| As a developer and a tester, I've always been on the | | | | were highly impressed with being able to receive an |
| lookout for good tools and methods for keeping track | | | | email everytime a service request came in. |
| of bugs, issues, and incidents that occur with software | | | | Mantis is available in 30 different languages with more |
| development. Needless to say, there are an enormous | | | | on the way. |
| amount of tools out there for doing this. Just do a | | | | There are multiple filters for looking at the list of bugs in |
| Google search on "bug tracking" and you'll be amazed | | | | just about any order you want. |
| at the number of hits you'll get. Many of these | | | | Mantis provides the ability to have the testers and |
| products are great and do a fantastic job, but for a | | | | users enter new bugs. An email is automatically sent |
| cost. | | | | to the person assigned as the project manager. The |
| If you're going the open source route, then you'll | | | | PM can then assign and prioritize the bug. The |
| discover that there are many different products to | | | | assignee receives an email with the assignment. When |
| choose from. But in many cases, the tool is either | | | | the bug has been fixed, the developer can flag it thus. |
| limited in functionality, is too complex to configure or | | | | And then the PM or QA can verify and close the bug. |
| use, or has no support. Among all these tools, there is | | | | Multiple projects can be managed in a single database. |
| one that stands out above the rest. This is the Mantis | | | | A project can be flagged as public or private. |
| Bug Tracker! Mantis is an web based bug tracking | | | | Graphs can be generated with the JPGraphs addon |
| system that utilizes a back end SQL database with a | | | | tool. (Also, an Open Source Project.) |
| easy to use web interface. Mantis is an open source | | | | The documentation on the web site is very extensive |
| project on Sourceforge.net. Thus, Mantis is "free"! Now, | | | | and includes user contributed notes. |
| before you start to run away with the "free = junk" | | | | AND I was totally impressed with the ability to save |
| mentality, you really ought to give Mantis a serious look. | | | | and export my bug reports into Word and Excel files. |
| Here's why: | | | | The ART of Software Development in Mantis is in the |
| First of all, Mantis has a huge user base. Lots of users | | | | fact that it was originally created as a MOIIN |
| means lots of support! The discussion forum on the | | | | application. (The Mother Of Invention Is Necessity.) |
| web site is a great resource for getting answers to | | | | (And yes, I made up the acronym. ;)) The developer |
| your questions. | | | | wanted a "free" application for tracking the bugs in his |
| The product has reached a mature state. When I | | | | game development project. Finding none, he dove in |
| started using Mantis 5 years ago, I thought it was great | | | | and created Mantis. There was such a huge response |
| then! But now I'm REALLY impressed! The product | | | | to his efforts that he decided to rewrite and release |
| continues to grow and be supported by the user | | | | Mantis to the public. And the fact that so many people |
| community. | | | | are using Mantis speaks volumes about its usefulness. |
| This has got to be one of the easiest installations that | | | | Personally, I've spent a lot of hours pouring over a |
| I've had the pleasure to experience. You call your ISP | | | | massive number of packages available for issue |
| and have them turn on your MySQL server account. | | | | tracking. I always end up coming back to Mantis. The |
| Then using your MySQL interface, you past in the | | | | price can't be beat. And for those who don't want to |
| SQL script for creating the database structure. You | | | | install and configure a Mantis Bug Tracking System |
| make a couple minor changes to one script file, and | | | | then they offer a "Hosted" plan for a minimum cost. |
| then you run the installer. Then BANG - you're in! | | | | I foresee that Mantis will be around for a long time. |
| Mantis is highly configurable. I once set up Mantis as a | | | | And whenever I have influence on the decision of and |
| Service Request Tracking System - for keeping track | | | | use of a software bug tracking system then Mantis will |
| of incoming service calls and requests for a PC Repair | | | | be my choice! |
| business. It worked great! The owner and technicians | | | | |