• Performance: By using different caching strategies we achieved to increase the performance of the application noticeably
• Database independency: Woodpecker-IT now uses a database independent persistence layer. We are currently testing MSSQL and Oracle as alternative for the well known MySql
• Future proof: Woodpecker IT has been updated to the state of the art which means PHP 5.1 and MySQL 5, Inno-DB instead oft MyISAM as MySQL-Engine, browser compatibility to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6-8, Google Chrome, Opera and Firefox 3.5. Thus a stable base is created for the upcoming functional improvements.
• Improved usability: Including editing of issues in a dialogue above the list view, a retractable iconbar in the issue list,  new statistics diagrammes with enlarged functionality and many detailed improvements as well as a revised and more fresh gui design
• Functional improvements: Especially noteworthy is the new template referencing feature which enables you to bind the permissions of a user directly to the permissions of a template (group permissions).

In version v5.4 the following features were implemented:

• Calculation of date values using time functions in the filter section
• Automated issue generation by email
• Issue import and export in XML format like the CSV import and export functionality
• Limit CSV and XML export on selected issues only
• Alerting-filter and automated notifications
• Customizable color theme by means of CSS

Woodpecker IT is entirely web-based. All you need for access is a suitable internet browser and an internet connection. You get best results using Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla and Opera. No further software installations are required.

This allows global access and teamwork from different locations. Besides that, you can let your customers take part in the developement process at any time. Woodpecker IT is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

Since your data is deposited on a central database, all changes are instantly visible for all project members. Advantages are obvious:

The project members can exchange their information way faster and your data is always 100% up-to-date.

Woodpecker IT has a real multi-user ability. I.e. Issues, which are edited by one user, cannot be edited by another user. The problem of other web-based tools, that a user can overwrite unnoticed the changes done by another user, will not occur in Woodpecker IT.

We offer the software as both licensed and hosted (Application Service Provider) version.

The licensed version offers you the possibility to manage your data on your own server. The license fee has to be paid only once.

Using the ASP version, Woodpecker IT runs on the web server of AVS GmbH. This costs a monthly charge fee per user. If you have less projects to work on in one particular month, simply cancel some users for this month.
Besides that you have no costs for installation, support or hardware.
The application is constanly improved and extended by our team. There will be no additional costs for upgraded versions.

We are very looking forward to receiving your individual wishes and suggestions. These are collected in one of our own woodpecker projects and will influence your future Woodpecker IT versions.
Of course you can upgrade your licensed version of Woodpecker IT by a maintenance agreement.

Issues are displayed in a table. The table can be configured very flexibly and can be adjusted to any project. You can determine the number of columns and define each individually. The different paramters you can assign to the columns are:

• Caption and position of the column.
• Data type of the column's content (text, various formats of numbers, cont. number, date or an individually definable selection list.).
• Setting default values for the different fields quickens the recording process or (e.g. by setting the current date) automates the documentation of the issues.
• Each column can be set to required and will be checked for content when performing a status change.
• You can assign an history field to each column that records all changes of the content and takes the minutes of the user, the date and the time the change was made. This helps with making the project's course transparent and responsibilities can be assigned.
• Field length in database and project table.
• You can assign an online help to each column that supports the users with any kind of information. The user opens the online help by clicking an icon at the respective issue. He/She will not have to go throug complicated help catalogues.
• The columns are assigned to the different statuses of the workflow. Each status is displayed in a different color. This helps the users enormously in following the workflow.

You can define the complete table structure by filling out only one, clearly structured form. As it is possible for the workflow, you can adopt settings from provided template projects and adjust them to your current project. You will be surprised how easily Woodpecker IT lets you define the requests of your projects.

Each issue runs trough a workflow. You can define each single status of the workflow individually. You obtain Woodpecker IT together with a variety of predefined template projects that you can adjust to your current necessities. Of course you can build the workflow for your project completely new. Following parameters for the unlimited amount of statuses are at your sevice:

• Name of the status.
• Default status when creating a new issue.
• Status color that marks the respective status. The color will be used in each view of the fields to establish a visible connection between the field and its assigned status.
• Target status(es). Any ramifications and/or loops of the workflow can be displayed.
• You can determine for each status change seperately, if the content of the required fields (defined in the table definition) will be checked.
• You can set the visibility of the statuses for each user. E.g. customers can not see certain processes that are only relevant for your company.
• You can assign permissions for performing status changes to each user individually.
• Depending on the status of an issue, you can determine the visibility and write access to the single fields for each user.
• You do not have to configure each single user seperately, but have the possibility to transfer (copy) changes made to the workflow permissions to any other user.

All workflow settings are defined in two logically structured forms that are easy to handle. Simple, user-friendly, but flexible posibilites are one of the main features of Woodpecker IT.

Woodpecker IT knows three different user types:

• Manager can create/manage users and projects and assign users to their projects.
• Project administrators can define the structure of the table that contains their issues and the workflow and permissions of other users within their respective project.
• (Standard) users can create and edit issues of the project table, but do not have administrative rights.

You can assign various access permissions to each user that determine, which statuses/issues are visible for the user and which features he/she is allowed to use.

