PCR field definitions are customized within /var/www/bugzilla/template/en/default/page/fields.html.tmpl. For additional guidance on filling out the fields, refer to the Problem reporting howto.

Status and Resolution

The Status and Resolution fields define and track the life cycle of a PCR.

STATUS

RESOLUTION

The Status field indicates the current state of a PCR.  Only certain status transitions are allowed, as defined by the PCR Status Workflow on Bugzilla's Administration page. The Resolution field indicates what happened to this PCR.
Open PCRs
NEW
PCR has been created, but not assigned yet. Workflow transitions include ASSIGNED or RESOLVED.
  • AMC20-189 Classified: New (Status) + defined (Severity)
  • AMC20-189 Recorded: New (Status)
  • ASSIGNED
    Responsibility for this PCR has been assigned to a valid user. Updating the Status from NEW to ASSIGNED is performed during a formal or informal CCB meeting (CCB1 activity), and requires management approval, unless the Impact Assessment is Trivial. Workflow transitions include RESOLVED, or NEW in the case of re-assigning the PCR to a different developer.
  • AMC20-189 Classified: Assigned (Status) + defined (Severity)
  • REOPENED
    The PCR Status is changed to REOPENED when the resolution (Status set to RESOLVED) is deemed incorrect or incomplete, or when the Status was set to WORKSFORME and the PCR is now reproducible. Workflow transitions include ASSIGNED or RESOLVED.
    UNCONFIRMED
    This value is not currently being used.
    PCRs in one of these "open" states do not have a resolution yet.
    RESOLVED
    A resolution has been implemented and is awaiting verification by CCB; however, before being set to RESOLVED, any fields with "TBD" should be set to valid values, all Flags should be set to "+" or "-", and the component's Release Notes should be updated if appropriate. Workflow transitions include REOPENED or CLOSED by CCB.
  • AMC20-189 Resolved: Resolved (Status)
  • CLOSED
    CCB3 has reviewed thePCR and confirmed the resolution, and verified that the software developement and verification process was followed. CLOSED   PCRs may transition to REOPENED.
  • AMC20-189 Closed: Closed (Status) - confirmed by CCB
  • VERIFIED
    This value is not currently being used.
    FIXED
    A fix for this PCR has been tested and committed to CM.
    INVALID
    Not a valid a problem. E.g., the PCR describes an alleged defect that is actually a defined feature or requirement.
    WONTFIX
    The problem described will never be changed or fixed. The rationale for this resolution should be documented in a Comment.
    DUPLICATE
    The PCR is a duplicate of an existing PCR. Marking a PCR as a duplicate will update the Status to RESOLVED, and prompt for the PCR number of the duplicated PCR.
    WORKSFORME
    Unable to reproduce the problem described in the PCR, and comments in the code do not provide clues as to why the described behavior would occur. If information becomes availeble prior to CCB closing the PCR, the PCR can be reopened.
    LATER, REMIND, and MOVED
    These values are not currently being used.

    Initial State

    Newly created PCRs have an Initial State of NEW. Changing the Status to ASSIGNED is generally performed during a CCB meeting (CCB1 activity), and requires management approval, unless the Impact Assessment is Trivial.

    Description

    Detailed description of the change or problem. Refer to the PCR writing guidelines and the Comment section below for help. The description must not reference customers or projects by name; instead, use code names or 3-digit customer numbers.

    Recommendations: refrain from alarmist statements; stick to the facts; do not include email chains, and instead, create an attachment.

    Flags

    Flags are used to indicate status of configuration items, i.e., Requirements, Code, Test Cases, and Test Procedures. When a component/project enters the verification phase, the user must follow the review process game when performing verification reviews. Process Note: PCR numbers are required for all CM commits against lifecycle data items, along with updates to the appropriate Status File.

