Bugzilla

- How to write a bug report -

2021
What is Bugzilla?
- A software application built to help the developers to
follow the defects that were found on their projects
(a bug tracker)

- Composed from: an interface and a database (that

contains all the information that was added through
the interface)

- As other bug trackers, the best way to use Bugzilla

is to fill all the fields, taking into account the “rules”
of writing a good bug report.
How to write a good bug report?
Write it as anyone who reads it will understand and will be able to
trace the steps to reproduce it.

Give all the details, but don’t complicate the scenario.

Don’t forget about the highlighted screenshots, error logs and any
other relevant files that you can attach.

Double-check everything before submitting the report.

What should a bug report contain?
➢ Reporter (your name and email address)
➢ Date
➢ Product, version, component
➢ Hardware platform, OS, browser, browser version, URL
➢ Priority, Severity
➢ Status
➢ Assignee
➢ Short description (title)
➢ Preconditions
➢ Steps to reproduce
➢ Expected results
➢ Actual results
➢ Attachments

*The required details may differ from a project to another, from a bug tracker to another, or may be adapted to the team’s
standards. Some of them (date, reporter) may be created automatically.
How does the interface look like?

The home page

The “Enter bug” page

- short version
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Severity
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Priority
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Hardware
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- OS
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Status, assignee, watchers

The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Original estimate, deadline

The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Alias (label), URL

The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Summary, description
The advanced “Enter bug” page

- Attachment, other info

Examples of complete bug report
In the next slides, you can see how a complete bug report (in Bugzilla) looks like.

Practice:

Please think about a bug that you’ve encountered and try to write a complete
report yourself (using the below model, this tutorial, and the information from the
course).
Imagine that you open the
Google page and the logo
that we are all used to see is
missing. How do you report
this (in Bugzilla)?
The Prerequisites (or “preconditions”) are not always mandatory.
In this case they are, as the issue is not reproducible in other browsers / versions.

The “Steps to reproduce”,

“Expected results” and
“Actual results” are
mandatory!

You can add any other useful information as a “note”.

It is useful to add the workaround if there is any.

This is how a screenshot should be captured and highlighted:

- the URL should be visible

- the arrow is pointing towards the issue
Conclusions
Writing good, detailed, bug reports may - on one hand - consume time, when they are created.

However, a lot more time would be consumed in the future because of incorrect or incomplete bug reports,
when:

- You are required to explain the steps, as the developer is not able to reproduce the issue.

- You have to retry reproducing it, in order to be able to test the fix, after a long time has passed
between creating the ticket and solving it.

- The developer (or the entire team) has to investigate and start working on a fix, without being able to
get in contact with the reporter.

Writing good bug reports is not a “talent” you are “born with”. It is improved with time, experience, and
correct attitude.