The table can be sorted by column content anytime.

It is useful to define filters for your everyday-work with Woodpecker IT that can be selected from a selection list in your issue listing. The filter displayes the issues of your listing that contain fields that match your inquiry.

There are to ways to define filters:

• simple:

You assign a condition to the respective field. More of those conditions are combined by AND operators. This method is quick and easy.

• advanced:

For more complex filter conditions, the system offers a filter generator that generates multiple bracket layers, OR conditions and multiple comparing values per field (IN-statement), similar to SQL queries. Although the possibilites are very complex, you can set the filter up by very few mouse clicks.

You can save the single filters and name them for the area of application. The defined filters make the navigation in the listing of your issues very efficient and are available in a selection list.

Sometimes pictures desrcibe circumstances better than letters. To write lengthy descriptions takes a lot of time and often leads to misunderstandings. Woodpecker IT offers the possibility to add attachments to an issue. A screenshot clearly describes the status of a process and removes doubts about the wordings of error messages. Extracts of changed source codes can be attached to issues as documentation.

The size of attachments only depends on the available memory on the server. Using Woodpecker IT for your everyday work, you will not encounter any limits.

If a user is permitted to send e-mail messages, he/she can activate this function by clicking a checkbox, during the process of creating a new issue or performing a status change. A selection list containing the project members appears and additional e-mail adresses can be added The user decides which fields of the issue will be contained in the mail and he/she has the possibility to add extra text to the mail and to edit the subject line. Woodpecker IT perfectly adjusts to your requests.

Mail server data can be assigned to a Woodpecker IT project.  Woodpecker IT gets copies of the emails from the mail server. Users can open the emails directly in Woodpecker IT and can assign the email content and attachements to an issue.

The history function enables you to trace back contents and processes, including time- and user information. It is an effective instrument for your project management and makes processes transparent. This improves the level of information of the project members and quickens the exchange of information.

A history field can be assigned to each column of the project table of Woodpecker IT. The history is extended at any change made to the field content. Next to the respective field content, the user who worked on the issue and the time the change was made is recorded.

In Woodpecker IT issue could be structured hierarchicaly. You can create a relation to the workflow within this structure. E.g. it is possible to define that a state of a parent issue could only be changed, if all his childs have reached a defined state.

The possibility of exchanging data between projects within Woodpecker IT is another useful function.

Issues can be either copied or moved from one project to another. Furthermore, you can decide which fields of the issues are concerned.

Establishing such a connection between projects, enables you to e.g. archive data in archives lists.

With the help of the full text search all entries of a project can be scanned very fast. Thus Woodpecker IT can be used also as knowledge data base.

CSV files (lists containing elements separated by semicolons or newlines) operate as import/export interface for data exchange. Your project data can be edited in other applications (e.g. Microsoft Excel) and vice versa, you can import existing data (CSV format) to your project.

Additionally, this feature offers the possibility to implement existing data, when introducing Woodpecker IT to your company. This makes it much easier for you to change over to Woodpecker IT.

The gain optimum control over the course of the project,  offers graphical evaluations.

Three different kinds of charts can be generated and the resulting data can be exported in CSV format:

• A line chart shows the amount of issues per status referred to time. This chart gives clear information about the course of the entire project.
• A bar chart displays the average duration of the statuses in days.
• This chart lets you know very clearly, where problems and bottlenecks may hide in your project.
• These statistics evaluate the shares of all statuses at a selectable date. The result is displayed as pie chart.

Since the data basis for the statistical evaluation always depends on the current filter settings, you can achieve very distinguished evaluations of your projects.

E.g. you can display how much time a co-worker or a group of co-workers need, to repair a bug recorded by user X.

Choosen issues can be printed as a list.

It is also possible to generate a pdf report with the chronology of the choosen issues. Thereby the starting values of the issues and all changes are displayed.

The access to Woodpecker IT should be established by a HTTPS-connection. By this the system offers a high standard of safety for your data.

Apart from that, unauthorized access to your projects is prevented by a save session administration. A certified safety conception makes it almost impossible to break into the system.

The data on our server is saved daily. If data is lost, we will provide you with your data of the previous day within two working days.

By clicking the chat icon, a new browser window pops up that displayes all existing entries. The window is empty if no entries have been created yet. Now you can enter new entries and highlight them with colors to improve the clarity. The new entry will be listed on top, together with the user name and the time the entry was made.

This feature is very useful for topics that need to be discussed thoroughly. The chat function helps to communicate comprehensible. Since every user can view all entries, all project members will be informed at the same level.

Woodpecker IT is built multilingual, i.e. all text elements are available in several languages. The user chooses a language when he/she logs in. The user can switch between the languages at any time.

The languages German and English are supported at the moment. We will expand the selection of languages in the future. All translations are implemented in the program and can also be edited by manager-users.

The online help answers questions to the functions and features of the different forms.

The context sensitivity lets you find the needed information immediately and without lengthy searching. If you need help, click the help button and the required information appears.

Additionally, the online help has at its disposal a variety of examples that help you understand the configuration of the workflow, the table, the user permission management, the history and many more of the features of Woodpecker IT.