    Definition of flag values:

    Space :  Assessment is needed.
    ? :  The Requestee (user listed to the right of the Flag) will perform an assessment of required changes and/or make those changes. If Requestee is blank (as this field is optional), the Requester (a.k.a. Flag_Setter) is most likely the Maintainer performing the assessment.
    + :  Required changes have been committed to CM (i.e., changes to this configuration item type are "Closed").  The user listed to the left of the Flag is the Maintainer who set the flag to "+" (a.k.a. the Requester or Flag_Setter); however, the Requester is not necessarily the Maintainter who performed the work.  The CM log identifies the Maintainer(s) who performed the work, as described in the configuration-management-howto.
    - :  Assessment was performed, and no changes are required.

    When the last remaining Flag is changed to "+" or "-" (i.e., all the other Flags have been set to "+" or "-") the PCR Status must be changed to RESOLVED, or a Comment added as to why the PCR is left Open.  Changing a Flag or Status triggers assessment of the PCR by CCB (CCB3 activity).

    Once Status has been updated to FIXED, but before CCB updates it to CLOSED, it is possible that an additional change/problem is identified.  E.g., while performing tests, a problem is discovered with the recent code changes.  In this case, the Code flag must be updated from "+" to "?", the Flag_Requestee assigned to the responsible Maintainer, and the Status updated to ASSIGNED.

    Once Status is set to CLOSED, no changes should be made to any artifacts; however, additional Comments may be added.

    Prior to CCB updating the Status to CLOSED, it is acceptable for a "+" to be changed to a "?" if subsequent activity uncovers a problem; e.g., a tester might change the Code flag from "+" to "?" if a problem is uncovered during testing. In this scenario, the tester should re-assign the PCR to the code author to generate notification that additional work is required.

    To search for PCRs by Requestee, use the My Requests link in the page footer, and update the query appropriately. Or, use the search page and specify a Flag value; e.g., specifiy Code+ to see all PCRs which are "code complete". This example is a search for all PCRs neither closed nor "none required", i.e., neither "+" nor "-".

    Requestee

    The developer performing an assessment of required changes and/or making the changes to the specified configuration item type; must be set to a valid Bugzilla user. Bugzilla will auto-complete email addresses, e.g., when "md" is entered, Bugzilla will fill in "mdiethelm@ddci.com". Each configuration item type may have a different Requestee. The PCR Assignee should be updated to each Requestee as the PCR moves through the lifecycle for each configuration item.

    Other Fields

    Alias
    Alternative name or number for the PCR. For legacy PCRs converted from the Track database, the alias is either A-###, or E-### and should not be changed. Field should be blank for new PCRs.
    Assignee
    All components have a default assignee; however, the field can be set to any valid Bugzilla username (email address) to identfiy the person responsible for resolving the PCR.

    If the PCR is actively being worked, then the Assignee should be one of the names included in (one of) the Flag having a '?'.

    Assignee Real Name
    A custom Unknown Type field in this installation of Bugzilla.
    Blocks
    Enter the PCR numbers that are dependent on this PCR (if any).
    CC
    A list of the Bugzilla user ids (i.e., email addresses) of the people who will get email whenever the PCR is changed.
    Changed
    When this PCR was last updated.
    Classification
    PCRs are categorized into Classifications, Products and Components, with Classifications being the top-level categorization, follwed by Products, then Components.
    Comment
    This is where you can put free form text to discuss the issues raised by the PCR. Once entered, the comments cannot be edited, so proof read before you commit.

    One thing to note is that Bugzilla does "autolinkification" of several things. What this means is that you can type most forms of URLs (e.g., http:...) and when the text is displayed to the user, Bugzilla will generate a "hotlink" to the destination of the URL. General http, https, mailto, and several other general URLs are supported. In addition, Bugzilla will generate a "hotlink" if you specify PCR nnn in your text. The hotlink will be struck through if the PCR has been resolved, and will have a "tooltip" containing the Resolution and the Summary of the PCR. You can even make a reference to a specific comment by either specifying, for example: "PCR 1 comment 2", or from one comment to another comment in the same PCR by just using "comment ccc", e.g., "see comment 2 above".

