Chapter 12 – Communicating Using Bugs

Explains how to use a bug or issue tracking tool to communicate with your present and future development teams.

• Vocabulary
• Bug Trackers as Communication Tools
  • Tracking Bugs Comprehensively
  • Tracking Bugs Collaboratively
  • Bug Tracker Notifications
• One Bug Per Bug Report, Please
• Anatomy of a Bug Report
• Feature Request Versus Bug Fix
• Placeholder Issues
• Bug Trackers as Business Continuity
• Bug Trackers Versus Code Comments
• Writing Useful Bug Reports
  • Focus On Symptoms, Not Solutions
  • What Screen Were You On?
  • How Did You Get There?
  • What State Were You In?
  • What Did You Do?
  • What Did You Expect?
  • What Did It Do Instead?
• Attaching Files to Bugs
• Data-Specific Bugs
• Reproduction: There’s the Rub
• Bug States
• Reopening Bugs Versus Creating New Ones
• Splitting Bugs
• Two Bugs, One Cause
• Saving For Posterity
• Wrapping Up