GDPR is presently the hot potato topic. How long should you keep the data stored within Countersoft Gemini and how to actually remove it when it becomes redundant data.
As things stand, you can manually delete issues, but there is no automated way to delete issues.
Thankfully, there is a 3rd party app which can be used to keep on top of issues and avoid falling foul of any data protection rules on data retention.
Overview
The autodelete issue app will filter the issues, and those which match the criteria, are deleted. There is a basic audit log of the deleted records, which includes which issue, the title, and the details of why it was deleted (see later on).
Installation
Installing apps in Gemini is very easy, for both hosted and self hosted customers. For hosted, Countersoft will want to review the app code to ensure it won’t be detrimental to the server and their other clients. For self hosted, you’re free to deploy what you want!
There is information on their docs site on how to create and deploy the apps, so we’re not going to cover that here. Suffice it to say, copy the ZIP of the app in the the app_data/apps/ folder on the server and recycle the iis app pool. The app will then be deployed.
Configuring the App
When the app is installed, there will be a settings page located in the administration section. Customize | Apps | Auto Delete Issues
The options are fairly self explanatory, but here is a quick overview of their function.
Projects: This will list the projects to which the auto delete rules will apply. Any project not listed here will be safe from auto deletion!
Statuses: Any issue which matches the statuses listed here will be considered, with the other rules, for auto deletion. This list can be limited to the Final Statuses setup and this is probably a good idea to delete things which are considered closed!
Duration: Specify the duration the ticket will remain dormant (unrevised) until it is valid for deletion. This can be set in days, or months. The revised date it set automatically when a field on the ticket is updated.
So in summary, any ticket in the given list of projects, matching the specified statuses and have not been edited since the duration specified will be deleted when the app runs.
Logging what has happened
During the testing phase, you would want to check what is being deleted, ideally before it is being deleted! This can be achieved by creating a workspace and matching the filter requirements on there to what is configured here. You would have to convert the months duration into days and use “TODAY – 365” in the revised filter, if the revised was set to 12 months in the deletion app.
When it is running, you will want some record of where an issue has gone, but not keeping too much information that you fall foul of GDPR rules. The record has been logged in two places for your convenience and security.
Firstly, it is stored in the app run log. This can be seen by going to Customise | Apps | Timer and viewing the Auto Delete Issues app there. There is a Log link to click and that will show the app’s log:
It shows the ticket number and in the case above, the project, status, and revised conditions which will have matched the filter in the settings. This log can be cleared as required from the same screen.
Secondly, it is stored in the system log. The same information is displayed there, but it is not removed when you clear the Apps log. It will be removed when you clear the entire system log, but not just when you clear the app log.
Therefore, the App log can be used for short term reviewing of what has been deleted. The system log a more longer term security view. You can also manually extract this data from the raw SQL tables if you wish to keep a more permanent record.
Hopefully you will see the benefit of automating the deletion of tickets which are no longer relevant. Please get in touch if you are interested in purchasing this add on for Countersoft Gemini, $1,000 for unlimited projects and includes support for a year.
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