Applabs Center of Excellence

BUG REPORTING

AppLabs Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Plot No. 564-A-26-III,
Road No. 92, Jubilee Hills,
Hyderabad 500034
Tel: +91-40-233-98222
Fax from within India: +91-40-233-98111
Fax from outside India: +1-877-272-4616

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 General:........................................................................3
1.1 Module Objectives:......................................................................................................3
1.2 Module Structure:.........................................................................................................3
2.0 What Is a Bug Report and Why Do We Write Them?
.................................................................................... 4

3.0 Are Bad Bug Reports a Problem?.....................................5

3.1 Structure: ....................................................................................................................6
3.2 Reproduce:.................................................................................................................6
3.3 Isolate:.........................................................................................................................7
3.4 Generalize..................................................................................................................8
3.5 Compare......................................................................................................................9
3.6 Summarize.................................................................................................................10
3.7 Condense..................................................................................................................11
3.8 Disambiguate............................................................................................................12
3.9 Neutralize..................................................................................................................13
3.9.1 Steps to Reproduce...................................................................................13
3.10 Review.....................................................................................................................14
4.0 Few additional points...................................................15

5.0 How does a bug report Look Like?.................................17

5.1 Where did you find the bug? .....................................................................................17
5.2 How important is the issue? .....................................................................................17
5.3 Who will be following up on your report? ..................................................................18
6.0 Conclusion...................................................................20

7.0 Unit Summary..............................................................21

7.1 Exercise.....................................................................................................................21

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1.0 Gener al:

Bug reporting is one of the key phases of testing process. The good bug report actually stands as an
window for good testing process, hence writing good bug reports that are easily understandable is
indeed an art by itself.
Writing good bug reports needs not just good writing skills but also full understanding of the product
being tested and the testing process followed.
Though people can follow their own way of reporting the bugs, there are certain general standards
that need to be followed while reporting a bug.
The following module introduces you to the art of writing good bug reports, the standard practices the
needs to followed and structure that needs to be followed.

1.1 Module Objectives:

At the end of this session you should:
Be able to define what a bug report is.
How to write good bug reports.
General rules of writing bug reports.

1.2 Module Str ucture:

S.No Topic Duration in Hrs

1 Purpose of Bug Reports 2

2 Problem with bad Bug reports 2
3 Ten tips for Good bug reports 5
4 Additional points 1
5 Bug report format 2
Total Duration 12

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2.0 W hat Is a Bug Repor t and W hy Do We

Write T hem?

Bug report is a technical document

 Describes failure mode in system under test (SUT)
 The only tangible “product” of testing.
 Gives a clear understanding of “what went wrong”

Not a management problem escalation tool

 “Build not delivered on time” is not a bug report summary
 “Build 781 fails to install” is a bug report summary

Written to increase product quality

 Documents a specific quality problem
 Communicates to developers.

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3.0 Ar e Bad Bug Repor ts a Pr oblem?

Anecdotally, developers return many bug reports as irreproducible, leading to:

 Wasted time writing the report

 Frustration for tester and developer alike
 No increase in product quality

•Bug reports can be irreproducible due to:

 Intermittence
 Inconsistent test/development environments
 Disputes over “correct” behavior

But many irreproducible bug reports are poorly conceived and poorly written

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4.0 Ten tips for good bug r epor ts

Applying the following ten tips will help you achieve better bug reports:

3.1 Str ucture:

A tester who uses a deliberate, careful approach to testing, and takes Careful notes, tends to have a
good idea of what’s going on with the system under test. When failures occur, he knows when the first
signs of failure manifested themselves.

3.2 Reproduce:
The tester should check reproducibility of a failure before writing a bug report. If the problem doesn’t
recur, he/she should still write the bug report, but she must note the sporadic nature of the behavior. A
good rule of thumb is three attempts to recreate the failure before writing the report. Documenting a
clean set of steps to reproduce the problem addresses the issue of reproducibility head-on.

Good
Bad

1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I Nasty bug trashed contents of new file that I
created a new file. created by formatting some text in Arial font,
wasting my time.
2. I then typed in four lines of text, repeating
“The quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog”
each time, using different effects each time, bold,
italic, strikethrough, and underline.
3. i highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial.
4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.

