Introduction
Keeping an accurate record of "Completed" and "Remaining" time on each task is often forgotten or error prone. This simple extension allows each user to log time against each work item accurately, tracking completed time resulting in better planning.
Benefits
- The time logged updates the "Completed" time and "Remaining" time automatically.
- Waste can be recorded, monitored and reduced.
- Time can be reported more accurately against projects and time types.
- Capacity can be set accurately based on actual values.
- Remaining work automatically set when missing on new work items.
- DevOps Time recording is simple and quick, adding no extra overhead to teams.
Features
This free extension is only recommended for smaller workloads. Due to the limitations of free extension storage, it is restricted to 100,000 time log entries in total. If you want higher volumes, a much more robust solution and the features below, have a look at the premium version.
| Feature |
Free |
Premium |
| Logging time |
|
|
| Log time against any work item with a type, date and comment |
✓ |
✓ |
| Automatically update work item Completed and Remaining |
✓ |
✓ |
| Completed and Remaining work set automatically when missing |
✓ |
✓ |
| Prevent remaining time going negative |
✓ |
✓ |
| Prevent time logging to closed items |
✓ |
✓ |
| Treats Done and Removed as closed states (Agile and Scrum boards) |
|
✓ |
| Keep Remaining in sync with Original Estimate |
|
✓ |
| Amend time logs after they are saved |
|
✓ |
| Start/stop timer on the work item and on My Time Log |
|
✓ |
| Time breakdown per work item by type, person and day |
|
✓ |
| Log time on behalf of other users |
|
✓ |
| Log time to many users at once |
|
✓ |
| Assign task automatically on first time log |
|
✓ |
| Start task automatically on first time log |
|
✓ |
| Prevent logging time to future dates |
|
✓ |
| Lock down logging on or before a chosen date |
|
✓ |
| Require a minimum comment length |
|
✓ |
| Reporting |
|
|
| Time Log Summary by team, user and week |
✓ |
✓ |
| Download time logs as CSV |
✓ |
✓ |
| Summary date ranges: this/last week, last 2 or 3 weeks, this/last month, custom |
|
✓ |
| Summary across several projects and teams at once |
|
✓ |
| Group the summary by user, project, area path, iteration, parent, work item or type |
|
✓ |
| Save your summary grouping against your account |
|
✓ |
| Collapse weeks to totals; range total; work item type icons and links |
|
✓ |
| CSV export with project, team and area path ids |
|
✓ |
| My Time Log: personal weekly timesheet with inline add, edit and delete |
|
✓ |
| Weekly target hours with progress bar |
|
✓ |
| Copy last week into this week |
|
✓ |
| Azure DevOps days off folded into the timesheet and target |
|
✓ |
| Analytics Dashboard with charts and aggregate tables |
|
✓ |
| Weekly shortfall report of users below target |
|
✓ |
| Administration |
|
|
| Time types |
✓ |
✓ |
| Time types per project or across the whole organisation, with a project default |
|
✓ |
| Disable a time type and move its entries to another type |
|
✓ |
| Admin page restricted to Project Administrators |
|
✓ |
| Usage shown on the admin page |
|
✓ |
| Prevent users adding or amending time for other users |
|
✓ |
| Only show the current project in the summary |
|
✓ |
| Restrict the summary to the current user |
|
✓ |
| Platform and support |
|
|
| Restricted to 100,000 time log entries in total |
✓ |
|
| Slows down as more time logs are added |
✓ |
|
| Dedicated database that scales as volumes grow |
|
✓ |
| Much better performance, with retries on failed Azure DevOps calls |
|
✓ |
| Safe when two entries are saved at the same moment |
|
✓ |
| Full REST API with query support for reporting suites and data warehouses |
|
✓ |
| Bulk migration tool to move your data from Free to Premium |
|
✓ |
| Error monitoring and performance tuning |
|
✓ |
| Backup |
|
✓ |
| Support and demos |
|
✓ |
| Azure DevOps Services and Azure DevOps Server (on-premises) |
✓ |
✓ |
The premium version is private on the marketplace. There is a fully working evaluation version of it here, which allows 250 time log records per month. Please feel free to install it into a test organisation and see what you think. Premium is pay as you go per time log record, with no per-user cost, and a bulk migration tool can copy your existing data from the free version. Full documentation is at https://docs.timelogextension.com; contact info@timelogextension.com for a licence or a demo.
Manage time per work item
Users quickly record time spent on each task via the "Time Log" tab.
Logging time is quick and simple and keeps the completed time on the work item updated automatically.
Time Log Summary
Using the time log summary
each user can see their logged time by selecting a week, a month or any date range.
The time logged for the members with each team can also be shown
The free extension is restricted to 100,000 time log entries in total.
