Capturing time tracking data

Time tracking values are captured in workflow event dialog boxes, such as the Estimate dialog box. You can use built-in time tracking fields or event custom fields to capture time tracking values based on how you want to report the data.

For information about time tracking fields used in the default workflows, see Default time tracking fields.

Built-in workflow event time tracking field

Events have a built-in time tracking field that you can enable. For example, the Estimate event in the default requirement workflow has an Estimated Time field used for time tracking.

To enable the built-in time tracking field, select the Display the time tracking field using option on the Details tab in the Add Event or Edit Event dialog box. See Adding workflow events.

Workflow event custom fields

You can add numeric custom fields to events to capture time tracking values. For example, the Enter Work event in the default workflows has a Remaining Time decimal custom field used for time tracking.

To add custom fields to an event, click the Custom Fields tab in the Add Event or Edit Event dialog box. See Adding workflow events.

Add a Remaining Hours custom field to each event used for time tracking to ensure values, such as the variance between estimated and actual hours, are accurate in reports and other areas. Make sure that each event is selected in the Remaining Hours field when selecting the fields to include in time tracking totals in the Project Options dialog box. See Setting time tracking project options.

Choosing a time tracking field type

The type of time tracking field you should use depends on how you want to calculate values and if an event can be entered multiple times for an item.

The built-in time tracking field provides options for calculating time tracking values. You can use:

  • The sum of all time tracking values entered for all instances of an event for an item. For example, if the Fix event is added to an issue twice and 2 and 6 are entered in the Effort field, the actual hours total is 8.
  • The time tracking value entered for the last instance of the event for an item. For example, if the Estimate event is added to an issue twice and 2 and 6 are entered in the Effort field respectively, the actual hours total is 6.

Custom time tracking fields always use the value from the last instance of the event entered for the item.

If items can have multiple instances of the same event, use the built-in time tracking field so you can choose how to calculate the total hours. This is especially important for reporting actual hours because you want a sum of values from all instances of an event to calculate an accurate total.

If items can only have one instance of an event, you can use either the built-in field or event custom fields for time tracking. You can use a combination of the built-in field and custom fields in one event to capture multiple time tracking values for the activity.

You can use integer custom fields on the Add or Edit item dialog boxes or integer event fields to capture story points values.