

Show HN: Tock, a Time Tracking Tool by 18F - seanherron
https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/05/21/TockingTime/

======
danso
Love the callout to the Chosen.js library...one of those fantastic plug-and-
play interface libraries that makes it so less painful to add a nearly
essential feature to forms/data-selection.

edit: Added clickable link to chosen.js homepage

[http://harvesthq.github.io/chosen/](http://harvesthq.github.io/chosen/)

~~~
colinhb
On the theme of constantly re-inventing time-tracking, it's interesting that
18F called out chosen in their write-up of their time-tracking solution, since
chosen is developed and maintained by Harvest, which primarily sells a time-
tracking solution.

[https://www.getharvest.com/](https://www.getharvest.com/)

~~~
fi788
As a long time user of Harvest, I have to say it is refreshing to see open
source alternatives being developed.

Harvest is expensive for moderate-sized teams but their support is very fast
to respond and the user experience is quite nice. Yet, after noticing a
glaring flaw in Harvest considering non-billable hours as 'Budget', I'm stuck
and have to live through never ending over-budget false alerts. Without an
ETA, this is the time where I'd be happy to roll my sleeves up, get it fixed
and submit a pull request...

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lojack
Time tracking is one of those things that I see constantly being reinvented.
Whether it's spreadsheets that get emailed, completely custom solutions, or
one of the numerous services available, few of them actually provide anything
new.

What I want is a product that tracks my time for me. WakaTime is probably the
closest I've seen. If only it worked outside of my text editor and
automatically submitted my timesheets for me. I'm supposed to submit
timesheets weekly, I probably do it closer to monthly (and I know I'm not the
only one). I have enough trouble remembering what I did yesterday, let alone
last month.

~~~
seanherron
We looked at doing things like logging git commit frequency to try and provide
realistic estimates to users of their time that they could then confirm or
alter. Realistically, with the diversity of talent we have here (both
technical and non-technical) and the time it would take to do well, it didn't
really seem too practical.

It would be awesome if WakaTime and others provided some way of interfacing
with an API, so that individuals could track time in a way that made sense for
them while reporting in a relatively consistent standard to a central system
used for accounting and billing.

~~~
lojack
Yeah, I built (and later shut down) didlog
[http://www.didlog.com/](http://www.didlog.com/) a while ago which I had hoped
would eventually turn into something like this. Track code commits, calendar
events, emails, files changing, etc to try to put together a map of everything
you're working on.

I knew I'd be biting off more than I could chew if I tried to tackle time
tracking from the start so I was hoping I could build something useful before
moving into that area. Turns out, I couldn't (given my limited time and
resources).

------
samspenc
Self-plug: our Zhen HRM system includes timesheets / time tracking in addition
to vacations, reports, etc. Time tracking can be done through clicking Start /
Stop when you are working on projects.

You can find the system at the link below, and there is a fully functional
free demo you can try out.

[http://zhen81.com/product/zhen-hrm/](http://zhen81.com/product/zhen-hrm/)

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mariust
I've been using [http://www.paymoapp.com](http://www.paymoapp.com) for some
time now and it fits my needs to track time and also do project management
(tasks and tasks lists). The desktop widget is awesome, I know how much time
I've spent working or doing something else.

------
nodata
Anyone got any already written time tracking software that they like (on
github or not)?

~~~
pldrnt
I wrote mine, but I track tasks and milestones rather than time spent.

Time tracking makes sense for freelancers and other people who bill by the
hour but personally I tried rescuetime & co. and I do not see the point in
knowing how long I was on facebook or how long I spent editing a particular
file.

Milestones require manual input but I find that information much more
relevant.

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krapht
I'm surprised that they developed a brand new time tracking tool. From my
limited experience, it seems Deltek Time & Expense is the most popular time
tracking application in the government / associated contractor space.

~~~
untog
Given that there is no download link or price, I'm going to assume that 18F is
not the kind of place that was going to pay top dollar for a cruddy, expensive
third party service.

~~~
seanherron
>>> Given that there is no download link or price

Like everything 18F produces, Tock is a work of the US Government and is in
the public domain. There's a link to the GitHub repository in the blog post
([https://github.com/18f/tock](https://github.com/18f/tock)). We don't intend
to launch Tock as a service, rather, it's something we made for internal use
that is open for others if they find value in it.

~~~
bovermyer
I think he was referring to Deltek, not Tock.

------
ams6110
There's one simple way I've found to keep up on your time reports: you don't
get paid if you don't turn in a timesheet.

The places I've worked that had this policy didn't have any issues with
tracking time.

