Metrics for Bugs in User Stories and Features

User Stories and Features in Targetprocess may contain related Bugs. Predefined calculations of total effort and time spent in User Stories and Features do not include related Bugs. This article describes how to configure custom calculations and summarize bugs' details properly.

The following metrics can be configured per User Story and per Feature:

• Bugs Count, Tasks and Bugs Count
• Bugs Effort, Total Effort including Bugs
• Bugs Time Spent, Total Time Spent including Bugs
• Bugs Cost, Total Cost including Bugs

To build reports having all nested items processed properly use custom calculations based on custom formula metrics or Visual Reports calculations.

It is possible to perform the custom calculations via Visual Reports calculations. Results are displayed in reports only. Calculations can be configured and modified by any Targetprocess user (report owner). The reports are described in dedicated articles, for example:

• Detailed Time Reports for hierarchical entities: User Stories (with Tasks, Bugs), Features, Epics

To get calculated totals displayed in detailed views, enable filtering and grouping in Targetprocess views and legacy tabular reports, add custom calculations for work items and high-level planning entities. The custom calculations are done by Custom Formula Metrics. They can be configured and modified by Administrators only.

Data Model

User Stories in Targetprocess may contain Bugs. Bugs are displayed on Bugs tab. Parent User Story of a Bug is displayed in Info section in its detailed view.

Features in Targetprocess may contain Bugs as well. Bugs are displayed on Bugs tab. Parent Feature of a Bug is displayed in Info section in its detailed view.

As result, Bugs in Targetprocess can be related to Features directly, or within intermediate User Stories, or both ways.

To avoid unintended duplication in total calculations, all the possible cases should be processed carefully.

[1] Bug is related to a Feature within related User Story

[2] Bug is related to a Feature directly, there is no related User Story

[3] Bug is related to a Feature directly, related User Story has no parent Feature

[4] Bug is related to a Feature directly, related User Story has the same parent Feature

In this case, total bugs count / effort / time spent / cost for the Feature should include the Bug just once, not twice.

[5] Bug is related to a Feature directly, related User Story has other parent Feature

In this case, total bugs count / effort / time spent / cost for both Features A and B should include the Bug.

Metrics Hierarchy

The solution is based on custom calculations. It uses custom fields and custom formula metrics.

• How to set up Custom Fields?
• How to set up Custom Formula Metrics?

Here is how we recommend to set up hierarchy of custom calculations to process all the cases carefully and avoid duplications:

1. Set up custom calculation on User Story level. Summarize values in nested Bugs. It processes cases [1], [3], [4], [5] for User Stories.
2. Build first part of custom calculation on Feature level. Summarize custom values in nested User Stories. It processes cases [1], [4] for all the Features and [5] for "Feature A".
3. Build second part of custom calculation on Feature level. Summarize values in nested Bugs. Set up advanced filter to exclude case [4]. It processes cases [2], [3] for all the Features and [5] for "Feature B".
4. Set up custom calculation on Feature level. Summarize the two parts together.

1. Metrics for Bugs in User Stories

Prerequisites:

• Add corresponding numeric system custom fields on User Story level in advance.
• To sum Costs of Bugs, add numeric system custom field "Cost" on Bugs level and set up corresponding costs calculations in advance.

Set up these custom calculations as custom formula metrics for numeric system custom fields on User Story level.

2. Metrics for User Stories in Features

Use these custom formulas as parts in further complex calculations.

[Feature]
"US Bugs Count": UserStories.SUM(CustomValues.Number("Bugs Count"))
"US Bugs Effort": UserStories.SUM(CustomValues.Number("Bugs Effort"))
"US Bugs Time Spent": UserStories.SUM(CustomValues.Number("Bugs Time Spent"))
"US Bugs Cost": UserStories.SUM(CustomValues.Number("Bugs Cost"))

3. Metrics for Bugs in Features

Use these custom formulas as parts in further complex calculations.

[Feature]
"F Bugs Count": Bugs.Where(UserStory.Feature == null || Feature.Id != UserStory.Feature.Id).Count
"F Bugs Effort": Bugs.Where(UserStory.Feature == null || Feature.Id != UserStory.Feature.Id).SUM(Effort)
"F Bugs Time Spent": Bugs.Where(UserStory.Feature == null || Feature.Id != UserStory.Feature.Id).SUM(TimeSpent)
"F Bugs Cost": Bugs.Where(UserStory.Feature == null || Feature.Id != UserStory.Feature.Id).SUM(CustomValues.Number("Cost"))

4. Metrics for totals in Features

Prerequisites:

• Add corresponding numeric system custom fields on Feature level in advance.

Set up these custom calculations as custom formula metrics for numeric system custom fields on Feature level.