February 13th, 2018 by Adam Sandman
We recently surveyed one of our key training partners - Agile Training Champions, and asked them to let us know what were some of the most common questions about SpiraTeam that people have, as well as some of the best practices they recommend. In this article, we cover some of the items that frequently come up during training, so that you can benefit from them.
Best Practices in SpiraTeam
- Customize the dashboard to show more than what the default setting allows
- Remember to edit the details in the detail entry pane of any artifact. The summary pane is only for creating minor things displayed.
- When assigning any project artifact for others, please remember to think of the person receiving the request. Add meaningful comments that clearly communicate what you are expecting of them. A best practice I suggest is to come up with a grid of minimum fields or things that should be mandatory , as it forces the assigner to think before the assignment.
- The cloning feature is beneficial, but please evaluate the purpose for which you want to clone. Don't create too many unnecessary duplicate tasks, for instance.
- There is a reason workflow exists. It tracks the life-cycle of the specific artifact. Don't circumvent by avoiding workflow operations and updating the owner's field alone.
- Know which project you are in before creating any project artifacts. Although the Export feature exists, it is not a "move" and only a "copy."
- Have a consistent naming standard for tasks, incidents, requirements, project names, etc. These will make the work searchable and relevant for notifications.
- Check your notification scheme to ensure that critical and relevant details are included in the email and avoid generating emails unnecessarily.
Common Questions About SpiraTeam
- When you detected an incident that is assigned to you for your review, you will see that "My Detected Incidents" and "My Assigned Incidents" section. This is not a duplicate and is working as designed.
- When you are adding requirements or tasks in the summary view, remember to clear all filters and then enter. Often, you may not realize that you are working on the filter line. In other words, if you don't see the "Save" button on the right in the summary pane, you are not doing it correctly.
For more helpful tricks and tips with SpiraTeam, please check out our knowledge base: SpiraTeam Knowledge Base.