Bug Tracking Tool

What Should you Look for in a Tracking Tool

Unique ID - a mechanism to identify and track every bug by assigning a unique ID number.

Full customization - the flexibility to customize a tool for your development environment and define parameters according to your business needs. For example, a customizable product would let you define a priority list the way you want, using numbers, words, or letters.

File attachments - The ability to give a clear description of a reported problem to team members by attaching screenshots, text files, and so forth to each bug.

History trail - a record of all changes made in an issue from the moment it is submitted through its life cycle.

Automatic email notification - whenever an issue is assigned to a group member, it is useful to have your tool send an automatic e-mail notification informing the programmer of the assignment.

Customizable reports - a report engine that lets you search your issue list for different words and phrases and create specific reports with only the issues and fields that interest you. (for example, you might want to create a report on all issues that have been assigned to you.

Web-based - lets your team use the tool whenever they are based by enabling access to the tool and issue list from any location using only a browser. If money is no object, there are also many good licensed software products. However, these products normally require licenses for each user, which can quickly elevate the cost if a company has many users.

Access - This allows you to establish access permission rules for each group. For example, you don't want R&D to be able to access the 'Closed' status, and you don't want customers to see bugs they have not reported.

Priority Table

1 Immediate - this bug should be resolved immediately

2 High - this bug should be resolved as soon as possible in the normal course of development activity before the software is released

3 Medium - someone should repair this bug after serious bugs have been fixed

4 Low - it can be resolved in a future major system revision or not be resolved at all

Severity Table

1 Critical - the bug causes a failure of the complete software system, subsystem, or program within the system

2 High - the bug does not cause a failure but causes the system to produce incorrect, incomplete, or inconsistent results or impairs the system usability

3 Medium - the bug does not cause a failure, does not impair usability and does not interfere with the fluent work of the system and programs.

4 Low - the bug is an aesthetic, is an enhancement, or is a result of non-conformance to a standard