    To interface with Subversion, you can also put "SVNRevision nnnn", or "SVNRevision(repositoryName) nnnn" and a link to that revision in the given repository will be constructed. If no "repositoryName" is specified, then a default of "Deos" is assumed for the shared IP Bugzilla and "DDCI" for the DDCI Bugzilla.

    To support legacy PCRs imported from Track, the shared IP autolinkification has been extended to support several variants of the PCR A-nnn, and PCR E-nnn formats. Note however that you SHOULD NOT use the "A-" or "E-" syntax for new PCRs.

    Note that you can have Bugzilla autolinkify any text you'd like (e.g., to send in an email, or post on the web) by visiting the autolinkify page.

    Comment Tag
    A custom Unknown Type field in this installation of Bugzilla.
    Component
    Each Product has one or more Components. A separate PCR needs to be written for each impacted Component.
    Content
    This is a field available in searches that does a Google-like 'full-text' search on the Summary and Comment fields.
    Creation date
    Date the PCR was created.
    Deadline
    The date that this PCR must be resolved by, entered in YYYY-MM-DD format.
    Depends on
    A list of PCRs can be specified here, thus allowing one to document any other PCRs that this PCR depends on.
    Hardware
    aka Platform. Default is TBD. This is the hardware platform against which the PCR was reported. If you are not sure, then select TBD; otherwise specify the type of processor the bug is associated with. If the PCR applies to all platforms, or the platform is not important (e.g., for editorial documentation changes), specify All.

    Note: When searching, selecting the option "All" does not select PCRs assigned against any platform. It merely selects PCRs that are marked as occurring on all platforms, i.e. are designated "All".

    Note: When searching, selecting the option "All" only finds PCRs whose value for this field is literally the word "All".
    Impact Assessment
    The estimated effort/impact of changes:
    Trivial: Effort < 1 day
    Light: Effort = 1-7 days
    Medium: Effort = 1-3 weeks
    Heavy: Effort > 3 weeks
    Importance
    See Priority and Severity.
    Keywords
    You can add keywords from a defined list to PCRs, in order to easily identify and group them.
    Last Visit
    A custom Date/Time field in this installation of Bugzilla.
    Organization
    Organization responsible for working this PCR. Must be Honeywell or DDC-I, Inc.
    OS
    Default is DEOS. This is the operating system against which the PCR was reported. Values include the embedded OS options, i.e. Deos and HeartOS, along with host OS options for offline (host) tools. If none of the values apply, leave this TBD.

    Note: When searching, selecting the option "All" only finds PCRs whose value for this field is literally the word "All".
    PCR ID
    The numeric id of a PCR, unique within this entire installation of Bugzilla.
    Personal Tags
    Unlike Keywords which are global and visible by all users, Personal Tags are personal and can only be viewed and edited by their author. Editing them won't send any notification to other users. Use them to tag and keep track of PCRs.
    Priority
    Used to prioritize PCR and enable CM commits. Allowable values are determined by the Component DO-178C classification, as highlighted within the following values:

    TBD

    Default value. The PCR cannot be Assigned and CM commits are not allowed when Priority is set to TBD.

    Next Release

    The PCR must be resolved before the next release is made. Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

    Any Upcoming

    An opportunistic PCR that can be resolved in any future release, even beyond the next certification release. Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

    By Cert

    The PCR must be resolved before the next certification release is made. Note that if the next release is a certification release, then Next Release and By Cert are equivalent, but By Cert should be selected. Valid for DO-178C Classifications DAL-A through D and TQL-4.

    Hold

    The PCR should not be worked, and CM commits are not allowed. User should add justification within a comment with justification for setting Priority to Hold. Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

    Product
    The products defined in the Bugzilla database. If you are unsure of of the product use the TBD (To Be Determined) product. The Documentation product should only be used in conjunction with the "Other" Flag. The :Multiple product should not be chosen until you've read and understood the guidance given in the Problem reporting howto.

