What does the ictime plugin?

1. It extends the log work mask from JIRA by an option to log work "from-to" with two clicks (from 07:23 to 08:34; this is the way all classic time tracking software has always worked, meanwhile entering a time span manually is not really suitable if it requires that the user maintains some parallel notes on paper or in Excel in order to keep track ... or the va,ues entered won't be really correct ...) and by an activity type to further classify your work (for the work log option on the view mask o a project, this is automatically done; if you want to place this functionality on an edit or workflow screen, you need to add our custom time tracking field instead of the default time tracking field from JIRA). It also offers the option to track time not directly form an issue, but from a generic place (with choice of project and task). It also offers the option to resume an existing time entry from your worklog (like copying), so that you do not have to select activity type and write a description again, but only have to fill in the time.

2. It writes data (apart form the JIRA database table) in a separate database table (which is used for reporting puposes and to be able to apply rounding rules to time entries).

3. It sets additional conditions to be able to log work (being a team member for a project and the team having a valid pricelist).

4. It adds a very flexible reporting interface so that you can analyse all time entries by multiple dimensions at the same time - and can of course export your files as Excel-compatible format.

5. It adds the option to monetarize your time entries via pricelists on a per team base so that you can use your reports as base for writing invoices or to import into your accounting system. Via pricelists per team and the option of prices per activity type you can distinguish different (sales) prices for different activities in different teams. Via the validity of pricelists, you can also reflect changes in your prices during a (longer) project.

6. It adds the option to define rounding rules for your time entries on a per project base (which should be very common in real life, if you track 6 minutes for customer support, you will probably not charge 6 minutes to your customer, but e.g. 15 or 30 minutes).

7. It adds the option to set a project status (active, inactive or closed) in order to maintain an overview and to control for which projects work can still be logged (inactive projects still apear in the reporting interface, but you can't track time any longer, closed projects also disappear from the reporting).

8. It adds enhanced time planning capabilities on component and project level, so that you can plan top-down from project and component and at the same time can plan bottom-up on task and sub-task level. There is a powerful reporting to make a target/actual comparison on project and component level, also taking into account all plan values (time estimates) on task and sub-task level. This also reflects real life, because when starting a project, you won't be able to already have all tasks defined with time estimates, but would need to start with some rough numbers for the project and it's components.

9. It offers a separate interface for users with all time entries over all projects with filter options by date, project etc. You can also log work directly from this interface, as well as edit or delete existing entries.

10. You can define as many activity types as you want and can decide on a per project base which activity types should be available for time tracking purposes.

11. It offers the option that admin users can log work for other users.

12. Display your work log details for an issue in a comprehensive way (e.g. last entry fist, not like the JIRA work log, where oldest entries are on top ...).

What it doesn't do (yet)?

1. It is not a resource planning tool that helps you to plan and allocate your ressources to projects or gives detailed information on ressource utilization (yes, you can get some information on these topics, but being far away from real resource planning).

2. It does not manage working days, public holidays, team member vacation days and things like that (as it is no resource planning tool).

3. It does not generate invoices, but just raw data exports you might need to generate an invoice in another system.

4. It is not a Gantt chart tool that shows time planning and scheduling data via charts or other visual elements.

 ictimeenhances existing JIRA time tracking options (without changing JIRA data) with many features that make time tracking more powerful, efficient and convenient and it adds flexible reporting and accounting capabilities. ictime was created to provide efficient solutions for common time tracking, reporting and accounting issues. ictime is not a resource planning tool that helps you to plan and allocate your ressources to projects or gives detailed information on resource utilization. It does not offer workflows or complex approval processes regarding work logs. It is not a Gantt chart tool that shows time planning and scheduling data via charts or other visual elements.

ictime Features

Log Work

• log work alternatively as time span "from-to"
• choose activity type
• resume an existing work log with one  click
• resume, edit or delete  last work log directly from the time tracking panel
• "no charge" option for work logs
• additional "My Work Log" tab with only my work logs displayed on issue level
• log work directly from navigation bar

Timesheets

• separate user timesheet with filters by project, component, version, activity type and date
• edit, delete, resume or create new work log directly from user timesheet
• log work for any issue directly from timesheet
• log work for other users (if you have respective permissions)
• move work logs to other issues of the same project

Reporting

• combine different criteria (project, user, activity type, component, version, date range, accounting status) to generate reports
• view details (work log entries) and financial summary
• edit and delete work log entries of a report
• work on issues directly from any report
• move work logs to other issues of the same project
• export report in Excel-compatible format
• use any report as base for billing

Accounting (Billing)

• define different teams with different price lists per projects
• define price per team or per team and activity type
• validity period for price lists allows for price changes within the project duration
• define rounding rules per project in order to round up/down and  to charge minimum time units
• define currency per project
• add optional accounting information per project (customer, account, …)
• exclude work log positions of a report from your "bill"
• set status of time entries to status "charged" as part of the billing process
• access "bills" and export details as Excel-compatible file
• revert "bills" and set all work logs to "open" again (in case you made a mistake)

Planning

• plan bottom-up (task, sub-task level) and top-down (project, component level) at the same time
• create & edit issue time estimates in issue edit screen or directly in central planning sheet
• filter central planning sheet by component
• target/actual comparison on project and component level
• filter target/actual comparison by component
• planning quality factor that considers overall standard deviation

Permissions

• control access to ictime features in detail on JIRA group level
• additional workaround to hide JIRA time tracking data from users

JIRA Features

ictime fundamentallyenhances JIRS's time tracking options. Here we give a short overview on the existing time tracking options in JIRA and makes some explanations regarding wording and concepts. For the full documentation of JIRA time tracking, please refer to http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Logging+Work+on+an+Issue and http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Configuring+Time+Tracking.