUI display & printouts. Restarting OnTime clears the problem.

This application is a particular favorite of mine. I find it a joy to use and have had no serious problems using it at all. Sure there are a few enhancements I'd like to see but then no product is ever perfect. I use this product day in day out to help me keep track on the applications I am developing. In fact I'm trying to persuade my boss to introduce it at work too. OnTime gets 5/5 from me!