The Workgroup Management System Guide contains information for installing and maintaining multiple ProblemTracker workgroups (projects). At the physical level a workgroup consists of a set of web pages (part of a web site or its own separate web site) and a single database. At the logical level a workgroup is a place (web site) where a group of users can collaborate on a common project. The functions in the Workgroup Management System are distinct from the Administrative operations within a particular workgroup (database). The Administrator's Guide contains information for operations within each workgroup, such as user administration and workflow settings.

Supporting Multiple Projects
It is common for ProblemTracker to be called upon to handle the requirements of several independent projects. Different product development teams, IT departments, or customer support organizations may wish to use the system at the same time, with slightly differing needs. ProblemTracker supports multiple projects, including independent customization for each project - on a single server.

Single Workgroup
If projects all share a common data record ("form" to submit & track issues), any number of projects can be supported using a single ProblemTracker workgroup installation. The Product field (which can be re-named to something such as Project or Division via the Administrator interface if groups are not organized along product lines) can be used to distinguish records for each project. The "Product" field can be used to create a separate workflow (automatically assign issues to different users, use different email notification rules, go through a different set of workflow states/steps, etc.) for each project/product. If you have a common data record you only need to create a single workgroup (or simply use the pteval workgroup that you, optionally, created during installation).

Multiple Workgroups
If the various groups using ProblemTracker have a different data requirements (different "forms" to submit & track issues), then each project can be configured as its own workgroup. ProblemTracker supports this by allowing you to install any number of ProblemTracker workgroups on the same server. Each workgroup can be independently customized and accessed via a unique web address (URL). Even if the data requirements are very similar for various groups, you may also wish to create independent workgroups if the organizations are very separate so that each workgroup can be maintained independently (each with its own administrator). This can also simplify the process of moving a workgroup to a new machine (without affecting the existing workgroups) should organizational changes or access requirements (e.g. support needs to allow outside access to the system and therefore must run on a web server outside your firewall) necessitate a move to a separate ProblemTracker installation. Independent workgroups may also be required for security reasons (if physically separate databases or web sites are required). Within each of these independent workgroups, you can still use the "Product" field to create separate workflows for different product lines, departments, types of requests to be processed, etc. Just change the label for the "Product" field as you see fit (e.g. to Department, Request Type, etc.).

Workgroup Management System

The Workgroup Management System (WMS) is the administrative interface for maintaining multiple ProblemTracker workgroups. Within WMS, the following actions can be performed for each workgroup:

• Add
• View
• Edit
• Delete
• Manage User Accounts
• Manage Aliases
• Move to another location
• Migrate to another database type
• Repair

These options can be selected clicking on the buttons in the Button Bar or by clicking on the icons to the left of each workgroup listed on the Workgroup Management System Home Page.

It is recommended that you temporarily disable any anti-virus software while you perform configuration in the Workgroup Management System (WMS). This is suggested so that your anti-virus software will not prevent WMS from performing operations such as copying files, running scripts, configuring your web server, setting file permissions and registry entries. Your anti-virus software can be reactivated safely after you have completed any necessary WMS configuration.

The Workgroup Management System has an Admin section where additional operations can be performed for each workgroup:

• WMS User Administration - Change WMS User Password
• Synchronize ProblemTracker Anonymous Account (PUSR4hostname) Password in WMS
• View Common Parameters used by WMS
• Edit Common Parameters used by WMS
• Log Workgroup Information
• Block and Unblock Workgroups
• Manage Web Server Security
• Manage Workgroup Database Operations
• Upgrade Workgroups from Version 3.x to Version 5.5
• Upgrade Workgroups from Version 4.x and 5.x to Version 5.5
• Other Maintenance Operations

To perform an operation in the Admin section of the Workgroup Management System, select an option using the radio button to the left of the option desired, then click on the Continue button.

Individual sections of this Help documentation can also be accessed from within the Workgroup Management System by clicking on the Help link in the upper right corner of each page.