Write Good Bug Report

In this post, we show you how to write good bug report. At the end, we will give a link to down a sample defect report template. So, let’s get started.

Have you ever seen a rejected bug which has comments as “it is not reproducible”. Sometimes Dev Team rejects few bugs due to Bad Bug Report.

Bad Bug Report?

Imagine you are using Mozilla Firefox for testing (I am mentioning a sample case here). You found an issue that login button is not working. You have posted the same issue with all the steps except mentioning the name and version of Browser. One of the developers opened that report and tried to reproduce it based on the steps you mentioned in the report. Here, in this case, the Developer is using Internet Explorer. The Login button is working properly in their environment. So the Developer will reject the bug by mentioning the comments as the bug is not reproducible. You will find the same issue after you do retest. Again you will report the same issue and get the same comments from the Dev Team.

You forgot to mention the name and version of Browser in your bug report. If you forgot some key information to reproduce the bug in the Developers Environment, you will face the consequences like this.

It creates a bad impression on you. Action will be taken on you based on the company for wasting the time and effort.

There is an old saying: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Writing good bug report is a skill every tester should have. You have to give all necessary details to the Dev Team to get your issue fixed.

Earlier I have posted a detailed post on “Bug Life Cycle”, if you haven’t gone through it, you can browse “Bug Life Cycle” here

Do you want to get the bug fixed without rejection? So you have to report it by using a good bug report.

How To Write Good Defect Report?

Let me first mention what are the fields needed in a good bug report.

Defect ID, Reporter Name, Defect Reported Date, Who Detected, How Detected, Project Name, Release/Build Version, Defect/Enhancement, Environment, Priority, Severity, Status, Description, Steps To Reproduce, URL, Expected Result, Actual Result.

Earlier I have posted a detailed post on “Bug Report Template With Detailed Explanation”, click here to get the detailed explanation on each field and download a sample bug report.

The first thing we should do before writing a bug report is to reproduce the bug two to three times.

If you are sure that bug exists then ascertain whether the same bug was posted by someone else or not. Use some keywords related to your bug and search in the Defect Tracking Tool. If you did not find an issue which is related to the bug same like you found then you could start writing a bug report.

Hold on!!

Why could not we ascertain whether the same issue is available in the related modules?. If you find that the same issue is available in the related modules then you could address those issues in the same bug report. It saves a lot of time in terms of fixing the issues and writing repeated bug reports for the same kind of issues.

Start writing a bug report by mentioning all the details in the fields as mentioned above and write detailed steps to reproduce

Make a checklist and ensure whether you have passed all the points before reporting a bug.

i. Have I reproduced the bug 2-3 times. ii. Have I verified in the Defect Tracking Tool (using keywords) whether someone else already posted the same issue. iii. Have I verified the similar issue in the related modules. iv. Have I written the detailed steps to reproduce the bug. v. Have I written proper defect summary. vi. Have I attached relevant screenshots. vii. Have I missed any necessary fields in the bug report?

Consolidating all the points on how to write good bug report:

i. Reproduce the bug 2-3 times. ii. Use some keywords related to your bug and search in the Defect Tracking Tool. iii. Check in similar modules. iv. Report the problem immediately. v. Write detailed steps to reproduce the bug. vi. Write a good defect summary. Watch your language in the process of writing the bug report, your words should not offend people. Never use capital letter whilst explaining the issue. vii. Advisable to Illustrate the issue by using proper screenshots. viii. Proofread your bug report twice or thrice before posting it.