Efficiency in software development enables quality, timely releases, and happier customers. A large part of that efficiency depends, precisely, on successful bug fixing, and quality defect reports help programmers make those fixes quickly. When writing defect reports, testers can be helpful by adding detailed and precise steps to reproduce the problems they encounter, in which the expected results should be found to be the actual results - they can also include screenshots and video attachments to aid understanding of the defect in question.
The details written in the defect report help programmers to understand the depth and breadth of the bug 's effect and to discover the affected code. Locating broken code in a complex code base is not an easy task, especially when programmers work on more than one project at a time. The more detail the defect reporter adds to the defect report, the easier it is to reproduce, locate and correct the bug. The greater the understanding of the defect, the more likely the team is to fix it correctly - and without generating new and related bugs.
The details required for a comprehensible defect report include the following: - should include, for example:
- Unique ID for Tracking: This allows testers to find the defect by identification;
- Report Author Name: Name and contact information;
- Application and Code Versioning;
- Server or Environment: Define the location where the tests were performed;
- Browser and OS, if Applicable;
- Screenshots or Video, Log Files or Bugs: Browser development tool logs or other log files help programmers understand the defect - including video of the defect in action, or screenshots naturally aid in visual understanding;
- Expected Result/Behavior and Actual Result/Behavior: Programmers may not know how the application works end-to-end, since they tend to code specific functions. Including the expected result-in addition to the actual result-provides information crucial to locating the defect;
- Severity/Priority: How critical is the defect?
- Troubleshooting Notes: Include any notes on troubleshooting actions taken, database queries, or error logging results.
- Among others.
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