Passive time capture times work as it happens. A stopwatch starts when a user opens a work item, stops when they close it, and a time entry is created for them, already coded. This article covers the whole setup in the order it needs doing. See Understanding Time Recording for a full overview.
Some of the detail here also appears in the articles about the global feature, work types and classifications. It is repeated so you can work through the setup without moving between articles.
Before you start
- You need access to Modeller, and the finance admin access permission, to reach Admin > Time.
- The people the capture applies to need Time - Read and Time - Create permissions.
- Decide which work types should capture time passively before you start, because most of the configuration is per work type.
Configuration
Enable time recording
Nothing else works until the feature is on.
- Navigate to Modeller > Global Features.
- Locate Work Item Time Recording in the Case category.
- Toggle the feature on.
- Select the settings cog. The Time Recording Configuration blade displays.
Set how stopwatches behave
Decides when an entry is created, how short a visit is ignored, and what happens when the browser closes. These settings are system wide. They apply to every work type that captures time.
When an entry is created
Select one of three options. They are mutually exclusive, so choosing one replaces the others.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| On Stop - Record as a single consolidated entry | Creates one entry when the stopwatch stops, however long it ran. |
| On Stop - Record an entry per day | Creates one entry for each day the stopwatch spans. Use this where stopwatches run across more than one day. |
| On Pause - Record a time entry immediately | Creates an entry each time the user pauses, rather than waiting for the stopwatch to stop. |
Duration limits and browser behaviour
| Setting | What to set |
|---|---|
| Minimum Duration for a Stopwatch (Seconds) | Below this, no entry is created. This is what stops a two second visit to a task producing a time entry. Note the unit is seconds. |
| Maximum Duration for a Stopwatch (Minutes) | The longest a stopwatch runs before it is capped. Note the unit is minutes. |
| Browser Navigate / Close Action |
Choose what happens when the user navigates away or closes:
|
| Inform users of stopwatch events via toast | Displays a notification in the bottom right when a stopwatch starts or stops, and when an entry is created. Enabled by default. Leave it on for passive capture, because it is the only signal a user gets. |
Set the work type triggers
Decides what starts and stops a stopwatch.
- In the Time Recording Global Feature, select the cog on Work Type Configuration. A list of work types displays.
- Select the right arrow next to the work type you want to configure. The Time Recording Settings blade displays.
- Set Enable Time Recording to enabled.
- Under Automatic Stopwatches - System Triggers, enable Start on Open, Stop on Close, or both. Start on Open on its own is enough.
- Set Blade stack behaviour to Trigger events for parent only or Trigger events for all blades.
Blade stack behaviour is only enabled once Start on Open or Stop on Close is on, so set the triggers first. Where neither is on, no stopwatch starts by itself and there is no passive capture on that work type. - Under Automatic Stopwatches - Phase Change Triggers, add any phases that should start or stop a stopwatch.
- Save the blade.
Fixed time is a separate mechanism on the same blade. It records a set number of minutes when a work item moves between two phases, rather than timing the work.
Give automatic entries their codes
An automatic stopwatch has nobody to ask which codes to use, so it uses the defaults on the classification. Without them, entries arrive with empty fields and the user has to complete each one, which removes most of the benefit.
- Navigate to Admin > Time > Time Classifications.
- Open the classification used by the categories the work type can record against.
- Open each field in turn.
- Under Automatic recording, set Default time code for fields that capture a time code set.
- Set Default value for fields that capture a memo.
- Check every field, including mandatory ones. A field marked Mandatory for submission with no default leaves the user with an entry they cannot submit until they complete it. Either give it a default, or accept that users complete that field by hand.
- Save.
For how classifications and their fields work, see Time Classifications.
Add the widget to the blade
Triggers control when time is captured. The blade controls whether anyone can see it.
- Navigate to Modeller > Work Types.
- Select the work type, then select Blade Editor.
- Add the time recording widget to the blade.
- Save the blade.
This is the step most often missed. Where the triggers are configured but the widget is not on the blade, time is captured and users have no way to see it on the work item. It is the usual cause of a report that passive time recording is not working.
Decide what users can change
Automatic entries can be locked down more than manual ones. Both settings are in the Time Recording Global Feature under automatic stopwatch behaviour.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Restrict users from overriding automatic stopwatch duration and start/end dates | Prevents users editing the recorded duration or the start and end dates on an entry a stopwatch created. |
| Restrict users from overriding time codes for these stopwatches | Prevents users changing the codes the stopwatch applied. |
| Enable for users with permission | Displays under each restriction. Holders of the selected permission are exempt from it. |
Things that catch people out
- The widget. Triggers without the widget means invisible time.
- Minimum duration set too high. Short pieces of work are exactly what passive capture is meant to catch, so a high minimum defeats the purpose. A high maximum has the opposite risk, capping a genuine long session.
- Missing defaults on mandatory fields. Users end up with entries they cannot submit.
- Toasts turned off. Users then have no signal that time is being recorded for them, which is where complaints about unexpected entries come from.
- Assuming Time - Update controls editing. It does not. Use the override restrictions above to limit what users can change on automatic entries.