    Note that in most DDC-I documentation the phrase "component" is used to refer to either or both a Bugzilla Product or Bugzilla component. This confusion is regrettable, but not really significant.

    Select a Classification to narrow down this list.
    QA Contact
    The person responsible for confirming this PCR if it is unconfirmed, and for verifying the fix once the PCR has been resolved.
    QA Contact Real Name
    A custom Unknown Type field in this installation of Bugzilla.
    Reporter
    The person who filed this PCR.
    Reporter Real Name
    A custom Unknown Type field in this installation of Bugzilla.
    See Also
    This allows you to refer to PCRs in other installations. You can enter a URL to a PCR in the 'Add PCR URLs' field to note that that PCR is related to this one. You can enter multiple URLs at once by separating them with whitespace.

    You should normally use this field to refer to PCRs in other installations. For PCRs in this installation, it is better to use the Depends on and Blocks fields.

    Severity
    Describes the impact of the PCR. Values are taken directly from the Software Accomplishment Summary (SAS), with the exception of TBD and ProcessNonCompliance. Allowable values are determined by the Component DO-178C classification, as highlighted within the following values:

    TBD

    Default value. Before the PCR Status can be updated to ASSIGNED, a valid Severity must be selected.

    Defect

    An error in lifecycle data which does not impact system safety; within this context, defects are not visible to the user. Defects that cannot be resolved via additional analysis become Limitations. Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

  • AMC20-189: Functional
  • Enhancement

    The documented desire for a new feature or the extension of an existing feature. An enhancement could also include the desire to change something in order to make a verification step easier. Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

  • AMC20-189: any other OPR classification
  • Limitation

    Executable object code does not meet requirements or user's guide. For DO-178C Classification DAL-A through D, a Limitation may impact the system safety. PCRs with this Severity must have an accompanying work-around documented in the SAS to provide a mitigation strategy. This value is not valid for Components with DO-178C Classification of UDT or PPP.

  • AMC20-189: Significant
  • ProcessNonCompliance

    A documented process or procedure was not followed. If the non-compliance was found during an audit, then the URL field should contain the Audit ID (e.g., 2005-007) for the audit results which document the non-compliance. If the non-compliance was found some other way, then the means of detection should be documented in a comment.

  • AMC20-189: Process
  • WorkStep

    A cosmetic deficiency in a life-cycle data item or a configuration item change is needed as a result of an administrative action. Examples include correcting typos, "create Software Accomplishment Summary," and "merge code to mainline". Valid for all DO-178C Classifications.

  • AMC20-189: Life-cycle data
  • Summary
    This is a brief "one line" textual description of the PCR. This should be descriptive and as specific as possible, but should not include the customer's name or project reference. I.e., don't say "found a bug", and if possible indicate what the circumstances and effect of the issue is. Remember that the summary will appear in lots of places as the high level description of the PCR and will typically have user visibility. The Bugzilla general Bug writing Guide has several good tips.

    Target Milestone
    The branch in CM where the configuration item(s) being changed reside. Typically this is mainline unless simultaneous development is taking place. Note that this is more properly referred to as the "Branch" within our documentation. The reason it is "Target Milestone" is a quirk of Bugzilla.

    This selection list contains the names of the current branches. TBD should be used if the Reporter is unsure which branch the configuration item(s) reside upon. Note that no configuration item change can take place under this PCR while the branch is TBD (i.e. the branch must be determined before any CM activity can be performed).

    URL
    If the Severity is ProcessNonCompliance, then see the definition of ProcessNonCompliance otherwise this field is not formally defined.
    Version
    The version where the issue was identified. E.g., the component's version where the defect, limitation, etc. was discovered. If the issue is related to a new feature, set the field to mainline.
    Votes
    Some PCRs can be voted for, and you can limit your search to PCRs with more than a certain number of votes.
    Whiteboard
    Each PCR has a free-form single line text entry box for adding tags and status information.