What does every test engineer want? To make the most of their day, be most productive while working on tasks within projects.

Test engineers need to log information about all tasks – bugs detected, working hours allocated to tasks/projects and generally dialogue between project teams.

Step forward the ready-made personal assistants for test engineers and wide project teams – software that we will refer to as bug tracking tools in this article.

We’ve been in Bucharest for a number of years now and none of our test engineers work without bug tracking tools. These are vital cogs in the wider QA process and below, we’ve given a review of the tools we use currently.

JIRA

JIRA software is key to building agile development teams. It is an issue tracking and project management tool. JIRA comes in three packages JIRA Core for generic project management. JIRA Software including agile project management features. The JIRA Service Desk which is intended for business service desks and IT.

It is in Java and uses Apache OFBiz engine, Webwork 1 and Pico inversion of control container. This tracking and project management tool can integrate with source control programs such as Concurrent versions systems (CVS), Git, Mercurial, Perforce and Clearcase. JIRA can be used for sharing customer support tickets with other issue tracking systems by using the Networked Help Desk API.

Key Features

• Polished user experience
• Powerful and customizable workflows
• Unlimited custom fields
• Bugs and defect management
• Seamless source and issue integration
• Powerful search and filtering
• Advanced reporting
• Customizable dashboards and wallboards
• Advanced security and administration
• Integration with flexible REST APIs
• Easily import data from other systems
• Mobile interface

Trello

Trello is more basic than most bug tracking tools. It has a basic no-cost package that creates a clean board layout that can be used for tracking bugs. Trello is extremely useful as a bug tracking process with a layout like below:

This method of manual data entry is used for Trello but when tracking bugs it is best to pair it with a form of bug reporting software in order to make the most use out of the platform.

Key Features:

• Free or zero pricing for the basic service
• Quick overview on front and back of cards
• Easy organization with tags, labels, and categories
• In-line editing
• Data filtering
• Archiving of card records (e.g. comments and changes)
• Assign tasks
• Information retrieval and back-up
• SSL encryption of data
• Developer API

TestRail

Testrail is an advanced test management tool designed for carrying out and managing the activity of software tests. It can be integrated between development teams and quality assurance teams in order to provide high-quality software is being produced. You can easily track and follow reports of individual tests, milestones, and projects.

TestRail can also be integrated with several tools that are easy and quick to set up. These include defect and bug trackers, API trackers, software test automation tools and much more. There are no difficult processes when integrating these tools, it is simple and straightforward. TestRail can integrate with JIRA, which was mentioned above.

Key Features:

• Modern test management
• Reporting & Metrics
• Seamless Integration
• Drag & Drop plus Screenshot Support
• Test Report & Metrics Automation
• Three-Pane FastTrack Interface
• JIRA & Issue Tracker Defect Push
• Test Plans & Platform Configurations
• Bulk Editing Cases & Adding Results

Zephyr

Zephyr enables QA teams, developers and testers to manage all areas of the testing lifecycle. It is an enterprise-level test management tool that can be seamlessly integrated with JIRA. It contains plenty of features designed to improve test methodologies used in the software development lifecycle. Teams can generate test cases and accomplish them. This reduces time-wasting operations allowing teams to focus their time on more important issues.

Zephyr is a flexible solution and can create a comprehensive and responsive testing system for software that also has an extensive continuum of functionality. Zephyr can be used as a SaaS or on-premises application to remain informed about the constant software delivery lifecycle.

Key Features:

• Agile transformations
• Legacy retirements
• IT-ready
• Advanced Analytics
• DevOps dashboard
• Datacentre

Having a vigorous defect management procedure will improve the overall quality and compliance posture of your company. This, in turn, will generate confidence with your clients. Bug tracking tools will aid in the building of great products and features for customers. Here are some of the reasons to use a bug tracking tool.

Reducing the Cost of Development

Using bug tracking software aids with prioritizing your bugs. Then bug fixes can be assigned based on severity and importance. This creates a greater focus on high priority bugs and keeps different teams aligned on the more important requirements. While using a bug tracking system it is clear which issues are already recorded as well as their current status. A centralized system improves seamless integration between teams while also providing accountability for bug fixes.

Identifying trends becomes simpler while using bug tracking software. This allows teams to discover the root cause of bug trends and resolve this. Eliminating unwanted delays in the delivery of your project, allows team productivity to rise significantly and can reduce the overall cost of the development. Furthermore, reducing the cost of development will cause a rise in ROI.

Improved Team Performance

There is better communication and connectivity between teams. Bug tracking software offers in-app chat, notifications via email and task collaboration. This allows management to test or fix bugs on time by assigning to correct resources to relevant priorities. Teams can better monitor their workflow and to-dos. This allows for more proactive testing of product bugs and other possible issues.

It avoids teams making mistakes that need to be fixed later. A data-rich tracking system will help get managers up to speed much faster. Reviewing your team’s notes will give insight into the progress and pain points of the project to date.

QA

There is no bug-free application. It is impossible to fix all bugs so there should be a process to determine which bugs are required to fix. Teams need to set stability targets. Define stable ad a percent of application interactions in per number of sessions over a certain period of time. Below is a formula for testing app stability.

Stability can be transformed into a KPI to be measured by QA teams. Stability should be used by QA teams in order to set realistic targets for fixing bugs.

Bug reporting tools allow QA teams more time to analyze important errors and other aspects of applications. Having a better ability to analyze issues allows a company to provide high-quality software to clients which can meet their needs.