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3.3 Isolate:
After reproducing the failure, the tester should then proceed to isolate the bug. This refers to changing
certain variables, such as system configuration, that may alter the symptom of the failure. This
information gives developers a head start on debugging.
Better Good
Steps to Reproduce
Steps to Reproduce 1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
a new file.
1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
a new file. 2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
time, using different effects each time, bold, italic,
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
strikethrough, and underline.
time, using different effects each time, bold, italic,
strikethrough, and underline. 3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial.
3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial. 4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time. 5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.
5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.
Isolation Isolation
On the vague suspicion that this was just a Doesn’t happen on Solaris.
formatting problem, I saved the file, closed
SpeedyWriter and reopened the file. The garbage
remained. If you save the file before Arializing the
contents, the bug does not occur. The bug does
not occur with existing files. This only happens
under Windows 98.

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3.4 Generalize
After the tester has an isolated and reproducible case, he should try to generalize the problem. Does
the same failure occur in other modules or locations? Can he find more severe occurrences of the
same fault?

Better Good
Steps to Reproduce Steps to Reproduce
1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created 1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
a new file. a new file.
2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The 2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
time. time, using different effects each time, bold, italic,
strikethrough, and underline.
3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial. 3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial.
4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time. 4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries. 5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.
Isolation
Isolation
Also happens with Wingdings and Symbol fonts.
On the vague suspicion that this was just a On the vague suspicion that this was just a
formatting problem, I saved the file, closed formatting problem, I saved the file, closed
SpeedyWriter and reopened the file. The garbage SpeedyWriter and reopened the file. The garbage
remained. If you save the file before changing the remained. If you save the file before Arializing the
font of the contents, the bug does not occur. The contents, the bug does not occur. The bug does
bug does not occur with existing files. This only not occur with existing files. This only happens
happens under Windows 98. under Windows

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3.5 Compare
If a tester has previously verified the underlying test condition in the testcase that found the bug, the
tester should check these prior results to see if the condition passed in earlier runs. If so, then the bug
is likely a case of regression, where a once-working feature now fails. Note that test conditions often
occur in more than one test case, so this step can involves more work than just checking past runs of
the same test case. Also, if you have a reference platform, repeat the test there and note result.

Better Good
Steps to Reproduce Steps to Reproduce
1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created 1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
a new file. a new file.
2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The 2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
time. time.
3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font 3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial. menu, and selected Arial.
4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into 4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time. meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out 5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries. of three tries.
Isolation Isolation
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed Also happens with Wingdings and Symbol fonts.
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry) On the vague suspicion that this was just a
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings formatting problem, I saved the file, closed
and Symbol fonts. On the vague suspicion that SpeedyWriter and reopened the file. The garbage
this was just a formatting problem, I saved the remained. If you save the file before changing the
file, closed SpeedyWriter and reopened the file. font of the contents, the bug does not occur. The
The garbage remained. If you save the file before bug does not occur with existing files. This only
changing the font of the contents, the bug does happens under Windows 98
not occur. The bug does not occur with existing
files. This only happens under Windows 98.

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3.6 Summarize
The first line of the bug report, the failure summary, is the most critical. The tester should spend
some time thinking through how the failure observed will affect the customer. This not only allows the
tester to write a bug report that hooks the reader and communicates clearly to management, but also
helps with setting bug report priority.
Better Good
Summary Steps to Reproduce
Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new 1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
files. a new file.
Steps to Reproduce 2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
time.
a new file.
3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
menu, and selected Arial.
quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
time. 4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial. 5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.
4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time. Isolation
5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
of three tries. against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry)
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings
Isolation
and Symbol fonts. On the vague suspicion that
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed this was just a formatting problem, I saved the
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry) file, closed SpeedyWriter and reopened the file.
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings The garbage remained. If you save the file before
and Symbol fonts. On the vague suspicion that changing the font of the contents, the bug does
this was just a formatting problem, I saved the not occur. The bug does not occur with existing
file, closed speedyWriter and reopened the file. files. This only happens under Windows 98.
The garbage remained. If you save the file before
changing the font of the contents, the bug does
not occur. The bug does not occur with existing
files. This only happens under Windows 98.

