Web testing is certainly not one of the easiest things to do. This is where creating a template becomes all the more necessary. Otherwise, you are looking at a bug identifying process that can result in everyone in your testing team getting a headache. Creating a bug tracking template improves efficiency, reduces errors, increases the prospect of finding bugs with more accuracy, and saves time.
Before we set about creating a template, let’s see what are the different elements that are a must-have in your bug report.
Use the correct name of the feature when you mention them here.
Explain the bug you found in a few words. Be careful with the wording.
Tell the developer which technical environment did you work on.
Add the URL of the page where you found the bug.
Add a screenshot or a video for the developers to understand the bug better.
The developer might not be able to completely understand about the bug you found, so it is your duty to describe it with as much detail as possible.
Give the developer a clear idea as to what you expected at that particular juncture and what you eventually experienced.
Tell the developer about how big a problem it is. Does it need immediate attention or is it a trivial issue?
Bug reports are an essential part of the software development process. They allow developers to track down and fix issues as they arise, which ultimately improves the quality of the software. Here are a few tips that will help you write an effective bug report:
1. Clearly state the problem - The first step in writing a bug report is to clearly state the bug you're experiencing. This will help developers get a sense of what's wrong and make it easier to find and fix the issue.
2. Include all relevant information - Make sure to include as much information as possible about your bug, including the following:
- The version of the software involved
- The operating system and browser you're using
- Steps you took to reproduce the bug
- screenshots or video if possible
3. Use specific terminology - When describing your bug, use specific terminology that corresponds to specific parts of the software. This will make it easier for developers to understand what you're talking about and fix the issue quickly.
4. Offer solutions - If there are any solutions to your bug, offer them as part of your bug report. This will help developers resolve the issue faster and ensure that your bug report is as complete as possible.
5. Include visual information- When reporting a bug, it can be helpful to include screenshots or videos of the issue in question. This will help the developers understand the problem more clearly and ensure that a resolution is implemented as soon as possible.
Now that we know what are the must-have things in your bug report, let’s look at how you can craft the perfect bug tracking template:
The first step to creating a bug tracking template is following all the best practices involved in bug tracking. By sticking to a framework, your team will also find it easy to follow them with accuracy.
Here is what the Disbug team has to tell you:
Start small:
Straightening out your bug tracking process is not an overnight thing. It will take time and you might want to scale up slowly instead of expecting immediate results.
Every bug should be customer-focused:
The prospect of finding errors and defects is always going to be high. So when you find such errors, the question that you need to ask is whether a particular error will affect the experience for your customers. If the answer to that is a resounding ‘Yes,’ then you need to get working on it immediately.
Remove the excesses:
Many of the processes that are generally used might not be relevant anymore. You need to find out which are the ones that are dead-weight and remove them. By doing so, you are making the lives of your team members better.
A bug goes through a myriad of phases before it gets completely eliminated. In this step, we need to establish definitions for the various phases it goes through. Some
issues might get resolved in one or two steps, while others might have to go through five rounds of testing.
How can you assess the number of steps that each bug will go through? This is where charting the bug tracking life cycle definitions can help get everyone on the same page. Below are some of the definitions for bugs so that it is easy for your team.
Another important aspect of the bug tracking life cycle is the bug tracking workflow. After defining the bug tracking statuses, one needs to chart exactly how a bug may flow from one status to the other. Do remember that each bug might have different life cycles, therefore your workflow should consider this aspect as well.
Here is an idea of how some bugs travel forward and backward during the testing phase.
Your testing team should have a handle on how the flow works.
Now that we know the best practices, various bug statuses and how the bug tracking life cycle flow works, we need to choose a bug tracking tool. Please keep this in mind: choose a tool that has everything that you are looking for, it doesn’t have to be the costliest one in the market.
“Does the bug tracking tool address your needs?”
That’s the only question that needs to be answered.
One more thing to keep in mind is that the bug tracking tool should generate reports that are easy to understand for the developers. By using the bug report template that we have prepared here, writing good bug reports becomes easy.
Here are a list of functionalities that you should look for when choosing a bug testing tool:
Conclusion:
Using spreadsheets for tracking your bugs can be a time-consuming process. By working with a bug tracking tool, you will be able to get things done faster and with even more accuracy than what a spreadsheet can possibly offer. When you are using a product that is powerful and sophisticated, it would be impossible to work on it unless you use a bug tracking tool.
