Mandatory comment on action or modification
A method requires a mandatory comment in a software productivity tool, comprising: opening in the software productivity tool a document stored in a non-volatile hardware data storage device; receiving a definition of an actionable data item of the document; receiving a request for an action associated with the item; determining if the action triggers a predefined comment rule; if triggered, then: requiring a mandatory comment; storing the accepted entered comment in the non-volatile hardware data storage device; and performing the requested action. A method specifies a mandatory comment, comprising: receiving a definition of an actionable data item of the document; receiving a definition of a comment rule related to an action on the item; receiving a definition of a comment criteria associated with the comment rule; and storing the actionable data item, the triggering criteria, and the comment criteria in a non-volatile storage device of a hardware device.
1. A method for specifying a mandatory comment, comprising:
receiving a definition of an actionable data item within a document;
receiving a definition of a comment rule related to an action by a user on the actionable data item within the document,
wherein the comment rule specifies conditions under which a mandatory comment is demanded of the user when the user adds, changes, or deletes information associated with the actionable data item within the document;
receiving a definition of a comment criteria associated with the comment rule; and
storing the actionable data item within the document, the comment rule, and the comment criteria in a non-volatile storage device of a hardware device.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a specification of a consequent action to perform that is related to the comment.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the consequent action is notifying at least one of an owner(s) of the document or other user(s) interested in the document.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the comment rule comprises adequacy criteria.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the adequacy criteria is an attribute of an entered comment.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the adequacy criteria is based on content of an entered comment.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the adequacy criteria is context dependent.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a second selection of a data item of the document;
receiving a second definition of a comment rule related to an action on the data item; and
receiving a second definition of a comment rule associated with a triggering criteria.
9. A system for specifying a mandatory comment, wherein the system is configured to carry out actions comprising:
receiving a definition of an actionable data item within a document;
receiving a definition of a comment rule related to an action by a user on the actionable data item within the document,
wherein the comment rule specifies conditions under which a mandatory comment is demanded of the user when the user adds, changes, or deletes information associated with the actionable data item within the document;
receiving a definition of a comment criteria associated with the comment rule; and
storing the actionable data item within the document, the comment rule, and the comment criteria in a non-volatile storage device of a hardware device.
10. The system of claim 9 , configured to carry out further actions comprising receiving a specification of a consequent action to perform that is related to the comment.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the consequent action is notifying at least one of an owner(s) of the document or other user(s) interested in the document.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the comment rule comprises adequacy criteria.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the adequacy criteria is an attribute of an entered comment.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the adequacy criteria is based on content of an entered comment.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the adequacy criteria is context dependent.
16. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:
receiving a second selection of a data item of the document;
receiving a second definition of a comment rule related to an action on the data item; and receiving a second definition of a comment rule associated with the comment criteria.