Do you keep the best possible bug database?

Last updated by Alex Rothwell [SSW] 6 months ago.See history

This rule has been archived
Archived Reason: Bugs are usually tracked using GitHub Issues (or similar) and Team Companion is dead. Superceded by related Rule

There are 101 bug databases on the market at the moment and of course many companies make up their own in-house systems.

bugs This is a common scenario: Your tester/client finds a bug, they log on to your on-line bug database, and enter the data, they save the error message as a gif and upload the image. As Project Manager, you get notified by email of the bug, you log on to the application, view the image, review the status, assign a priority, and assign it to a developer. The developer receives the email, logs on and sets about fixing the bug. When completed, they logs back on to the application, enters a completed date, and an email is sent to the tester/client. The tester/client logs on, and is told what to test, reviews the work, enters a checked by date, and the final email is sent to the manager who closes the bug.

Phew! That sounds like a lot of steps which is why most people resort to just sending an email. I believe most people send requests for tasks via email, if this is the case, why should developers have a separate "to-do" list, in the form of a bug-database in which they re-enter data?

MS TFS has an Outlook addin which can save you a lot of this work called Team Companion. This has a number of benefits including:

  • Developers don't have to re-enter data
  • TFS fully integrates your bug tracking with your source control.
  • Managers can see important information like Tasks Completed and Tasks Assigned in TFS Reports
  • Clients can see what developers are working on via TFS
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