SPEC Innovations' Community Blog | Systems Engineering Approaches

Issue Tracking Webinar

Written by SPEC Innovations Team | 7/26/23 6:55 PM

Would you rather watch instead? Visit the webinar recording!

 

There are many intricacies within the topic of issue tracking, such as the single source of truth, the importance of issue tracking, and the dynamics between issues and requirements. This insightful discussion, originally presented in a webinar, sheds light on the challenges faced in managing information across various tools and databases, offering valuable insights for effective collaboration and progress monitoring.

 

Single Source of Truth: Beyond Central Repositories

The concept of a single source of truth, often associated with collecting enterprise data into a central repository, is discussed. However, the speaker emphasizes the need to move beyond a single repository, considering security and access control issues. The Department of Defense's approach of federated repositories is highlighted, focusing on determining data ownership, control, and access.

 

Issue Tracking: A Critical Component

The importance of issue tracking, especially in software development, is explored. Issue tracking goes beyond monitoring software defects; it encompasses managing problems, bugs, and requirements. The speaker distinguishes between software engineering and systems engineering perspectives, emphasizing the discipline required in software development.

 

Issues vs. Requirements: Bridging the Gap

The webinar delves into the differences between issues and requirements. Issues are portrayed as urgent problems requiring immediate attention, often originating from risks that have manifested. Requirements, on the other hand, involve translating needs and desires into actionable tasks. The unique features of requirements, such as a clear rationale and quality factors, are highlighted.

 

Transforming Requirements into Issues with Innoslate

Innoslate is introduced as a tool enabling the transformation of requirements into issues. The process involves synchronizing and tracking requirements and issues, ensuring that relationships and duplications are managed effectively. The webinar emphasizes the significance of automation in handling configuration management challenges.

 

Collaboration and Monitoring Progress with GitHub

Collaboration between systems engineers and software engineers is crucial. The GitHub interface plays a key role in monitoring progress, tracking issues, and facilitating communication. The webinar demonstrates how systems engineers can use GitHub to comment on issues, add labels, and adjust priorities.

 

Gap Analysis: Ensuring Traceability

The importance of gap analysis is discussed, focusing on traceability matrices. The webinar showcases how Innoslate provides a traceability matrix to identify missing connections and gaps in information. A database view is presented as a tool to visualize relationships between requirements and issues, aiding in comprehensive gap analysis.

 

Conclusion

Issue tracking is a multifaceted aspect of project management that requires careful consideration and effective tools. This blog has provided a comprehensive overview of the topics discussed in the webinar, offering valuable insights into the challenges and solutions associated with issue tracking. Whether you're a systems engineer, software developer, or project manager, understanding the nuances of issue tracking is essential for ensuring a transparent and successful project lifecycle.