Redmine Cookbook

By Pavić Aleksandar

Over 80 hands-on recipes to improve your skills in project management, team management, process improvement, and Redmine administration

About This Book

- Efficiently install and customize Redmine for your own infrastructure, whether that be Microsoft or open source
- Manage multiple projects with multiple teams across the globe in a standardized and effective way
- Customize Redmine to fit your organisation's specific and unique needs

Who This Book Is For

This book is for those who working in management or administrator positions who are already using Redmine or are willing to start using it for project management, tracking, collaboration, or process management. Additionally, individual developers or teams can benefit from recipes related to code repositories, bug tracking, and software project management.

What You Will Learn

- Make Redmine run on Microsoft SQL Server with IIS
- Enjoy the benefits of updating the code on a real-time basis and maintaining consistency
- Manage multiple projects and teams simultaneously
- Leverage Redmine features to enhance team's performance
- Use Redmine for SCRUM and Agile methodologies
- Deploy Redmine for Service Desk
- Customize the user experience by manually tracking the ongoing projects
- Extend Redmine through various plugins

In Detail

In a variety of online project management tools, Redmine markets itself as offering flexibility. Choosing the right management tool can mean the difference between the success and failure of a project. Flexible project management tools bend themselves to fit your needs, whether that’s communication regarding a simple project, or collaboration, or more complex project methodology such as SCRUM, or an issue-code relationship, or the need of different methodology for your project.
Whether you are project manager or system administrator, this book provides valuable recipes to get the best possible performance out of your team, organization, infrastructure, and Redmine itself. Through a series of carefully crafted recipes covering the nitty-gritty of Redmine, you’ll be guided through the installation of Redmine, as well as how to fine-tune and customize your Redmine installation. Finally, we walk you through integrating Redmine with other softwares and databases like Tortoise SVN and Visual Studio and troubleshooting Redmine.

Style and approach

This book follows a step-by-step recipe-based approach. Detailed prerequisites make each recipe easy to follow and apply in practice in any kind of live environment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Release date: Feb 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781785285264

Book preview

Table of Contents

Redmine Cookbook

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewer

www.PacktPub.com

Support files, eBooks, discount offers, and more

Why Subscribe?

Free Access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Sections

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Installing and Running Redmine

Introduction

Default installation on an Ubuntu server

Getting ready

How to do it…

Accessing your Redmine

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Installing from a source on Ubuntu

Getting ready

Database configuration

How to do it…

Obtaining the Redmine source files

Downloading and extracting the Redmine source files

The SVNcheckout method

Redmine installation

How it works…

See also

Installation on Windows servers

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using Puma and IIS on Windows

Getting ready

How to do it…

Testing Puma

Configuring Puma to start with Windows

Configuring IIS

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Running with Apache as mod_fcgid

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Running Redmine with Phusion Passenger

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Running Redmine with Nginx and Thin

Getting ready

How to do it…

Configuring thin

Configuring Nginx

Configuring Redmine for sub-uri

Testing the installation

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Installing optional requirements

How to do it…

ImageMagick and rmagick

Installing SCM binaries

How it works…

There's more…

Using custom Ruby for Redmine

Getting ready

Preparing for Ubuntu servers

Preparing for Cent OS servers

RVM installation

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

2. Customizing Redmine

Introduction

Customizing My page

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Editing Redmine's views manually

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Customizing modules per project

Getting ready

How to do it…

Existing projects

How it works…

There's more…

Extending user profiles with additional data

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Customizing User roles

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating and using User groups

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Customizing the layout of the project entry page

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Customizing the layout of the home page

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Interacting with Redmine only through e-mail

Getting ready

How to do it…

Linux users

Windows users

How it works…

There's more…

See also

3. Project Management with Redmine

Introduction

Splitting your project into phases

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating and using subprojects

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Splitting your tasks into subtasks

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Managing issue relations

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating and using template projects

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Managing multiple projects simultaneously

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Creating reports on spent time

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Making sure everyone is optimally loaded with work

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Relating between issue and time

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the issue-code relation

Getting ready

How to do it…

Configuring per-tracker workflows

Using the issue-code relationship via source-control

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Defining a roadmap to the release plan

Getting ready

How to do it…

Roadmaps and versions

How it works…

There's more…

See also

4. Improving Team Performance

Introduction

Keeping relevant documentation in Redmine

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Putting the timeline to good use

How to do it…

Tracking project activity

Using gravatars

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Making sure that everyone is informed

How to do it…

Assigning issues with watchers

Assigning issues to groups

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Limiting access to some team members

How to do it…

Locking users

Shifting roles

Deleting user accounts

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using metrics to improve team performance

Getting ready

How to do it…

Project issue metrics

Version metrics

User metrics

Time metrics

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Analyzing team performance through the code repository

