4.3 Tracking Features

Track features from initial concept through implementation. You can organize features by release, assignee, tags, or associated milestones.

• Viewing the Features Report
  
• Creating a Feature
  
• About Feature Email Notifications
  
• Updating or Deleting a Feature
  
• About Creating Parent Features
  
• How to Attach Files to a Feature
  
• Viewing Other Feature Reports
  
• Assigning or Updating Milestones Associated with Features
  

4.3.1 Viewing the Features Report

Use the Features report to view and edit existing features, create new features, or delete features.

To view features:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard displays an overview of features defined within the workspace.

3. You can customize the display by making selections from the Release, Approval Status, Assignee, or Application lists and clicking Set.
4. Click the Report tab.

   The Features Report page appears.

5. Customize the Features Report as you would any other interactive grid.
6. To view a feature, click the feature name.

See Also:

"Viewing Other Feature Reports"

4.3.2 Creating a Feature

To create a feature:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard displays an overview of features defined within the workspace.

3. Click Create Feature.

   The Features dialog appears. Edit the appropriate fields.

4. Under Features:

   Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).

   • Feature - Descriptive name of this feature.
   • Tags - Tags are keywords that further describe this feature. Separate multiple tags with commas. Tags display in a separate column in Report view.
   • Owner - Person responsible for this feature. To add values to this list, enter a name in the New Owner field.
   • Contributor - Another person who contributes to this feature. To add values to this list, enter a name in the New Contributor field.
   • Focus Area - Associates the feature to a specific focus area (or category). To add values to this list, enter a name in the New Focus Area field. 
   • Committed Feature - Indicates whether the feature is a committed feature for the current release
   • Approval Status - Approval status of the feature. Indicates if the feature is to be implemented and the current progress. Approval Status options are preset and cannot be configured.

     Approval Status only displays if enabled in Team Development Settings.

   • Estimated Effort (in hours) - Estimated time need to complete this feature.
   • Progress Status - Status of the feature. Indicates if the feature is to be implemented and the current progress. Status codes are preset and not configurable.
   • Desirability - The importance of the feature.
   • Priority - Priority or importance of the feature. Priorities are preset and not configurable.
   • Parent - Parent of this feature. Only features from the currently selected release will be display.
5. Under Dates:
   • Milestone - Important events during this development cycle.
   • Start Date - Date feature implementation begins.
   • Due Date / Date Completed - Date feature implementation ends. If not provided, this date default to the Milestone date.
6. Under Summary:
   • Publish this Feature - Select Yes to make this feature viewable to a broader audience.
   • Summary (displayed if Published) - High level feature description designed to be published to a broad audience.
7. Click Create Feature.

See Also:

"Renaming Focus Areas" and "Configuring Team Development Settings"

4.3.3 About Feature Email Notifications

When you create a new features or update an existing feature, an email notification is sent to the feature owner and contributor and any assignees listed under User Interface, Testing, and Documentation.

About Subscribing and Unsubscribing to Features

Users who are not associated with a feature, can also receive email notifications by subscribing to the feature.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to a feature, go to the Features report, select the feature name, and click Subscribe or Unsubscribe as appropriate..

See Also:

"Viewing the Features Tree"

4.3.4 Updating or Deleting a Feature

When you update an existing feature, an email notification is sent to the feature owner and contributor and any assignees listed under User Interface, Testing, and Documentation. Users who are not associated with a feature, can also receive email notifications by subscribing to the feature.

To update or delete a feature:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Report tab.

   The Report page appears.

4. To update a feature:
   1. Click the feature name.
   2. Edit the appropriate fields.

      To learn more about an attribute, see field-level Help.

   3. Some select lists are editable. To add new values to editable select lists, enter a value in the field with the title New.
   4. Click Apply Changes.
5. To delete a feature:
   1. Click the feature name.
   2. Click Delete.

See Also:

"Renaming Focus Areas"

4.3.5 About Creating Parent Features

You can group features hierarchically using the Parent Feature attribute. Selecting a Parent Feature creates a parent/child relationship. When viewing features in Tree view, features are grouped first by release and then by parent.

See Also:

"Viewing the Features Tree"

4.3.6 How to Attach Files to a Feature

If enabled at the workspace-level, you can attach files to features.

• Attaching a File to a Feature
  
• Viewing, Editing, and Removing Attached Files
  

See Also:

"Downloading File Attachments" and "Enabling Support for File Upload in Team Development" in Oracle Application Express Administration Guide.

4.3.6.1 Attaching a File to a Feature

To use this feature, you must set the Enable File Repository attribute to Yes in Administration, Manage Service, Set Workspace Preferences.

To attach a file to a feature:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Report tab.

   The Report page appears.

4. Click the feature name.
5. Click the Files tab.
6. Click Add File.
   The Add File dialog appears.
7. Locate the file to be attached and click Add File.

4.3.6.2 Viewing, Editing, and Removing Attached Files

To view, edit, or remove attached files:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Report tab.

   The Report page appears.

4. Click the feature name.
5. Click the Files tab.
6. Click View and Manage Files.

   The Files page appears.