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3.7 Condense
With a first draft of the bug report written, the tester should reread it, focusing on eliminating
extraneous steps or words. Cryptic commentary is, of course, not the goal, but the report should not
wear out its welcome by droning on endlessly about irrelevant details or steps which need not be
performed to repeat the failure.
Better Good
Summary Summary
Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new
files. files.
Steps to Reproduce Steps to Reproduce
1.Started SpeedyWriter editor, then created new 1.I started the SpeedyWriter editor, then I created
file. a new file.
2.Typed four lines of text, repeating “The quick 2.I then typed in four lines of text, repeating “The
fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each time. quick fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each
time.
3.Highlighted text, then pulled down the font
menu, and selected Arial. 3.I highlighted the text, then pulled down the font
4.This nasty bug trashed all text into meaningless menu, and selected Arial.
garbage, wasting the user’s time. 4.This nasty bug trashed all the text into
5.Reproduced three out of three tries. meaningless garbage, wasting the user’s time.
Isolation 5.I was able to reproduce this problem three out
of three tries.
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry) Isolation
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
and Symbol fonts. On vague suspicion this was a
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry)
formatting problem, saved file, closed
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings
SpeedyWriter and reopened file. Garbage
and Symbol fonts. On the vague suspicion that
remained.
this was just a formatting problem, I saved the
Saving file before changing font prevents bug. file, closed speedyWriter and reopened the file.
Bug does not occur with existing files. Only The garbage remained. If you save the file before
happens under Windows 98. changing the font of the contents, the bug does
not occur. The bug does not occur with existing
files. This only happens under Windows 98.

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3.8 Disambiguate
In addition to eliminating wordiness, the tester should go through the report to make sure it is not
subject to misinterpretation. Some words or phrases are vague, misleading, or subjective, and should
be avoided. Clear, indisputable statements of fact are the goal.

Better Good
Summary Summary
Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new
files. files.
Steps to Reproduce Steps to Reproduce
1.Started SpeedyWriter editor, then created new 1. Started SpeedyWriter editor, then created new
file. file.
2.Typed four lines of text, repeating “The quick 2.Typed four lines of text, repeating “The quick
fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each time. fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each time.
3.Highlighted all four lines of text, then pulled 3.Highlighted text, then pulled down the font
down the font menu, and selected Arial. menu, and selected Arial.
4.This nasty bug trashed all text into meaningless 4.This nasty bug trashed all text into meaningless
garbage, including control characters, numbers, garbage, wasting the user’s time.
and other binary junk, wasting the user’s time.
5.Reproduced three out of three tries.
5.Reproduced three out of three tries.
Isolation
Isolation
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry)
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry)
through 1.1.017. Also happens with Wingdings
through 1.1.017. Reproduced with same steps
and Symbol fonts. On vague suspicion this was a
using Wingdings and Symbol fonts. On vague
formatting problem, saved file, closed
suspicion this was a formatting problem, saved
SpeedyWriter and reopened file. Garbage
file, closed SpeedyWriter and reopened file.
remained. Saving file before changing font
Garbage remained. Saving file before changing
prevents bug. Bug does not occur with existing
font prevents bug. Bug does not occur with
files. Only happens under Windows 98.
existing files. Only happens under Windows 98,
not Solaris, Mac, or other Windows flavors

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3.9 Neutralize
Being the bearer of bad news presents the tester with the challenge of delicate presentation. Bug
reports should be fair-minded in their wording. Attacking individual developers, criticizing the
underlying error, attempting humor, or using sarcasm can create ill will with developers and divert
attention from the bigger goal, increasing the quality of the product. The cautious tester confines her
bug reports to statements of fact.
Better Good
Summary Summary
Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new Arial, Wingdings, and Symbol fonts corrupt new
files. files.
Steps to Reproduce
3.9.1 Steps to Reproduce
1.Started SpeedyWriter editor, then created new
1.Started SpeedyWriter editor, then created new file.
file.
2.Typed four lines of text, repeating “The quick
2.Typed four lines of text, repeating “The quick fox fox jumps over the lazy brown dog” each time.
jumps over the lazy brown dog” each time.
3.Highlighted all four lines of text, then pulled
3.Highlighted all four lines of text, then pulled down the font menu, and selected Arial.
down the font menu, and selected Arial.
4.This nasty bug trashed all text into
4.All text converted to control characters, meaningless garbage, including control
numbers, and other apparently random binary characters, numbers, and other binary junk,
data. wasting the user’s time.
5.Reproduced three out of three tries.
5.Reproduced three out of three tries.
Isolation
Isolation
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
New to build 1.1.018; same test case passed
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry) through
against builds 1.1.007 (System Test entry)
1.1.017. Reproduced with same steps using
through 1.1.017. Reproduced with same steps
Wingdings and Symbol fonts. On vague suspicion
using Wingdings and Symbol fonts. On vague
this was a formatting problem, saved file, closed
suspicion this was a formatting problem, saved
SpeedyWriter and reopened file. Garbage
file, closed SpeedyWriter and reopened file.
remained. Saving file before changing font
Garbage remained. Saving file before changing
prevents bug. Bug does not occur with existing
font prevents bug. Bug does not occur with
files. Only happens under Windows 98, not
existing files. Only happens under Windows 98,
Solaris, Mac, or other Windows flavors.
not Solaris, Mac, or other Windows flavors.

