T3CON15: How to set up your bug tracking workflow: The best Do’s and Don’ts.

In this talk you can find some lessons learned on some of the best do's and don'ts of a bug tracking workflow.

Presented at the T3CON15 in Amsterdam.

Transcript

1. The Do’s & Don’ts of a bug tracking workflow. @tompeham | @usersnap
2. That’s me. Thomas Peham. • Tech Marketer at Usersnap, a visual bug tracking tool. • managing bugtrackers.io • previously: ◦ Project Manager at a TYPO3 agency ◦ Project Manager at Styria Digital One • blogger for various web development & design blogs. • @tompeham I @usersnap I @bugtrackers
3. Outline. • The problem of bugs. • 4 steps for tracking down bugs. (and fixing them.) • From bugs to no bugs. • Best bug tracking takeaways
4. Why I’d like to talk about bug tracking today. Or: What is Usersnap about? @tompeham | @usersnap
5. bug tracking, the black sheep?
6. Compared to other web development areas, bug tracking is pretty “old school”.
7. How people react when it comes to tracking bugs...
8. Or this way...
9. The problem of software bugs.
10. The problem of software bugs.
11. The problem of software bugs. Bugs are expensive.
12. The problem of software bugs. Bugs are expensive. (approx. $ 312 billion per year globally) source: Cambridge University
13. The problem of software bugs. Developers don’t test their code?! source: ashleynolan.co.uk
14. The problem of software bugs. What tool do you use to test your JavaScript? (if any) source: ashleynolan.co.uk
15. Web development has changed. Why bug tracking hasn’t?
16. So, how do we solve that problem of bugs? I SEE BUGS EVERYWHERE
17. Step 1: Ensure a bug-free development environment.
18. Step 1: Ensure a bug-free development environment. Yeah, but there will always be some bugs.
19. Agree on: what is a bug. And what isn’t. Find the real bugs. Okay then. Step 1) Define + find bugs.
20. “A software bug is an error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result or to behave in unintended ways.” What is a bug?
21. software bug ...error, flaw, failure, or fault…. ...produce incorrect or unexpected result… What is a bug?
22. software bug something which is not working as designed. What is a bug?
23. What is a bug? This is a bug...
24. something not working as designed. or. not designed as it should work? What is not a bug?
25. in theory: it’s easy. in practice: it’s not. What is not a bug?
26. So, who’s in charge? The project manager? QA Team Lead? Development Team Lead? What is not a bug?
27. Agile sounds great, right? What is not a bug? Who’s in charge!?
28. So, who’s in charge? The project manager? QA Team Lead? Development Team Lead? What is not a bug? Decide + communicate at the beginning of a project!
29. 1) automated testing 2) manual testing 3) crowd testing 4) the “banana principle”: or testing with the customer How to find bugs?
30. How to find bugs? Automated testing. Specify test cases run tests test report
31. + no infrastructure (devices, browsers, vms) needed. + many platforms & browsers are supported. + fast & reliable test cases. How to find bugs? Automated testing. Benefits.
32. - Investment in tools required. - No “real device” feeling - tools have limitations - “agile testing” hardly possible How to find bugs? Automated testing. Drawbacks.
33. How to find bugs? Manual testing. write test cases & user stories manual testing test report
34. + short-term cost is lower + manual testing = agile testing + more user-centric than automated testing. How to find bugs? Manual testing. Benefits.
35. - investment in human resources is required. - test execution takes longer than automated testing. - threat of “human errors” How to find bugs? Manual testing. Drawbacks.
36. Let the crowd test your website. Combines the benefits of manual + automated testing. How to find bugs? crowdsourced testing. write test cases & user stories let the crowd test test report
37. + user-centric feedback + fast & reliable + “outside” view to system How to find bugs? crowdsourced testing. Benefits.
38. - find the right crowd (=target group) - still in its early beginnings How to find bugs? crowdsourced testing. Drawbacks.
39. Automated vs Manual? Robots vs human power. TDD vs agile. Pre-scripting vs user- centric.
40. Step 2) document bugs.
41. Step 2) document bugs. How a bug report form should look like. Not.
42. Step 2) document bugs. How a bug report form should look like. Not.
43. But: Information needed when reporting a bug. Or: The Art of Bug Reporting.
44. But: Information needed when reporting a bug. Or: The Art of Bug Reporting. - The What? A description of what happened. - The Where? Place where the bug happened. - The When? Time frame when something happened. - The Who? Person who discovered the issue. - The Why? Why do you think it happened?
45. How to write the perfect bug report - summary + prioritization - details on how to find the bug again. - meta information. - ….
46. Your website = place where the error occured. How to fix the bug documenting process. crime scene: written document of problem description bug report: place where the problem should get reproduced % fixed. developer’s code:
47. Your website = Where the error occurs. How to fix the bug documenting process. crime scene: written document of problem description bug report: place where the problem should get reproduced % fixed. developer’s code: This is a loooong way for fixing bugs.
48. = browser Why not stay in the same medium? crime scene: = browser bug report: = browser? developer’s code: This is a visual experience This is a visual experience
49. Step 3) Reproduce it. “If you can’t reproduce a bug, it’s almost impossible to fix.”
50. Step 3) Reproduce it. But how? bug reporting tool the client: the project team project mgmt tool development environment But it works on my environment! There’s a bug!
51. Step 3) Reproduce it. But how? integrated PM + bug reporting tool the client: the project team development environment screenshots screenshots +meta info
52. Step 4) Fix bugs.
53. Step 4) Fix bugs. If you’ve followed step 1 - 3, step 4 is easy. Is it? ;-)
54. Step 4) Fix bugs. What does a closed bug mean?
55. Step 4) Fix bugs.
56. Step 4) Fix bugs. Who is responsible for this decision?
57. So, to the recap...
58. From bugs to no bugs. Bugs Find them. Document them. Reproduce them. Fix them. No bugs.
59. Key takeaways
60. The Waterfall...
61. The Waterfall... ...is no longer valid.
62. agile testing
63. agile testing #FTW
64. agile testing #FTW Decide on responsibilities!
65. ad-hoc bug reporting
66. visual bug reporting
67. bug tracking responsibilities
68. Open vs. closed bugs.
69. But what if...
70. Communication matters.
71. Everybody is a QA agent
72. Now it’s up to you.
73. @tompeham @usersnap @bug trackers thomas@usersnap.com Thomas Peham