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Why Organizational Bug Tracking Matters
- By David L Fox
- Published 03/21/2012
- Unrated
David L Fox
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Many companies are woefully inadequate when it comes to their ability and willingness to track software bugs from project to project. Unfortunately this has been the case for many years and is generally true irrespective of the industry, country, or company size. Although it is true that most companies do a good job of tracking bugs within specific, isolated projects, the vast majority do a poor job of tracking all bugs across all projects from an organizational perspective.
The same companies that use tracking software to measure call times, abandonment rates, and customer satisfaction rates for call centers often fail to see the need for similar tools in their software testing departments. This is a shame because these firms are missing an opportunity to have a more holistic view of their overall business. A more holistic view helps to promote more effective strategies and also enables process improvement, and as such is highly beneficial. As they say, you cannot improve what you cannot measure.
WHY ORGANIZATIONAL BUG TRACKING IS A NECESSARY EVIL
The main reason it is important to track and analyze bugs at the organizational level is because it helps build a knowledge base and subsequently promotes process improvement across the entire organization. Again, it goes back to the benefits of having a holistic view.
I'll say it one more time because it is so important: you cannot improve what you cannot measure. By not tracking bugs from project to project, companies are not able
to identify organizational flaws. Without identifying these flaws, it is not possible to identify areas for improvement or incorporate best practices into the testing process. Said another way, it prevents organizational learning.
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE ART OF ORGANIZATIONAL BUG TRACKING
The shame of it is that tracking tools are not expensive and are easy to implement. Many third party tools will automatically capture the nature of each bug, the impacted party, the date the bug was revealed, the attempted solutions, and more. These tools can also help analyze the data, which can be useful in terms of identifying common root causes, fixes, and design flaws. Do a quick Google search for “organizational bug tracking tools” and you will find all the information you need.
Once the tracking tool has been in operation for a fair amount of time, the commonalities and bug patterns can be used to improve processes and identify incremental opportunities. Ultimately, the accumulated analytics will allow the organization to build a knowledge base, which testers for future projects will be able to tap into to solve common problems quickly.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is that companies evolve primarily through measuring and analyzing results, and this is no different for software testing. The most useful way to track software testing bugs is across all projects at the organizational level, as this helps facilitate better strategies, improved processes, and organizational learning. Thus, organizational bug tracking is critical and should be done by all companies, no matter how big or small they may be.
The same companies that use tracking software to measure call times, abandonment rates, and customer satisfaction rates for call centers often fail to see the need for similar tools in their software testing departments. This is a shame because these firms are missing an opportunity to have a more holistic view of their overall business. A more holistic view helps to promote more effective strategies and also enables process improvement, and as such is highly beneficial. As they say, you cannot improve what you cannot measure.
WHY ORGANIZATIONAL BUG TRACKING IS A NECESSARY EVIL
The main reason it is important to track and analyze bugs at the organizational level is because it helps build a knowledge base and subsequently promotes process improvement across the entire organization. Again, it goes back to the benefits of having a holistic view.
I'll say it one more time because it is so important: you cannot improve what you cannot measure. By not tracking bugs from project to project, companies are not able
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE ART OF ORGANIZATIONAL BUG TRACKING
The shame of it is that tracking tools are not expensive and are easy to implement. Many third party tools will automatically capture the nature of each bug, the impacted party, the date the bug was revealed, the attempted solutions, and more. These tools can also help analyze the data, which can be useful in terms of identifying common root causes, fixes, and design flaws. Do a quick Google search for “organizational bug tracking tools” and you will find all the information you need.
Once the tracking tool has been in operation for a fair amount of time, the commonalities and bug patterns can be used to improve processes and identify incremental opportunities. Ultimately, the accumulated analytics will allow the organization to build a knowledge base, which testers for future projects will be able to tap into to solve common problems quickly.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The bottom line is that companies evolve primarily through measuring and analyzing results, and this is no different for software testing. The most useful way to track software testing bugs is across all projects at the organizational level, as this helps facilitate better strategies, improved processes, and organizational learning. Thus, organizational bug tracking is critical and should be done by all companies, no matter how big or small they may be.
