TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Bug tracking systems as information repositories From:"jane" <judydh -at- total -dot- net> To:"techwr-l" <TECHWR-L -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 14 Sep 1999 15:25:17 -0400
Hi all
Caveat: I don't know ANYTHING about databases (in spite of doing tons of
data-entry in previous jobs). I just had a big lightbulb appear above my
head and I think I should have 'gotten it' a long time ago.
We have a defect tracking system (PureDDTS) but it appears to be geared to
managing the projects. I think that this could be a great source of
knowledge, however, it is difficult to research in its present incarnation
(probably why I haven't consulted it in this manner until today). It has
mandatory, optional, and automatic category fields. The descriptions of the
bugs and their solutions are appended in separate documents.
Do TWs use the bug tracking system as a source for troubleshooting or other
background knowledge? What kinds of software/databases do you use? Do you
think it saves the company time and money to use it as an information
repository? What is the simplest method and architecture to use a database
for this? Have you needed the services of a DBAdmin before?
