Ticket estimates and ordering work

Two things help you plan the work Structurell does for you. Estimates say how long each ticket is expected to take, so you can see whether the work still to do fits in the time left on a project. Ordering lets you tell Structurell which tickets matter most, by putting them in order on the ticket board under Strengthen → Tickets.

Before you start

You need permission to view projects to see tickets and their estimates. Putting tickets in order needs its own permission, separate from editing tickets. If you can't reorder tickets, ask a subscription administrator. See Users, teams, groups and permissions.

For the board itself, see Raising and following tickets.

How estimates work

Structurell adds estimates to your tickets. You can see them, but you can't change them.

• Estimates are written in days, hours and minutes, for example 1d 2h 30m, 2h or 45m. A day is eight hours.
• A ticket with no estimate yet simply shows none.

Seeing a ticket's estimate

• On the board: an estimated ticket shows its estimate next to its number, with an hourglass icon.
• On the ticket: open the ticket and look at the Estimate field. It is read-only for you.

If you think an estimate is wrong, or you'd like one on a ticket that has none, add a comment to the ticket. See Raising and following tickets.

How estimates affect time left

Estimates are added up and taken off the time left on each task and project:

• Left now is the time allowed, minus the time already logged.
• Left after estimates is Left now minus the estimates of the tickets still to be done.

Only tickets still to be done count: those in Open, In Progress and Hold. Tickets in Ready for Release, Review and Closed are left out, because the time spent on them is already logged.

If some open tickets have no estimate, you'll see a note such as 2 of 5 open tickets have no estimate, so "Left after estimates" leaves them out. The real figure may be lower than shown until those tickets are estimated.

If more work is estimated than there is time left, Left after estimates shows how far over it is, for example 1d 4h over, in red.

You'll find these figures on Strengthen → Time left, on each project's page, and above a project's or task's ticket board. See Checking time left.

How the order of work works

Your subscription has one order of work covering all your tickets, across every project. Each lane on the board lists its tickets in that order, with the most important at the top. A project's or a task's board shows the same order, just filtered to its own tickets, so the boards never disagree.

• A new ticket goes to the bottom of the order.
• A ticket keeps its place in the order when its status changes.
• Closed is the exception: it always shows the most recently closed tickets first.

A ticket's Priority (Urgent, High, Normal, Low or None) is a separate label. Changing it doesn't move the ticket, and moving the ticket doesn't change its priority.

Putting tickets in order

If you have permission to order tickets, you can move a ticket within its lane in two ways.

To drag it:

1. Open the board under Strengthen → Tickets, or a project's or task's board.
2. Drag the card up or down its lane and drop it where you want it. A gap opens to show where it will land.

To move it to the very top or bottom:

1. Select the ... menu on the card.
2. Select Move to top or Move to bottom.

These move the ticket to the top or bottom of your whole order, not only the tickets you can see. This is useful on a filtered board, or on a phone where dragging is awkward.

If you can also edit tickets, dragging a card into a different lane changes its status and keeps it where you dropped it.

Notes

• There is no separate step in the Portal to approve or decline an estimate. To tell Structurell what to work on first, put the tickets in order. To question an estimate or ask for work to be paused, comment on the ticket.
• Estimates are Structurell's planning figures. The time actually spent is recorded in timeslips. See Projects and timeslips.

Troubleshooting

"That lane had changed, so it has been reloaded. Try again."

The tickets either side of where you dropped the card had moved or been removed since the board loaded, so nothing was changed. The lane has been reloaded with the latest order. Move the ticket again.

"That ticket could not be reordered."

This message, or a similar one, means the move wasn't saved and the card has gone back to where it was. You may not have permission to order tickets. Ask a subscription administrator.

There's no ... menu on the cards

You don't have permission to order tickets, or you're looking at the Closed lane, which can't be reordered.