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the repository module to display code differences

Getting ready

How to do it…

Viewing the differences between two repository revisions or revisions per folder

To view the code differences of a particular folder

Viewing differences between two versions of the same file

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Managing multicultural teams in different time zones

How to do it…

Work organization

Setting up Redmine multilanguage and time zone features

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Applying advanced issue-code relationships

Getting ready

How to do it…

There's more…

See also

Improving Scrum meetings and backlogs

How to do it…

Saving time required to prepare for Scrum meetings

Improving backlogs and the overall Scrum process

How it works…

There's more…

See also

5. Regular and Planned Maintenance

Introduction

Starting and restarting Redmine

Getting ready

How to do it…

Restarting Redmine under Phusion Passenger

Restarting Redmine on Puma

Restarting Redmine on another application server

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Checking for active Redmine processes on the server

Getting ready

How to do it…

Checking the status of Phusion Passenger under Linux

Checking servers under Windows

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Configuring backup and recovery

Getting ready

How to do it…

Backing up the database

Backing up files

Restoring a backup

Restoring a database

Restoring files

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Checking the data dirs for possible malware

Getting ready

Linux machines

Windows users

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Migrating and upgrading

Getting ready

How to do it…

Migrating Redmine

How it works…

See also

Upgrading or migrating the database behind Redmine

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Enhancing security

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Upgrading Ruby safely

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

6. Performance and System Tuning

Introduction

Fine-tuning new project creation

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Tuning authentication and auto-login features

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Tuning the workflows

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Setting the log level

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Getting the most from a single server

How to do it…

Step 1: Plan your usage

Step 2: Increase the number of threads or processes in the memory of your application server

Step 3: Allocate more CPU and RAM for the database

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Scaling Redmine across multiple servers

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Increasing file upload size

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Integrating Redmine with Active Directory

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

7. Integrating Redmine with Other Software

Introduction

Exporting to Microsoft Project

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using Redmine through browser plugins

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using Redmine mobile applications

Getting ready

How to do it…

Application installation

Application configuration

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Activity monitoring through Atom feed

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Embedding Redmine into a web application

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the Redmine REST API with PHP

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using the Redmine REST API with C#

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Integrating with Tortoise SVN or GIT

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Interacting with Redmine from Visual Studio

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

8. Getting the Most Out of Scripts and Plugins

Introduction

Pasting images from clipboard

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more

Keeping track of your clients

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Redmine for document management

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Implementing and using reoccurring tasks

Getting ready

How to do it…

Plugin usage

How it works…

Practicing Kanban

Getting ready

How to do it…

Plugin usage

How it works…

There's more…

Importing issues to Redmine

Getting ready

How to do it…

Plugin usage

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using Redmine with Jenkins

Getting ready

How to do it…

Plugin usage

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Using the assigned issues summary e-mail

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Text formatting with CKEditor

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Being Agile with Agile Dwarf

Getting ready

How to do it…

Plugin usage

How it works…

See Also

9. Troubleshooting

Introduction

Where to get help and how to get help faster

How to do it…

Steps to resolve problems

Getting help via the Redmine forum

Submitting a bug on redmine.org

Chatting with other Redmine users and contributors

How it works…

Troubleshooting bundler installation

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Troubleshooting Apache installations

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Troubleshooting plugin installation

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

E-mail sending issues

Getting ready…

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Incoming e-mail parsing issues

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Recovering from system failure

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Tackling a delayed response from the server

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

See also

10. Making the Most of Redmine

Introduction

How to convince management to use Redmine

Getting ready

How to do it…

Convincing low-level management

Middle management

Top management

How it works…

There's more…

See also

Redmine as a Helpdesk with auto-responder

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using Redmine as a service desk platform

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Improving Redmine Security for ISO 27000

Getting ready

How to do it…

Install and use SSL certificates

Enforce all traffic to go through SSL

Use only secure mail authentication and transfer

How it works…

There's more…

Enforce password policy

Protect sensitive data visible on screen

Additional tips

See also

Redmine and SLA

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

KPIs inside Redmine

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Using Redmine with ITIL

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

See also

Index

Redmine Cookbook

---

Redmine Cookbook

Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: February 2016

Production reference: 1190216

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78528-613-1

www.packtpub.com

Credits

Author

Aleksandar Pavić

Reviewer

Jijesh Mohan

Acquisition Editor

Aaron Lazar

Content Development Editor

Priyanka Mehta

Technical Editor

Siddhesh Patil

Copy Editor

Priyanka Ravi

Project Coordinator

Izzat Contractor

Proofreader

Safis Editing

Indexer

Monica Ajmera Mehta

Graphics

Disha Haria

Production Coordinator

Conidon Miranda

Cover Work

Conidon Miranda

About the Author

Aleksandar Pavić began his first project as a student at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia where he developed Technical Faculty's first website. He later assembled a web team and graduated with BScs in computers sciences and information technology, and an MSc in product lifecycle management at the same university.

