Reporting Bugs

Owned by Stacey Brown-Sommers
Jul 26, 2017
2 min read

Learn how to report and document bugs.

How to Report Bugs During Testing

Defects (aka bugs) need to be reported in a consistent, standardized fashion that

  • Enables engineers to understand and fix those defects without having to know the language.
  • Enables anyone else to find, understand and verify that those defects have been fixed.

File the defect as soon as you find it (i.e. stop testing, file the bug and then continue testing)

  • You will file a better bug report when the bug is still fresh in your memory.

One issue per defect report. Do not combine several different problems into one report.

  • Linguistic issues and functional/UI formatting issues are fixed differently (linguistic issue involves changing the translation and functional/UI formatting issue requires a change in the code)

Testers also need to follow up on their defect reports and update them when requested by the QA Lead

  • Verify and close or fail bugs.
  • Give feedback to engineers when requested.

Common fields for defect reporting:

Describe the problem (what is wrong, why it’s wrong, where the problem occurred). If the problem is a translation, include the  existing (wrong) translation. If it is an image file or html page, include the file name (right click on the page/image, see the name).

Provide the correct expected outcome. For linguistic issues provide the correct translation and mark your change. For formatting/functional issues, describe the steps to reproduce the bug and provide the correct/expected behavior.

Provide a screenshot to capture the problem and help locate the defect faster.

  • Use Alt+Prt Scr key to capture an image of the active window on your clipboard. Then paste it on Paint or other similar image editor.
  • Crop unnecessary area; however keep information that helps locate the file. For webpage, leave the address bar showing in the image. If the dialog/window has scrollbars, make sure they show as well. If it is from a Word/PDF file, show the page number.
  • Do not reuse the same screenshot for different bugs. If the same dialog has a linguistic and a formatting bug for example, you need to take 2 separate screenshots (1 for each bug). One screenshot will show the formatting defect and the other one will show the linguistic defect.

More tips:

  • Always check to make sure you report defects under the correct project.
  • Make sure you are not introducing new bugs by having typos in your provided translation.
  • Attach correct screenshot(s) and file name or location.
  • Make sure you have set the defect reporting fields as instructed in the TPA.
  • Do write clear description of the problem you find. “It is wrong” or “This doesn’t sound right” is not a very helpful instruction for engineers to fix your reported bug J
  • If you notice problems with the English source files or with the testing instructions, don’t hesitate to ask!  Don’t assume they are free of errors.
  • If you worked on similar products from the same client, chances are the projects are related; do make connections between projects, it will help with consistency/better QA results.