Issue Tracking and Forums Revisted

Like I did earlier this summer, I will be doing a presentation titled “Issue Tracking and Forums: Open Source Tools For Technical Support” at the TIES Technology Leadership Camp being held this week. The description is “See demonstrations of two free, open source tools that make technical support easier: Request Tracker, a web- and e-mail-based issue tracking tool for logging, assigning, prioritizing and resolving tech support requests, and phpBB, “bulletin board” forum software that gives technical support staff a virtual place to discuss common support issues.”

The issue tracking software we use is called RT: Request Tracker by Best Practical, LLC. Point your browser to http://www.bestpractical.com

The on-line forum software we use is called phpBB. Point your browser to http://www.phpbb.com

Here are some excerpts from my presentation:

Issue Tracking:

    Why did Hopkins choose Request Tracker?

  1. It will run on almost anything.
    • RT runs on Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and most other flavors of Unix. End users have contributed a port to Windows 2000 and Windows XP also.
    • It can be accessed via any web browser from any platform or via email.
  2. It is database flexible.
    • RT stores all its data inside an SQL database, so you can use Crystal Reports and similar tools to generate precise reports.
    • RT can be used with MySQL or PostgreSQL, Oracle, or MS SQL Server
  3. Support is widely available.
    • Commercial, paid support is available for ongoing support needs as well as installation and development of new features.
    • Active mailing lists are available for users to post questions and get answers from other RT users.
  4. The price is right!
    • If you donít wish to have any paid commercial support, the cost of the software is free!
    • It will run on relatively inexpensive hardware.

Forums:

    Why did Hopkins choose phpBB?

  1. It will run on almost anything!
    • Runs on any major operating system that can run web serving software and PHP. This includes Windows, Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X
    • Requires a database server running MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, or Microsoft Access
  2. The price is right!
    • phpBB is licensed under the GPL and is free to download and use.
    • It will run on very inexpensive hardware.
  3. It is easy to administer
    • Designed to be administered from the web.
    • Even complex tasks such as setting up users can be done with very little interaction from the adminstrator.
    • Users can reset their own passwords.

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