Bookhouse’s automated time keeper

Time tracking is an essential thing in workgroup production, as a way of recording activity for client reporting and invoicing. There are many off-the-shelf software solutions, but the user has to interact with the software to change the active project. Fundamentally, any kind of human intervention will open up a margin for error. In any fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, it is very easy to forget to start or stop the timer.

Bookhouse’s strict file naming conventions made us think that an automatic solution could be possible. For Bookhouse, the active job and task are fully implied by the file name, which includes a unique book number along with the stage of production, such as ‘1stPages’, ‘PressProofs’ and so on. We wanted software to parse this information and automatically start and stop the timer.

Off-the-shelf software did not exist. So we created our own, and a cute little digital companion, called TimeFrogger, was born.

TimeFrogger starts up when the machine is turned on, and stays running in the background.

TimeFrogger automatically records user activity in production software such as InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and QuarkXPress. It also monitors other programs that are used in service of these programs, such as Microsoft Word and Excel.

Under the hood, TimeFrogger uses an extensible system which associates a timer template with a particular application. The template acts as an interpreter, asking each application a set of questions and then normalising the response data. For instance, InDesign will report information about page extent while Photoshop reports information about resolution.

These data can be recorded or displayed in multiple places, ranging from flashing a message onscreen to recording in a database. The output capabilities can be expanded via plug-ins.

TimeFrogger is encapsulated in an application which is always running in the background. Every ten seconds, TimeFrogger asks all open software for the name of its active document. If the application responds, it keeps a record of the application, document name and current time. (If it does not respond, that means there is no document open.) When TimeFrogger asks the same application the same questions ten seconds later, if the active document is not the same, it will record the closing time along with other metadata reported by the application. With this information it is easy to calculate the duration that file was open.

TimeFrogger displays a helpful message to users.

The precision of this information is why our invoices show hours with a resolution of two decimal places.

TimeFrogger allows Bookhouse staff to be free from the distractions of time tracking and plays a part in our workflow efficiency. It is also a powerful tool for management, eliminating the component of human error in a critical system.

When the workstation is shut down, TimeFrogger takes a break.