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3.10 Review
Once the tester feels the bug report is the best one he can write, he should submit it to one or more
test peers for a review. The reviewing peers should make suggestions, ask clarifying questions, and
even, if appropriate, challenge the tester’s assertion that the behavior is buggy. The test team should
only submit the best possible bug report, given the time constraints appropriate to the priority of the
bug. A bug report should be an accurate, concise, thoroughly-edited, well-conceived, highquality
technical document.

The test team needs to focus on the task of writing bug reports, and the test leads and
manager must make it clear to each member of the test team that writing good bug reports is a
primary job responsibility. Quality indicators for a well-tuned bug reporting process include:

 Clarity to management, particularly at the summary level

 Utility to the development team, primarily in terms of giving the developer all the
information needed to effectively debug the problem;

 Brevity of the bug lifecycle from opened to closed, reducing cycles where developers return
poor quality reports for more information, leading to tester rework. Improving the bug reporting
process does require an effort, but provides significant payoffs. First, a crisp process
improves the test team’s communications with senior and peer management, which enhances
the team’s credibility and professional standing, and can encourage management to invest
more resources in testing.

Second, the smooth handoff to developers promotes positive relationships. Third, shorter bug
lifecycles are more efficient, so the time invested up front writing a good bug report is repaid
in time not wasted rewriting a poor bug report. These payoffs help the development process
achieve better product quality through effective communication and efficient workflows.

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4.0 Few additional points

 The first aim of a bug report is to let the programmer see the failure with their own eyes. If you
can't be with them to make it fail in front of them, give them detailed instructions so that they
can make it fail for themselves.

 In case the first aim doesn't succeed, and the programmer can't see it failing themselves, the
second aim of a bug report is to describe what went wrong. Describe everything in detail.
State what you saw, and also state what you expected to see. Write down the error
messages, especially if they have numbers in.

 When your computer does something unexpected, freeze. Do nothing until you're calm, and
don't do anything that you think might be dangerous.

 By all means try to diagnose the fault yourself if you think you can, but if you do, you should
still report the symptoms as well.

 Be ready to provide extra information if the programmer needs it. If they didn't need it, they
wouldn't be asking for it. They aren't being deliberately awkward. Have version numbers at
your fingertips, because they will probably be needed.

 Write clearly. Say what you mean, and make sure it can't be misinterpreted.

 Above all, be precise. Programmers like precision.

 Be specific. If you can do the same thing two different ways, state which one you
used. "I selected Load" might mean "I clicked on Load" or "I pressed Alt-L". Say which
you did. Sometimes it matters.

 Be verbose. Give more information rather than less. If you say too much, the
programmer can ignore some of it. If you say too little, they have to come back and
ask more questions. One bug report I received was a single sentence; every time I
asked for more information, the reporter would reply with another single sentence. It
took me several weeks to get a useful amount of information, because it turned up
one short sentence at a time.

 Be careful of pronouns. Don't use words like "it", or references like "the window",
when it's unclear what they mean. Consider this: "I started FooApp. It put up a
warning window. I tried to close it and it crashed." It isn't clear what the user tried to
close. Did they try to close the warning window, or the whole of FooApp? It makes a
difference. Instead, you could say "I started FooApp, which put up a warning window.
I tried to close the warning window, and FooApp crashed." This is longer and more
repetitive, but also clearer and less easy to misunderstand.

