What is a Bug Report & Why it is Important?

Introduction:

The term bug was first used in computing in 1946. An actual moth that got caught in the relay during the construction of the Harvard Mark II led to mistakes. The term "bugs" does not necessarily refer to insects and the bugs that we want to talk about are digital, or software bugs.

What is a Bug Report?

 What exactly is a software bug then? An error, flaw, or defect in a computer program or system known as a “software bug” result in an unexpected or incorrect outcome or makes the software behave erratically. The word "bug" has been used in the engineering lexicon since the 1870s. It was frequently used to display flaws and problems with machines. 

A bug report is a comprehensive document that includes stack traces, device logs, anticipated and actual results, and other crucial details on the particular bug and error. The main goal of a bug report is to make sure that the bug is found quickly and fixed before it has an impact on users or customers. A bug report maybe two pages long or up to twenty pages long or longer. When learning how to write a bug report, using the appropriate bug-tracking tool can help you submit the best bug reports on time.

Why Bug Reports are Important?

If you had to use software that is also coming with bugs, how would you feel about whether it achieves what it was designed to? Would you make use of such programs or tools? You wouldn't eventually give up and switch to a better software solution that offers a better experience even if you were using such a tool. In the same way, end users. They will switch to another platform if the software falls short of their expectations. Important details that every report of a software bug must have? A good software bug report depends entirely on how accurate you can be with the details. 

A well-written bug report will have the following components: Issue ID, Heading, Summary, Screenshots/ Images/ Video recordings, expected results vs. actual results, Step-by-step procedure to find the bug, Environment, Console logs, URL of the Source, Priority/Severity and Additional info. Let’s through them one by one:

1. Issue ID: Maintain a distinct issue ID. A bug-tracking tool can generate issue IDs automatically. You can also avoid duplication by doing this.

2. Heading: Your developer is drawn to your heading right away. With the necessary information on the category, pages, or location, keep it brief, clear, and concise. 

3. Summary: Give specific details about how and when the bug was discovered in your bug report heading. When your developer wants to find the bug in the bug inventory in the future, a good report summary can be very helpful.

4. Screenshots/ Images/ Video recordings: Visual testing is crucial, that much is true. A video clip, picture, or screenshot can quickly guide your developer in finding the bug. They would undoubtedly be able to determine the precise effects of the bug and what they should do next.

5. Expected results vs. actual results: Now tell your developer what you saw on the screen compared to what you had anticipated. Any developer no matter which style of work he had adapted will benefit from having a clear understanding of what is and is not expected. An example test case is useful in this situation. A test case distinguishes between the expected result & the actual result, which is the real difference between a test case and a bug report. A bug report, on the other hand, discusses the number of errors & how to correct them.

6. Step-by-step procedure to find the bug: Assume your developer is a novice who is unaware of how or when you discovered the bug. What would you say to them to explain it? Start by providing examples in the report.

7. Environment: Include crucial details like the test environment's browser, OS version, screen size, pixel ratio, and zoom level. The developer will be able to determine which device or platform the error appears to be zoomed on thanks to this.

8. Console logs: They are the place where a developer can see what technical errors have been found on the website. After you have a general understanding of how to write a bug report, this is the best option to determine where everything went wrong.

9. URL of the Source: Your developer needs to be aware of the precise spot where the bug was discovered to be able to fix them properly and to react quickly as possible. 

10. Priority and severity: label the bug in terms of its priority from major to minor. 

11. Additional info: Professional document alignment is always a good idea. Make sure to include a few additional details. Give specifics like your name, the date the work is due, the developer who will be working on it, and any user or client conversations you had to expedite the debugging process.

Now we have talked much about the question of what is a bug report, we can now state that finding and dealing with bugs can be tricky, this is why WeTest offers CrashSight, a professional solution for all the software firms out there. It helps them identify bugs with real-time crash monitoring of the entire mobile game network along with real-time alerts for online issues. Also, clients get to analyze the devices, operation systems, application versions, number of occurrences, and users affected by the crash.

Wrapping Up: 

In this blog post, we discussed the basic question of what is a bug report and how it should be made. If you read this blog post from beginning to end, you are aware of the value of a thorough bug report. You can save a ton of time and effort if the software bug report is thorough but simple to understand. Additionally, it is something that your development team will value. Most importantly, it will assist you in providing your customers with a fantastic product and user experience. It's time to advance your bug reporting in software testing now that you have all the knowledge necessary to write an effective bug report.