Acting mainly as a project manager and sometimes as a developer or team leader, Aleksandar made the following notable projects possible: student nourishment IS and ERP with smart cards at the University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad Farmer Market IS and ERP, E-government system of Novi Sad, including various sub-services, a web portal of the City of Novi Sad, Los Angeles-based Usamailagent.com packet-forwarding web-application, Unival-logistics.com online business system.

Currently, Aleksandar is employed as head of the IT services department at PUC Informatika, Novi Sad. He is involved in the following EU-funded Projects here: Sociotal, Weelive, and CLIPS.

Acting as an entrepreneur, he stands behind www.redminegit.com, cloud hosting, and Redmine implementations.

Aleksandar has two publications on Redmine. The first is a paper called Project Management Using Open Source Internet Tools in the fourth ICEIRD Conference,pp. 987-994, ISBN 978-608-65144-2-6. The second is Monographic Publication - Master Thesis: Application of Project Management Software to Science and Educational Processes, published in Proceedings of Faculty of Technical Sciences 04/2014, ISSN 0350-428X, COBISS.SR-ID 58627591.

While participating in projects, he acts as an open source evangelist, and he advocates usage of lean methodologies backed up by Redmine as the management software of choice.

Aleksandar uses various management skills, such as, project management, product and service management, ISO 27000 and ITIL, Scrum and Agile methodologies, on a daily basis. He is also proficient in PHP, CakePHP, Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Bootstrap, C#, jQuery, Apache, Linux, Ubuntu, CentOs, Nginx, Phusion Passenger, Node.js, HTML5, Canvas, CentOS, Windows Servers, IIS, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.

This book would not be possible without my lovely wife who understands that working on my laptop in a Wi-Fi cafe bar while being on summer vacation is sometimes necessary to accomplish a notable result. Thanks to professors Bojan Lalic and Nenad Simeunovic from the University of Novi Sad with whom I started my project management quest. Thanks to all my colleagues, clients, and partners for using Redmine and understanding that work needs to be planned and organized because without them I wouldn't know what to write about.

Of course, a special thanks to Jean-Philippe Lang and rest of Redmine's contributors for their efforts to maintain and improve Redmine as an open source product over last 10 years. Another special thanks to the people at Packt Publishing for all their hard work and providing me with an opportunity to express myself as international author and to give back to open source community by making Redmine a more credible and well-known product.

About the Reviewer

Jijesh Mohan is a computer science engineer with over 10 years of experience as a full stack developer. As an active evangelist of Redmine since 2009, Jijesh has been a passionate supporter of the Redmine community and has authored multiple plugins. His expertise ranges across several technologies, such as Ruby on Rails, Golang, ReactJS, and AngularJS.

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Preface

Redmine is probably the most underused collaboration and management tool existing on the open source market for 10 years. Decision makers within corporations are often unaware of Redmine's full potential and ability to expand in all areas of business just by performing several actions inside Redmine and agreeing to several conventions within the company. Almost all departments of a company can store its documents, collaborate, coordinate, and benefit from its usage over an extended period of time because in every business it's crucial to know who did (or who is going to do) what, when, and why. So for example, in software development, one Redmine ticket within feature tracker can tell us who is going to do what—fulfill the client's request, such as export report to Excel; why—because it is the customer's request from within project A; when—the date when tasks were scheduled or done. Additionally, we can take a look at how it's done using issue-code relation. However, this should not just be limited to software if it's a design project, for example. Designers can also attach their design to a particular Redmine ticket/task if they use repository to store files. If it's a janitor company, then they can store photos of before and after repair, and so on.

Instead of just installing Redmine and using its features out of the box, this book tries to teach readers to think outside the box, and customize Redmine to improve user experience, customize workflows, and harness the power of its flexible design.

Choosing the right management tool can mean the difference between success and failure of a project. Flexible project management tools bend themselves to fit your needs. Whether it's a simple project communication, collaboration, or more complex project methodology, such as SCRUM, or issue-code relationship, or different methodology for each project, this book will teach you how to quickly customize Redmine for maximal business benefits and user satisfaction. It goes even further than project management and collaboration, illustrating how Redmine's flexible trackers could be used for automated recurring tasks and processes. Additionally, readers are advised to visit the book's website at http://www.redminecookbook.com and take a look at the blog and frequently asked questions section.

Note

Redmine is open source and donation supported, driven mostly by volunteers who donate their skills and time toward the project. They also need to pay for servers, computers they develop on,