- What is PDPM?
- How does PDPM work?
- How is PDPM useful?
- What are the features of PDPM?
- Do I need to keep my system running at all times for PDPM to work properly?
- How do I see the report?
- What is the format of the report file?
- What if I want a report during the mid day or at any time during the day? Is it possible?
- After generating the report during daytime, do I need to start PDPM again to collect the data?
- Will a newly generated report overwrite the previous one of the same day?
- What is the time shown as "Unaccounted"?
- What applications can PDPM track ?
- Will PDPM be able to track the time the system is idle and (or) locked ?
- PDPM shows an application I use as "Unknown". How do I make PDPM recognise this application and list under another category?
- How accurate is the data provided by PDPM?
- Does PDPM affect the performance of my system?
- What are the other files in PDPM folder?
PDPM is intended to be your handy time and productivity tracking tool.
PDPM works in the background collecting details of how you use your PC or laptop. PDPM uses the concept of determining the type of work from the type of application used. For example, if you use Microsoft Word - it would mean your work is related to Documentation, if you use Visual C++ - it would mean you have been coding something, if you use Internet Explorer - it would be mean have been looking up something on the Internet, and so on. PDPM works in the background and captures this data. And presents a summary and detailed report describing how much time you have spent on different activities. PDPM report also tells you the precise times of your first login for the day and the last logout for the day. It also tells you the time for which the PC was locked or idle.
How does PDPM work?
PDPM uses the concept of determining the type of work from the type of application used. For example, if you use Microsoft Word - it would mean the your work is related to Documentation, if you use Visual C++ - it would mean you have been coding something, if you use Internet Explorer - it would be mean have been looking up something on the Internet, and so on.
PDPM works in the background and captures this data. And presents a summary and detailed report describing how much time you have spent on different activities. PDPM report also tells you the precise times of your first login for the day and the last logout for the day. It also tells you the time for which the PC was locked or idle.
PDPM keeps track of the "active" time of all applications. The term "active" here means the time for which the application is used actively by you. An application window in foreground is considered to be the current active application. If an application is open, but minimised or in the background, it is not counted. This means, if you start a download and then start working on another application, while the download continues in the background, only the time you have spent to start the download is recorded, not the time taken for download. This makes sense as your attention and time is not spent for entire download duration.
How is PDPM useful?
By looking at the report, which is quite exhaustive containing everything you did in a day, you get a pretty good snapshot of how you utilised the work day. You get to know how much time you spent on different activities. Armed with this information, you could plan your work and manage your time better. The result - improvement in productivity.
If you need to fill timesheets as part of your job, you can also look at PDPM reports as an aid to jog your memory. Since you get detailed data on how much time you spent on different activities, you can use this information to fill timesheets, without the need for you to spend any more of your time to record this information separately.
What are the features of PDPM?
# PDPM shows Login time, Logout time and Total day work time
# Time spent on different categories (coding, mail, internet, etc.)
# Time spent on different applications (MS Word, MS Development Environment, Internet Explorer, etc.)
# Time the system was idle/locked
# Details of each application used
# Generation of report at the end of the day automatically, or anytime during the day as you need
Are there any implications of using PDPM?
You are free to use PDPM anyway you wish to. It is provided free of cost. Though this tool has been tested well and found to be working, it is not possible to offer guarantees. If you find a problem, please log bug.
What are the prerquisites to use PDPM?
PDPM is currently supported on Windows OS. A standard Windows 2000 or XP machine should do. PDPM also needs Java. Java Runtime Environment (5.0 or greater) needs to be installed before you can use PDPM.
What are the steps to use PDPM?
If you have installed PDPM, you do not need to do anything else. PDPM is already running in the background collecting the data. Report is automatically generated at the end of the day (at midnight). When you come in the next day morning, you should see a HTML report file in the "Reports" folder. If you want to see an intermediate report for a partial day, see the question "What if I want a report during the mid or any time during the day? Is it possible?"
How do I see the report?
Report is automatically generated at the end of the day (at midnight). So, when you come in the next day morning, you should see a HTML report file in the "Reports" folder. If you want to see realtime report for the current day, click on Start Menu -> PDPM -> "Today's Realtime Report". This generates a report based on the data that has been collected until that point for the current day.
Are there any privacy implications?
PDPM collects all data from your desktop. It records almost everything that you do on your desktop. Hence, the data contains very private and sensitive information. Do not share the files in "Logs" folder and the report files in "Reports" folder with anyone. If you prefer, you can delete the old log and report files.
What kind of applications are tracked and included in the report?
All applications that run on the machine are tracked.
What is the format of the report file?
