Topic: How to Write Effective Bug Reports

Message

    How to Write Effective Bug Reports

The Purpose Of A Bug Report

When
we uncover a defect, we need to inform the developers about it. Bug
report is a medium of such communication. The primary aim of a bug
report is to let the developers see the failure with their own eyes. If
you can't be with them to make it fail in front of them, give them
detailed instructions so that they can make it fail for themselves. The
bug report is a document that explains the gap between the expected
result and the actual result and detailing on how to reproduce the
scenario.
After Finding The Defect

    * Draft the bug report
just when you are sure that you have found a bug, not after the end of
test or end of day. It might be possible that you might miss out on
some point. Worse, you might miss the bug itself.
    * Invest some
time to diagnose the defect you are reporting. Think of the possible
causes. You might land up uncovering some more defects. Mention your
discoveries in your bug report. The programmers will only be happy
seeing that you have made their job easier.
    * Take some time off before reading your bug report. You might feel like re-writing it.

Defect Summary

The
summary of the bug report is the reader.s first interaction with your
bug report. The fate of your bug heavily depends on the attraction
grabbed by the summary of your bug report. The rule is that every bug
should have a one-liner summary. It might sound like writing a good
attention-grabbing advertisement campaign. But then, there are no
exceptions. A good summary will not be more than 50-60 characters.
Also, a good summary should not carry any subjective representations of
the defect.
The Language

    * Do not exaggerate the defect through the bug report. Similarly, do not undertone it.

  * However nasty the bug might be, do not forget that it.s the bug
that.s nasty, not the programmer. Never offend the efforts of the
programmer. Use euphemisms. 'Dirty UI' can be made milder as 'Improper
UI'. This will take care that the programmer's efforts are respected.
    * Keep It Simple & Straight. You are not writing an essay or an article, so use simple language.

  * Keep your target audience in mind while writing the bug report.
They might be the developers, fellow testers, managers, or in some
cases, even the customers. The bug reports should be understandable by
all of them.

Steps To Reproduce

    * The flow of the Steps To Reproduce should be logical.
    * Clearly list down the pre-requisites.

  * Write generic steps. For example, if a step requires the user to
create file and name it, do not ask the user to name it like "Mihir's
file". It can be better named as "Test File".
    * The Steps To
Reproduce should be detailed. For example, if you want the user to save
a document from Microsoft Word, you can ask the user to go to File Menu
and click on the Save menu entry. You can also just say "save the
document". But remember, not everyone will not know how to save a
document from Microsoft Word. So it is better to stick to the first
method.
    * Test your Steps To Reproduce on a fresh system. You might find some steps that are missing, or are extraneous.

Test Data

Strive
to write generic bug reports. The developers might not have access to
your test data. If the bug is specific to a certain test data, attach
it with your bug report.

Screenshots

Screenshots
are a quite essential part of the bug report. A picture makes up for a
thousand words. But do not make it a habit to unnecessarily attach
screen shots with every bug report. Ideally, your bug reports should be
effective enough to enable the developers to reproduce the problem.
Screen shots should be a medium just for verification.

    * If
you attach screen shots to your bug reports, ensure that they are not
too heavy in terms of size. Use a format like jpg or gif, but
definitely not bmp.
    * Use annotations on screen shots to
pin-point at the problems. This will help the developers to locate the
problem at a single glance.

Severity / Priority

  * The impact of the defect should be thoroughly analyzed before
setting the severity of the bug report. If you think that your bug
should be fixed with a high priority, justify it in the bug report.
This justification should go in the Description section of the bug
report.
    * If the bug is the result of regression from the
previous builds/versions, raise the alarm. The severity of such a bug
may be low but the priority should be typically high.

Logs

Make
it a point to attach logs or excerpts from the logs. This will help the
developers to analyze and debug the system easily. Most of the time, if
logs are not attached and the issue is not reproducible on the
developer's end, they will revert to you asking for logs.

If the
logs are not too large, say about 20-25 lines, you can paste it in bug
report. But if it is large enough, add it to your bug report as an
attachment, else your bug report will look like a log.

