Platform
This chapter explains the platform considerations that an evaluator will need to consider while selecting a Issue tracking Software.
Machine, processor, or user license
The software marketplace has many complicated pricing schemes. This makes it quite difficult for companies to match their needs to various software products they evaluate. Software Vendors usually retain the right to the software as they license them to the customers. A
Machine License
means that company will be charged for the number of machines the software is installed on, however, it may not matter how many people use the software on these machines. A
Processor License
is usually based on the number of processors in the server where the software is installed. This type of licensing is usually used in the
High-End Software.
A user license is based on the number of users using the software; usually it is a fixed amount per user with discounts as the number of users increase.
Operating systems
The dominant operating systems in today's world are
UNIX, Windows and MacOS
(a variant of the UNIX). Organizations mostly lean on one operating system or the other for their internal technology needs. The operating systems may be a consideration for the selection of the
Bug
and
Issue Tracking Software
due to the fact that the company’s staff may have expertise in the installation and maintenance of a particular operating system.
Back-end database
Web Issue and Web Bug Tracker
system comes in many flavors. Some of the data is maintained in flat files, some in file based databases, some in relational and object oriented database. Flat files are sometimes faster and
Cost Effective
but suffer from the proprietary nature of their design and lack of flexibility to expand. Relational databases have become standard in the software industry but are more expensive than their flat-file counterpart. Also the choice of the database may be determined by the company's expertise in a particular database.
Additional software
Often software vendors add additional software to the incident tracker. This does not offer the solution right at the point of making a decision; they may offer some incentive as they reduce the investment of similar software purchases in the future.
Backup
Lost data can spoil countless amounts of time and money. So it is important to consider the
Backup strategy
and tools provided by the vendor.
Security
Security is another important criterion for the selection of the
Web Bug Tracker
system. The points to consider are whether the system has a
Login Password
per user, whether privileges and roles can be created to limit access and if access can be selectively granted to a particular set of users for a particular set of functions.
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