# Report file contains the following information: userame of the user for which the data was recorded
# Computer Name - Name of the computer on which the data was recorded
# Day Login at - First login time of the day
# Day Logoff at - Last logoff time of the day
# Day Total Time - Total working time of the day (Differnce between logoff and login times)
# By Category - Report ordered by category
# By Applications - Report ordered by applications
# By Application Detailed - Report ordered by detail of each application
Do I need to keep my system running at all times for PDPM to work properly?
No, you can logoff or shutdown your system at the end of the day or you can restart the system at anytime during the day. PDPM will capture all this data. If you restart the system during the day, PDPM will miss recording samples during the downtime - which is shown as "Unaccounted".
What if I want a report during the mid day or at any time during the day? Is it possible?
Yes, it is possible. Click on Start Menu -> Programs -> PDPM -> "Today's Realtime Report"
After generating the report during the day, do I need to start PDPM again to collect the data?
No, it is not necessary. PDPM will resume collecting data in the background without the need to start PDPM again even after the report file is generated during the day.
Will a newly generated report overwrite the previous one of the same day?
Yes, when a newer report is generated (either automatically at the end of the day by PDPM or manually by you by clicking "Today's Realtime Report"), a previously generated report for the same day is overwritten.
Will PDPM be able to track the time the system is idle and/or locked ?
Yes, it can provide the exact details about the time the system was locked and/or idle. This time is shown under "Locked or Idle". Locked - when you lock the system. Idle - when you do not lock the system, but you are not using it either. If you keep the desktop idle for more than one minute, it is considered as being idle.
What is the time shown as Unaccounted?
When PDPM misses recording some samples, this time is shown as "Unaccounted". This may happen, when the system is under heavy load due to some other applications and PDPM could not get an opportunity to take samples. Usually, PDPM takes samples once every one second. "Unaccounted" time may also happen if you restart the system during the day.
What applications can PDPM track ?
PDPM can track any application that runs on your desktop. However, by default, PDPM can recognise many of the standard applications like (not an exhaustive list):
# Microsoft Outlook (Email)
# Microsoft Excel (Documentation)
# Microsoft Word (Documentation)
# Windows Explorer (Others)
# Microsoft Powerpoint (Documentation)
# VI Editor (Development)
# Microsoft Visual Studio (Development)
# Microsoft Development Environment (Development)
# Command Line Shell (Others)
# Mozilla Firefox (Browse)
# Google Chrome (Browse)
# Internet Explorer (Browse)
# Google Talk (Chat)
# Microsoft Messenger (Chat)
# Yahoo Messenger (Chat)
# Office Communicator (Chat)
# Windows Media Player (Entertainment)
# Acrobat Reader (Others)
To see the complete of applications recognised and add more applications, see PDPM shows an application I use as "Unknown". How do I make PDPM recognise this application and list under another category?
PDPM shows an application I use as "Unknown". How do I make PDPM recognise this application and list under another category?
The file "cfg-applications.pdp" is meant for customising by you. Click on the link Start Menu -> Programs -> PDPM -> "Edit Applications" to add a new applications or categories. The application to be tracked should be specified in this format, separated by commas: Application EXE,Friendly Name,Category. When the report is re-generated the next time, this application data is added to the report.
What are the other files in PDPM Install folder?
There are executable files and scripts. The folder "Logs" contains dat files (the recorded sampled data) and rep files (intermediate report files). The folder "Reports" contain the HTML reports. The files that can be edited by you is, cfg-applications.pdp. All other files (including the files in the folder Log and Report) should not be tampered with.
How accurate is the data provided by PDPM?
The data provided by PDPM is fairly accurate. The approach we have taken is that PDPM is completely non-intrusive. It will not load the system, or slow down the system, or prevent you from doing your work. If the system is under heavy use by other applications, PDPM will not interfere. Due to this approach, PDPM may miss out on recording samples at some points in time. The data may get a little skewed due to this. However, efforts have been made to show it in the report as "Unaccounted", when samples are missed.
Having said that, please see how PDPM works for you. We have not done any objective study about the accuracy and we cannot vouch for that. If you have any feedback, we would be happy to know and will try to improve performance.
Does PDPM affect the performance of my system?
The approach we have taken is that PDPM is completely non-intrusive. It will not load the system unnecessarily to the extent the system slows down and prevents you from doing your primary work. If the system is under heavy use by other applications, PDPM will not interfere. Due to this approach, PDPM may miss out on recording samples at some points.
However, PDPM consumes disk space for data files and report files. You may delete older data files and report files safely, if you dont need them.
Help, PDPM doesn't work for me!
See Help
I found a bug! What do I do?
See Help
I have a question about PDPM, who can I contact?
Please post at the Discussion Forum
I have this great idea for a feature which PDPM should have. Who should I tell?
Please post at the Discussion Forum
I want to contribute to PDPM development.
Please see Developers