Tracking Waste Through "Time Tracking" field

[daniel_billingham]

I am trying to find the easiest and cleanest way to track waste throughout a sprint on tickets. We are currently using "Time Tracking" field which does some of the job but you cannot pull through the "Work Description" field into any dashboards.

Is there a better way to track this through a ticket or does anyone know how to display the "Work Description" field on a dashboard.

[Rahul_RVS]

Hi @daniel_billingham 

If you would like to try out a 3rd party app is needed for this requirement, pls take a look at 

Worklogs Time Tracking in Jira & Timesheets

The app helps to view the time spent by your team members in a standard report format, and you can also add other issue fields like Description to the report as shown below.

With this add-on, you can easily -

• Create time reports in real time by grouping & categorizing data with aggregation
• Prepare your reports based on Project/Sprint/Issue Type/Assignees and various other filters
• Group your data to build more meaningful reports
• CSV Export
• Create Dashboard gadget
• Enter Time Spent for multiple issues from Time sheet screen. With Calendar view and Board view

Disclaimer : I am part of the dev team

[daniel_billingham]

Thanks Rahul,

Whilst I am sure this would work the company I work for would probably not go for paying for add-ons etc.

[Agata Leśnowolska_SolDevelo]

Hi @daniel_billingham

As a part of the Worklogs - Time Tracking, Time Reports, Timesheets team, I would like to recommend our app as a potential option to resolve this problem. 

With our app, you can instantly create time reports by grouping and categorizing data in flexible ways. Filter results by projects, users, groups, custom fields, or JQL - and even scale your reports with Jira Advanced Roadmaps. You can add personalized dashboard gadgets, and drill down to the worklog level at any time. The app also supports time zone adjustments, holiday management, secure permissions, and easy export or sharing with stakeholders.

Once you've generated your report in the dashboard gadget, you can simply click on any worklog to view its full description. Here’s a quick look at how that appears in action:

• Dashboard

• Report in the app

You can always try the app out for 30 days for free and see if it fits your needs. 

I hope this helps :) Let us know if you have any other questions!

Kind regards, 
Agata
SolDevelo Team

[daniel_billingham]

Thanks Agata,

Whilst I am sure this would work the company I work for would probably not go for paying for add-ons etc.

[Bartek Szajkowski]

Hello @daniel_billingham 

If your goal is to track “waste” during a sprint, relying on Work Description (which is essentially unstructured text) will always be limiting—especially for dashboards. What you can do is to use apps, such as Argon, which actually allow you to find issues by the time they spent in certain status. For instance, you could write a JQL such as:

issue > timeInStatus("project = ABC AND sprint in openSprints()", "Blocked", "2d")

For the problem of displaying issues matching certain JQL with custom column on the dashboard, you can use Filter Results Gadget. Please do the following

1. Create a Jira filter (JQL).

2. Go to Issues → Search, configure the columns you want (including custom fields).

3. Save the filter.

4. Add gadget: Dashboard → Add gadget → “Filter Results”

5. Select the saved filter.

I'm Bartek from Orbiscend OU (provide ARGON powerful JQL search app)

Greeting and good luck

Bartek

[daniel_billingham]

Thanks Bartek,

Whilst I am sure this would work the company I work for would probably not go for paying for add-ons etc.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @daniel_billingham 

Can you provide some screenshots for more information?

Other question, how do you define waste in your sprint? Is this on part of the work on items or if items are waste, why are they in the sprint?

What is you definition for waste?

[daniel_billingham]

Hi Marc,

Screenshot below for reference though looking through some other answers it Work Description is essentially unstructured text so would not appear in reporting. Have attached a screenshot in case though.

Waste we have currently described as something outside of the Devs control causing them to not be able to work on the story (environment down, waiting on approvals etc). They are new to this kind of tracking so was hoping Jira had an easy way of showcasing it with minimal admin.

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @daniel_billingham 

To track impediments, Devs should flag the issues in my opinion and let the SM or PO know that they are blocked on a story.

I won't considered this as waste.

Also planning would be key in my opinion, before starting work or placing it an a sprint is should be defined ready.

As you mention approvals, or other circumstances can be blocking, then this piece of work should not be taken on, in my opinion.

[daniel_billingham]

Appreciate your concerns on what is considered waste. It seems then ultimately Jira does not have the functionality to track waste other than simply adding a flag and adding a comment explaining the impediment?

[Marc -Devoteam-]

Hi @daniel_billingham 

Indeed.

But still work not "ready" for execution should be not in a sprint or on top of a backlog for a development team.