A software bug is an error, mistake, or flaws in an application or software program’s internal code. Software bugs lead to unexpected or erroneous results. Some bugs completely crash the application, but some bugs produce incorrect results without crashing software or apps. The process of finding and fixing bugs in the software is known as the debugging process. Bug reporters will identify the errors at the software testing phase in the software development cycle. Sometimes they are deducted at the time of deployment or after the product is delivered to the end-users.
Software bugs may be a major or minor issue. The software development team is responsible for identifying, resolving, and fixing the bug to provide stable operation and accurate software output.
The bug reporting process is indispensable, helping developers find and resolve the error rapidly during the development cycle. Fair bug reporting will reduce the time of the debugging or bug fixing process. In scenarios, the report you create is unclear and non-informative for a developer will cause more work. You need to rewrite the entire defect report, or sometimes you may require a retest and have to come up with a new defect report or need to explain to the developer. As a QA professional ( Bug Reporter), you need to write quality bug reports. You can save near 45 percent of your time with an excellent standardized bug report.
A poor bug report will be a time-waster for both the software tester and developer. The testing specialist needs to rewrite the bad bug report. For example, if the specialist runs a functional test due to insufficient documentation, the tester needs to repeat the functional testing process until they accurately meet the specification.
Reports without essential information will annoy the developer. It creates difficulty for a developer to identify and fix the error code. Which automatically increases the development cycle and debugging time.
As a testing professional, you need to define the bugs and prioritize them correctly. An incorrect bug priority will lead the whole development team to focus on the unserious bug instead of a high priority bug fix. A well-written bug report will simplify the developer and tester's life during regression testing.
Effective bug reporting must contain the following information.
The Bug ID is necessary, and it is the simplest way to discover complete information about this bug in the future.
The summary is the highlights of the defect and observed failure. A summary is a high-level description, which is the first thing the developer or viewer sees on the bug report.
The description shows the complete information about the type and the effect of the bug that caused it on the final product or application.
In the description, explain the steps to recreate the bug along with the expected results. Bug Reporter has to include at what stage the bug has occurred in the description.
The bug description should also include the test phase’s outcome, the desired result, and the actual results.
Depending on the environment, the behavior of the application will vary. Include details of app configuration and the environment setup. Include model no, manufacturer details, Operating system version, OS, screen orientation, Battery state, application/ product version, etc. The environment detail you share has to be exact.
Severity is the parameter to denote the impact of a particular defect on the product. It shows how severe the fault is affecting the functionality. Test engineers decide the severity level of the error. Severity is ranked or measured in 4 or 5 levels (Critical, Serious, Normal, Enhancement, and Suggestion)
Priority shows how rapidly the development team must fix the bugs. Product managers decide priorities. Similar to severity, Priority falls under 4 or 5 levels from Urgent to Low (Urgent, High, Medium, and Low)
It is also an essential element in the report. This segment bug reporter has to include the date and time when bugs are detected. It is useful during the testing process to identify on which product version the defect has occurred.
This portion covers the person who identifies the faults. It helps to know whom to contact for the particular defect.
Attach extra information like screenshots and other evidence of the defect in the report. A visual explanation of the defects will provide a better understanding of the developer & viewers.
Many bug tracking tools are available today. It is advantageous to track the issue process for better software development. Start your bug tracking game with the top 5 bug tracking software today.
Remote Workly's bug reporting tool will fasten up your bug reporting process by 2X at minimum, often shaving 3-4 hours off the reporting time. In addition it auto captures screen details, time, severity and provides an easy access dashboard for all the developers. Lastly its directly integrated to Slack, Jira, Trello or Asana so you can auto-sync everything letting you focus on launching great products. It starts at just $29 and the pro plan offers a lot more at just $39 per month
Jira Software is one of the top bug tracking software. It assists in capturing, tracking, and resolving defects. Atlassian developed this software. Jira comes with four different plans free, stranded, premium, and enterprise plans. The pricing of the software starts from $0 to 140$ a month. The free plan allows ten users, and the premium plan costs around $140 a month for 10,000 users, and the stranded plan offers an average of $7 per user.
It is cost-effective and leading online project management software. Backlog offers bug tracking solutions where the user can effectively capture, assign, prioritize, and resolve bugs. Backlog provides four different plans, pricing from $0 to $175 per month.
Fiddler is a more popular web debugging software. This software enables the user to capture and analyze the network traffic from any browser on any device. This software is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac users. The software costs around $12 a month for a user.
Zoho Bugtracker is an automated bug tracking tool from the trusted brand Zoho Corporation. Zoho has 35 million users worldwide. With Zoho Bugtracker, you can set up custom workflows, automatic notifications, etc. It is a fast, simple, and scalable bug tracker. The software comes with three different pricing plans free, standard, premium, and it also provides ten days of a free trial. Zoho Bugtracker costs nearly $40.00/month. Visit the website for more information.
Wrike is a project management software with bug tracking features. You can achieve error less workflow with high client satisfaction. With Wrike, the user can perform error tracking, task, workflow, backlog management, and many more.
The software comes with four different plans and packages (free, professional, business, and enterprise). Wrike costs approximately $24.80 per month for a user.
Defect Management is a primary part of software development. Web and software testing is not relatively easy as it looks. Individuals from diverse expertise work together for product betterment. Miscommunication will generate considerable delays in application development. Standard bug reports reduce problems. With the wide range of bug tracking software, you can easily share and resolve the bugs.
The duty of test managers/testers is not just preparing and sharing the bug report. Nevertheless, it's their accountability to ensure the bug fixes. After submitting the report, the tester has to follow up with the developer and render the developer’s additional requirements if necessary. Consistently communicate with the developers on the feedback channels. The above guideline will help you to write a high-quality report. Good reports help in rapid bug fixing and increase the quality of the software.
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