Author	Message
tanu Newbie Joined: 03Apr2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 15	Topic: How to Write Effective Bug Reports Posted: 20Oct2007 at 12:10am
	How to Write Effective Bug Reports The Purpose Of A Bug Report When we uncover a defect, we need to inform the developers about it. Bug report is a medium of such communication. The primary aim of a bug report is to let the developers see the failure with their own eyes. If you can't be with them to make it fail in front of them, give them detailed instructions so that they can make it fail for themselves. The bug report is a document that explains the gap between the expected result and the actual result and detailing on how to reproduce the scenario. After Finding The Defect * Draft the bug report just when you are sure that you have found a bug, not after the end of test or end of day. It might be possible that you might miss out on some point. Worse, you might miss the bug itself. * Invest some time to diagnose the defect you are reporting. Think of the possible causes. You might land up uncovering some more defects. Mention your discoveries in your bug report. The programmers will only be happy seeing that you have made their job easier. * Take some time off before reading your bug report. You might feel like re-writing it. Defect Summary The summary of the bug report is the reader.s first interaction with your bug report. The fate of your bug heavily depends on the attraction grabbed by the summary of your bug report. The rule is that every bug should have a one-liner summary. It might sound like writing a good attention-grabbing advertisement campaign. But then, there are no exceptions. A good summary will not be more than 50-60 characters. Also, a good summary should not carry any subjective representations of the defect. The Language * Do not exaggerate the defect through the bug report. Similarly, do not undertone it. * However nasty the bug might be, do not forget that it.s the bug that.s nasty, not the programmer. Never offend the efforts of the programmer. Use euphemisms. 'Dirty UI' can be made milder as 'Improper UI'. This will take care that the programmer's efforts are respected. * Keep It Simple & Straight. You are not writing an essay or an article, so use simple language. * Keep your target audience in mind while writing the bug report. They might be the developers, fellow testers, managers, or in some cases, even the customers. The bug reports should be understandable by all of them. Steps To Reproduce * The flow of the Steps To Reproduce should be logical. * Clearly list down the pre-requisites. * Write generic steps. For example, if a step requires the user to create file and name it, do not ask the user to name it like "Mihir's file". It can be better named as "Test File". * The Steps To Reproduce should be detailed. For example, if you want the user to save a document from Microsoft Word, you can ask the user to go to File Menu and click on the Save menu entry. You can also just say "save the document". But remember, not everyone will not know how to save a document from Microsoft Word. So it is better to stick to the first method. * Test your Steps To Reproduce on a fresh system. You might find some steps that are missing, or are extraneous. Test Data Strive to write generic bug reports. The developers might not have access to your test data. If the bug is specific to a certain test data, attach it with your bug report. Screenshots Screenshots are a quite essential part of the bug report. A picture makes up for a thousand words. But do not make it a habit to unnecessarily attach screen shots with every bug report. Ideally, your bug reports should be effective enough to enable the developers to reproduce the problem. Screen shots should be a medium just for verification. * If you attach screen shots to your bug reports, ensure that they are not too heavy in terms of size. Use a format like jpg or gif, but definitely not bmp. * Use annotations on screen shots to pin-point at the problems. This will help the developers to locate the problem at a single glance. Severity / Priority * The impact of the defect should be thoroughly analyzed before setting the severity of the bug report. If you think that your bug should be fixed with a high priority, justify it in the bug report. This justification should go in the Description section of the bug report. * If the bug is the result of regression from the previous builds/versions, raise the alarm. The severity of such a bug may be low but the priority should be typically high. Logs Make it a point to attach logs or excerpts from the logs. This will help the developers to analyze and debug the system easily. Most of the time, if logs are not attached and the issue is not reproducible on the developer's end, they will revert to you asking for logs. If the logs are not too large, say about 20-25 lines, you can paste it in bug report. But if it is large enough, add it to your bug report as an attachment, else your bug report will look like a log. Post Resume: Click here to Upload your Resume & Apply for Jobs

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mihirkamdar Newbie Joined: 20Dec2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Posted: 20Dec2007 at 10:15pm
	thats my article... how can you post it with ur name ???
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