7. To download the file, click the name.
8. To edit the file description:
   1. Click the Edit icon.
   2. Update the description and click Apply Changes.
9. To delete an attached file:
   1. Click the Edit icon.
   2. Click Delete. When prompted, confirm your selection.

4.3.7 Viewing Other Feature Reports

Click the tabs at the top of the Features page to view other reports including Tree, Calendar, History Progress Log, Focus Areas, and Owners.

• Viewing the Features Tree
  
• Viewing the Features Calendar
  
• Viewing The Feature History Report
  
• Viewing the Feature Progress Log
  
• Viewing the Feature Focus Areas Chart
  
• Viewing the Approval Statuses
  
• Viewing the Feature Owners Chart
  

See Also:

• "Viewing the Features Report"

• "Assigning or Updating Milestones Associated with Features"

• "Accessing Team Development Utilities"

4.3.7.1 Viewing the Features Tree

To view the Features tree:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Tree tab.

   The Tree page displays features in a hierarchical tree by release.

   Features are grouped first by release and then by parent. To expand a grouping, click the small triangle to the left of the feature name.

   Tip:

   When displaying features by a given release, features with parent or children features in different releases do not display.

4. Controls at the top of the page include:
   • Release - To select a new release, make a selection from the Release list and click Set.
   • Include Percent Complete? - The feature number and percent complete display to the right of the feature name. To hide or display the percent complete, select Yes or No from Include Percent Complete and click Set.
   • Reset - Resets the report to the default view.
   • Collapse All - Collapses the tree.
   • Expand All - Expands the tree.
   • Create Feature - Displays the Feature dialog enabling you to create a new feature.
5. To edit a feature, select it. When the Feature dialog appears, edit the appropriate fields and click Apply Changes.
6. To delete a feature, select it. When the Feature dialog appears, click Delete.

4.3.7.2 Viewing the Features Calendar

To view the Features Calendar:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Calendar tab.

   The Calendar page displays features by due date or date completed in a calendar format.

   If a parent features have been defined, the due date or date completed displays in a calendar format.

4. Controls at the top of the page include:
   • Release - To select a new release, make a selection from the Release list and click Set.
   • Assignee - Select an assignee and click Set.
   • Reset - Resets the Calendar to the default view.
   • Create Feature - Displays the Feature dialog enabling you to create a new feature.
   • Previous/Next - View to the previous month or the next month.
   • Month - View the calendar by month.
   • List - View the calendar entries in a list format by day.
5. To edit a feature, select it. When the Feature dialog appears, edit the appropriate fields and click Apply Changes.
6. To delete a feature, select it. When the Feature dialog appears, click Delete.

4.3.7.3 Viewing The Feature History Report

To view the Feature History report:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the History tab.

   The Feature History report displays an interactive report of recently changed features, including the old value and new value and who made the update.

4. To customize the report, use the Actions menu in Search bar at the top of the page. Click Reset return the report to the default view.
5. To view a specific feature, click the feature name.

See Also:

"Customizing Interactive Reports in a Running Application" and "About the Actions Menu"

4.3.7.4 Viewing the Feature Progress Log

Developers can track completed tasks associated with a feature under Progress.

To view the Feature Progress Log:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Progress Log tab.

   The Progress Log page displays as an interactive report of progress log entries.

4. To customize the report, use the Actions menu in Search bar at the top of the page. ClickReset return the report to the default view.
5. To edit a log entry, click the Edit icon to the left of the Progress Note.

See Also:

"Customizing Interactive Reports in a Running Application"

4.3.7.5 Viewing the Feature Focus Areas Chart

The Focus Areas page displays a chart of the number of features per defined focus area by release.

To view the Feature Focus Areas chart:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Focus Areas tab.

   The Focus Areas page displays a chart of the number of features per defined focus area by release.

4. To customize the report, use the Actions menu in Search bar at the top of the page. ClickReset return the report to the default view.
5. To rename a Focus Area:
   1. Click Manage Focus Areas.
   2. Locate the Focus Area and click the Edit icon.
   3. In Rename To, enter your edits and click Apply Changes.

See Also:

"Renaming Focus Areas"

4.3.7.6 Viewing the Approval Statuses

To view Features Approval Statuses:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Approval Statuses tab.

   The Approval Statuses page displays the status and description . To create a new status, click Create.

4.3.7.7 Viewing the Feature Owners Chart

To view the Features Owner chart:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Feature Owners tab.

   The Feature Owners page displays a chart of the number of features by owner.

4. To alter the chart, select another Release, Minimum Status, or Maximum Status, and click Set. To return to the default chart, click Reset.

4.3.8 Assigning or Updating Milestones Associated with Features

Use Select a Utility to assign milestones to features, set feature due dates to milestone dates, change milestones for overdue features, or push due dates of open features.

To access Select a Utility:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the Team Development icon.
2. Click the Features icon.

   The Features Dashboard appears.

3. Click the Utilities tab.
4. Select one of the following and click Next.
   • Assign milestones to features (only those with no milestone currently assigned).
   • Set feature due date to milestone date (only affects features).
   • Push due date of open features.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.