Getting Started
- Installation process
- Click the "Get it Free" above and follow the instructions
- Setup time types
- Under Project settings => Extension => Time Logging Admin
- Add time types you want to monitor. eg Development, Meeting, Test, Documentation, Lost Time, Admin
- See Configuration below
- Log Time
- Record time to each work item using the additional tab "Time Log"
- Time Log Summary
- View the Time Log Summary from the left hand menu.
Time Log Admin
Manage types of time
Create time types so time can be be broken down for reporting purposes and planning. Time types are accessed via the project admin menu. Under the Extensions section there is "Time Log Admin"
Configuration
Prevent remaining time going negative:
When set, if time remaining becomes negative it will be set to zero. When not set the user is prompted if they wish to allow the remaining to go negative.
Prevent time logging to closed items:
When set, it is not possible to log time to items that are "Closed". When not set, logging time to "Closed" items is allowed but remaining time will be unchanged as the item is closed remaining is assumed to be zero.
TFS 2018 and hosted Azure DevOps servers
There is some extra work to do that is documented here
If you are still having issues try authorizing your project Process to Allow permissions. For example Admin Settings -> Process -> Agile -> Settings -> Security -> Add User or Group Then Allow all permissions. (Not Inherited)
History
| Version |
Details |
| 1.0.41 |
Fix work item titles containing HTML being rendered in the summary. Upgrade jQuery, moment and DataTables. Update the free vs premium feature comparison. Add automated build/publish pipeline and unit tests. Remove the 400-a-month limit: new organisations are limited to 100,000 time logs in total. Clearer usage notice on the Time Log tab and Summary page when a team is a heavy user or close to the limit |
| 1.0.40 |
Fix typo. Add free to labels |
| 1.0.39 |
Fix #77. Set Completed if missing |
| 1.0.38 |
Support more than 100 teams per project |
| 1.0.36 |
Update readme |
| 1.0.35 |
Remove console logs |
| 1.0.33 |
#64 remove test area as no longer needed |
| 1.0.32 |
Fix #63 Download all fails silently |
| 1.0.31 |
Fix #58 Summary showing invalid date |
| 1.0.30 |
Fix #57 trim time types. Fixes #54 no time type message missing. |
| 1.0.29 |
Fix #53 No time types message should be show. Fix #52 "Cannot reinitialise DataTable" Fix #56 User can change time type to an invalid value |
| 1.0.28 |
Add TimeLogId to export all. Fix #52 Escape quotes in Time Log summary, Fix #51 Day order wrong in sumamry |
| 1.0.27 |
Fix #49 Date text box trucated |
| 1.0.25 |
Fix #40 Add project to item summary and download. Fix #47 Prevent script injection into time comment. Fix #48 Delete orphan time logs |
| 1.0.24 |
Fix #45 Add task id to item summary, Fix #46 Default date shows the wrong day in New Zealand |
| 1.0.23 |
Fix #43 Default summary to current week, Fix #44 Escape commas in CSV |
| 1.0.22 |
Fix #39 Order dropdowns in summary. Fix 41 Correct order of Weeks in Firefox |
| 1.0.21 |
Fix #38 Check box tooltip showing in label |
| 1.0.20 |
Fix #32 Add day of month to summary.
Fixes 33 Summary too long.
Fixes 34 prevent remaining going negative.
Fixes 35 Prevent logging to closed items. |
| 1.0.19 |
Fix #30 Default time type if only 1, Fixes 31 Delete time logs on page 2 onwards |
| 1.0.18 |
Added link to License to the manifest |
| 1.0.17 |
Fix #27. CSV download not working |
| 1.0.16 |
Fix #26. Too many rows in time log details. Reduced to 10. |
| 1.0.15 |
Fix #25. Completed time not showing for process type Scrum. |
| 1.0.13 |
Feature #21. Set Remaining to Original estimate if not set.
Feature #22. Show total time logged.
Feature #23. Optionally set remaining to 0 when if it goes negative. |
| 1.0.12 |
Feature #19. Filter by team |
| 1.0.11 |
Fix #18. Summary not scrolling. Feature #17. Download logs as CSV |
| 1.0.10 |
Add month and date range filter to summary. Issue #14. Improve performance of loading summary. |
| 1.0.9 |
Fixed issue #11. Time log summary showing wrong day in different time zones
Fixed issue #9. Summary shows no data if there is nothing logged in current week and only 1 week in drop down
Add message to summary if no logs found |
| 1.0.8 |
Added team and members to Time Log Summary
Fixed issue #1. Layout of delete icon |
| 1.0.6 |
Automatically decrease time remaining.
Inform users how to add new time types on new install.
Validate the date entered. |
| 1.0.5 |
Initial version |
Contribute
Please pass on any questions or suggestions via the Q & A Section or get in touch info@timelogextension.com. Please support this project via the "Buy me a coffee" icon in the Time Log Admin section.
