1029229 - Make "edit" work - or at least allow cancellation

Status: NEW

(Webtools :: PTO, defect)

Description

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

I'm told that if you attempt to use the "Edit" link on an already-filed PTO report in our PTO webapp[2], it *actually* creates a duplicate PTO filing, and both reports will be counted against your PTO balance.

(You might try to do this e.g. to upgrade a half-day to a full day off, or something similar.)

This is apparently hard to fix, because the app is fragile; instead of "edit", we're supposed to email payroll@.

However, for people who don't know about this bug, this is a pretty massive footgun that can result in completely unnoticed loss of PTO.[2]

SO: assuming we can't fix the double-entry, can we please *disable* the "Edit" button, since AFAICT there is no valid use for it currently other than to (unintentionally) trick people into losing PTO?

[1] https://intranet.mozilla.org/pto/export.php
[2] e.g. in auditing my PTO reports and my paystubs, I just now discovered that I likely lost 4 hours of PTO due to an "edit"-triggered double-report last July. (Doris is looking into it, which is awesome, so it presumably will be corrected in this one instance -- but only because I investigated & reported the problem.)

Comment 1

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

(Sorry, the first "[2]" should've been "[1]", obviously)

Comment 2

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

Looks like this needs some help to get the right people CC'd. Peter, do you know who might be able to disable this button?

(I know it's fragile, but surely there has to be an easy way to just hide this feature and stop people from flushing PTO hours down the toilet without realizing it.  e.g. modifying "edit.php" to hide the page contents, and perhaps suggest emailing payroll@?)

Comment 3

[Peter Bengtsson [:peterbe]]

I've actually never worked or even seen the files for the PTO app. I did work on the replacement PTO app but it never got deployed. 

I think Lonnen is now an owner of the old app.

Comment 4

[Lonnen :lonnen]

not my circus, not my monkey

Comment 5

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

Do you know who else might have access/authority to tweak this tool, though?  (or, do you know someone who you think would know the right person to poke?)

(Also, good news: there's a chance that the underlying problem here has been fixed.  At least, :djf was apparently able to edit some PTO that he took in July 2014, without the hours being counted twice.   Doris from Payroll had told me in June 2014 that the tool was still double-recording things at that point, though [and I confirmed that some PTO that I'd added in the previous year -- July 2013 -- *was* double-recorded.  That's the only instance of this that I personally have seen in action, so it's conceivable that this has been fixed since then.)

(If the underlying bug is actually fixed, then we don't need to hide the "edit" feature after all, and this bug can be WONTFIX'ed. But I don't know for sure if the underlying bug is actually fixed or not.)

Comment 6

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

(It's also conceivable that Payroll might've just noticed & manually fixed-up djf's edit, I suppose, which is what saved him from the double-counting bug.  Not sure.) (/me stops waving hands)

Comment 7

[Doris]

Hi all, 
In order to record time off taken and run PTO report, payroll has no other part into the Tool. It would be nice employees can edit PTO, but we were told it is not possible. This is why we inform people if they need to make changes to already submitted PTO, to let payroll know so we can make changes manually. Otherwise, it will be double entry. 
Thanks,
Doris

Comment 8

[Lonnen :lonnen]

I do not know, though I suspect the source code is in svn. http://svn.mozilla.org/projects/pto/trunk/

You could look at the history there and track down the last person to modify it.

Comment 9

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

Thanks, lonnen & Doris.

SVN says the only person to have touched the app since 2011 has been rtucker.

rtucker, would you be comfortable modifying the PTO app to disable editing of already-submitted PTO? (Even if it just ends up meaning "comment out all the source on edit.php and replace it with instructions to email payroll".)

We should only do this if the double-reporting bug still exists, of course (which is unclear, but it sounds like it, per comment 7).

Comment 10

[Laura Thomson :laura]

If rtucker isn't comfortable I'll do it. (Or r? his patch.)

Comment 12

[Laura Thomson :laura]

My suggestion here is to make a Cancel button that sends email to payroll.

Comment 13

[Doris]

That would work for payroll.

Comment 14

[Rob Tucker [:rtucker]]

Since this is a dupe of bug 775673, I'd assume this one can be R/F as well?

Comment 15

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

(In reply to Rob Tucker [:rtucker] from comment #14)
> Since this is a dupe of bug 775673, I'd assume this one can be R/F as well?

Why? As far as I understand, neither bug is fixed & neither should be marked as fixed.

Comment 16

[Rob Tucker [:rtucker]]

I was under the impression that this had been resolved. I spoke with :wenzel who also had the same thought.

laura, do you know if this has been handled?

Comment 17

[Rob Tucker [:rtucker]]

It's been 4 years. I'm removing the NI for laura.