A poorly written bug report wastes time if it doesn’t include the information needed to prioritise and fix it. Here are some practical tips to help you get it right the first time and avoid unneeded back-and-forth with developers and product managers.
1. Write a report everyone can understand
Bug reports aren’t just for testers and developers - other stakeholders such as product managers and designers might also read them for prioritisation or other purposes. That doesn’t mean you should exclude technical details (such as error logs or environment details), but it does mean you should include summaries and reproduction steps that everyone can follow.
2. Be clear
‘User can’t submit form’ doesn’t really convey what the problem is. Does nothing happen when the user clicks the submit button? Is the button disabled when it shouldn’t be? Is the button not visible? There are lots of ways to interpret this, so be sure to include the key details of the issue with clear reproduction steps.
3. Include full-page screenshots or videos
If the problem involves a UI, ensure you include screenshots or videos that capture the whole of the page - including the URL of the page. Screenshots that are just small snippets of a page don’t always cut it. It should be immediately clear what page the user is on and where on the page the bug is (don’t be afraid to annotate your screenshots for extra clarity). This can help others locate the issue quickly.
4. Create one report per bug
Unless you’re fairly confident that two issues are due to the same bug in the code, it’s always best to create separate bug reports for each issue. This allows each issue to be managed individually and tracked more effectively. This also prevents bugs from getting lost or forgotten.
5. Highlight the impact of the bug
Bugs that affect critical flows, cause poor user experiences or are potential security risks should be fixed quickly, so it’s important to make the bug’s impact clear in your report. This gives others the context they need to determine its priority. If the problem is only cosmetic or doesn’t affect user behaviour, mention that too.
6. Learn from the questions your reports get
Every time someone asks you a question about one of your bug reports, think about how the answer could have been incorporated into the bug report from the start. This will show you what other information you should start including. But be careful, the more bloated your bug report is, the more likely it is that others will skim read it and end up asking you questions that your bug report already answers.
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