Issue tracker FAQs

What is the issue tracker?

The issue tracker pulls information from our JIRA work tracking system and displays it within the Totara Community. The reason we have created this is to ensure that you can access tickets from a range of different projects in one simple location. 

Any bug reports submitted via the helpdesk, if recreated and submitted for fixing, will appear in the public tracker. You can learn all about how to raise a helpdesk ticket here.

Where do I find the issue tracker?

You can access the issue tracker on the Totara Community site via Partners > Issue tracker in the top menu. 

Accessing the issue tracker from the Partners menu item.

You will need a Totara Community account to use the issue tracker. 

Who has access to the tracker?

The issue tracker is only accessible to Totara Partners. 

Where is this information coming from?

All of the information in the issue tracker is pulled from our Jira tracker, which is where our internal teams manage their work.  

What is the Product dashboard?

The Product dashboard displays a number of filtered reports on tracker information including:

  • Improvements and new features delivered in latest releases
  • Bugs fixed in latest releases
  • Initiatives in progress
  • Recently completed initiatives

What is the My issues page?

The My issues page allows you to easily see any bugs, new features, and improvements raised by your Totara Partner organisation.

How do I search for an issue?

You can easily search for an issue by going to Search all issues from the Issue tracker dropdown menu. Then simply search by one or more of the following:

  • Key: The ID key from the tracker e.g. TL-1234
  • Text search: Type in what you are searching for
  • Included in release: Select any current or planned future release
  • Issue status: Filter by that status of the issue e.g. In Progress or Ready to be released
  • Issue type: Filter by the type of issue e.g. Bug or New feature
  • Project: Filter by project e.g. Design (DES) or Totara Learn (TL)

Search for an issue via the sub-menu item titled Search all issues.

What are the different issue types?

There are a number of issue types that you can search and filter by. They are as follows:

  •  Bug: A development task status for a known fault
  •  Collection: A number of tickets that have been grouped together as they relate to one overall project, e.g. bugs, improvements and epics all for the same new functionality
  •  Epic: A bigger user story that is broken down into smaller parts in individual tickets
  •  Idea: A suggestion for an improvement/change that is in the idea phase - it needs to go through product or design and be assessed before it lands on the development queue
  •  Improvement: An enhancement to an existing feature or task
  •  Initiative: Roadmap item
  •  New Feature: A new feature of the product, which has yet to be developed
  •  PRD: Product Requirements Document task
  •  Simple sub-task: Subtask that follows a simple workflow
  •  Story: Issue type for a user story
  •  Sub-task: A smaller subtask of a larger issue
  •  Task: A task that needs to be done
  •  Upstream Import: This represents the import of an upstream fix
  •  Upstream Import Sub-Task: A smaller subtask for an upstream fix

What are the different statuses?

There are a number of issues statuses that you can search and filter by. They are as follows:

  • Done: Represents anything for which work has been completed.
  • In progress: Represents anything in the process of being worked on.
  • In review: Initial development has been done and the work is now being reviewed before testing.
  • On hold: Work has started on it, we are still going to do it but other priorities put it on the back-burner for now, or it is blocked.
  • Open: The issue is open and ready for the assignee to start work on it.
  • Ready for work: Any design or product specification have been completed and the item is ready for development.
  • Ready to be released: The work has been merged and is ready to be released in the next product update.
  • Released: The work has been included in an available product release.
  • Resolved: A resolution has been taken, and it is awaiting verification by reporter. From here issues are either reopened, or are closed.

What does the Horizon column mean?

In terms of the Totara roadmap, a horizon is the next four-month period. It can be understood as follows:

  • Current: Part of the current four-month horizon - you'll be able to find it on the product roadmap
  • Short: A smaller piece of work that currently has no set date
  • Medium: Part of a project that currently has no set date
  • Long: This is a larger piece of work that would likely take a while to complete and currently has no set date

Why can't I see my issue?

In some cases you may not be able to see an issue you have raised (or one raised by someone else) because it might be hidden for a number of reasons, including for security purposes. 

What is the difference between a bug, an improvement, a new feature, and an initiative?

  • Bug: A known bug we've found out about it and we have this issue to track its progress
  • New Feature: A new feature, some completely new functionality has been purposed
  • Improvement: An improvement or enhancement of an existing feature
  • Initiative: A wider roadmap item that might later be broken into a number of tasks/stages

I have a question about one of my tracker issues. Who can I contact regarding an issue in the tracker?

You can go through the normal support channels. 

Last modified: Thursday, 6 July 2023, 6:17 AM