 Read what you wrote. Read the report back to yourself, and see if you think it's
clear. If you have listed a sequence of actions which should produce the failure, try
following them yourself, to see if you missed a step.

Particularly, every good bug report should have some of the following:

1. The URL of the script you received the error on, the script you were coming from, the script
you ended up at

2. Data you entered into fields in order to generate your error

3. Whether your problem is intermittent or reproducible

4. Precise date and time the error occurred (use the date command on the machine that you're
working on to get this)

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5. The machine that you are working on

6. The machine that the error was generated on (may not always be the same as above)

7. What programs you were running at the time

8. What program you tried to run that gave you the error

9. What you typed to give the error (just copy this directly from your xterm, Netscape, ssh
terminal, etc.)

10. What the error was (again, just copy this)

11. Does this error occur on other machines, or just the one that you happened to be working on?

12. What other hardware was involved

13. Praise and admiration for us sysadmin|programmers|security folk

14. Any other pertinent information that may be helpful.

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5.0 How does a bug r epor t Look Like?

Though, the format of the bug report varies from project to project or Client to Client or the bug
reporting tools that are used, the following are general contents of a typical bug report.

5.1 W here did you find the bug?

Reporter: Name of the test engineer who reported the bug. If a bug reporting tool is being used, this
can be appended automatically through the login details of the test engineer

Module: Name of the Module where the bug has been found

SubModule: The submodule where the bug has been found

5.2 How impor tant is the issue?

Severity: How damaging is the problem to progress and productivity? The following are the
severity levels that are used in general.

 Blocker

 Critical

 Major

 Minor

 Normal

 Trivial

The severity levels are decided, after thorough understanding of the product.

Priority:

The priority factor specifies the urgency of fixing the bug. It is not necessary that all high
severe bugs are high priority bugs and vice versa, though most of the times they are so.

The following are the Priority levels that are used in general.

 High

 Medium

 Low

Example:

Consider a situation, where the wrong logo is displayed in the home page of the company. Such a
bug is High priority (i.e. it needs to be addressed immediately) but is of normal severity.

Typically Blocker, Critical, Major bugs are posted as High priority bugs. Normal bugs are
posted as Medium priority and Minor and Trivial are posted as Low priority bugs.

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5.3 W ho will be following up on your repor t?

Assigned To: The Name of the person who needs to attend this bug, it could be the
developer or the project manager, who may inturn redirect the bug to the concerned
personnel.

Cc: Who else should receive e-mail updates on changes to this problem?

Summary:

Describe the problem, in approximately 60 or fewer characters

A good summary should quickly and uniquely identify a report. Otherwise, no one can
meaningfully query by summary.

Description: Fully describe the problem. Provide as detailed diagnosis as possible.

Overview Description: More detailed expansion of summary.

Steps to Reproduce: The minimal set of steps necessary to trigger the problem. Include any special
setup steps.

Actual Results: What actually happened after performing the above steps.
Include examples and hard numbers where possible.

Expected Results: What you think should have happened. This is obviously
relevant where you are requesting an enhancement, but please include it in
any case. Maybe you have misunderstood or we have failed to explain how
things are supposed to work.

Build Date & Platform: If this is a software fault, give the date and platform
of the build in which you first encountered the bug. Does the problem occur
on any other computers or software builds to which you have access?

Additional Information: This typically contains, any other details that are not
covered in the above listed sections.

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Example of bug: The following is an example of a bug, reported through a bug reporting tool

Severity

Priority

The Bug Content

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6.0 Conclusion

6.1.1.1 ROI for Good Bug Reporting

 Improved Test team communication to senior and peer management

–– Can enhance credibility, standing, and resources
 Better tester/developer relationships
–Helps developers be effective, reduces arguments
 Faster, more efficient bug lifecycles
–Quicker fixes and fewer reopens
 Support increased product quality

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7.0 Unit Summar y

In this session we have learnt:

1. What is a bug report and the importance of good bug report.
2. Structure of good bug reports.
3. Few tips for writing good bug reports.
4. Contents of a bug report.
5. ROI for bug reporting.

7.1 Exercise
Answer the Following in Short:
1. What is the purpose of a bug report?
2. What are the problems with BAD bug reports?
3. List some good practices in writing good bug reports?
4. What are the general contents of a bug report?
5. Create a format of a bug report (you can use your own creative ideas, that can make a bug
report better)?

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