tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059141237828900559.post4497945855105476476..comments2024-03-27T17:15:47.402+05:30Comments on <center>Creative Explorer</center>: Designing effective Test status reportsAnuj Magazinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12007419487924715310noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059141237828900559.post-50873309809641258452008-07-10T16:41:00.000+05:302008-07-10T16:41:00.000+05:30I have used bug rates as bugs discovered per Test ...I have used bug rates as bugs discovered per Test iterations, per builds as well in addition to weekly bug trends. If used with caution and with right kind of facts in place, bug trends can usually be quite a useful indicator of health of the project. I have seen the bug trends being used as Entry/Exit criteria for different milestones in the project.<BR/><BR/>The side effects of bug rates ends usually arise from the way the use of bug rates are communicated to the team. I was involved in one of the projects earlier on in my career where bug counts were given undue importance. One of the testers got an impression that logging huge number of defects means that one is a better tester. Going by this thought he logged thousands of defects in the product, most of which the developers didn’t even care to look at. All this definitely lead to lot of time being wasted in scrubbing the defects. Apart from that the loss that’s not measurable is the loss of credibility of not only the person logging defect mindlessly but also for the entire testing group for its immature processes. If i look back now, all this was caused by miscommunication from the superiors and not having enough checks in the process to avoid such instances when the mistake has been realized.<BR/>On the other hand, i have been a part of projects where the issue of Bug rate is handled with more sensitivity. Eventually the Bugs are one of the most important deliverables from the testing team. And logging the right kind of bugs at the right also forms one of the important goals and all this eventually takes the shape of bug rates. Yes, mindless slogging to increase the bug counts is of no use and proper checks must be in place in the process to prevent this from happening. And again caution must be taken in the way the use of bug rates are communicated to the teams that will be using these.<BR/>In my opinion, Defect migration statistics are more important to measure the effectiveness of a test group that the bug trends. This basically measures the defects were caught in the same phase (or build) in which they were introduced. To track the origin of defect is not a easy task and may require some effort in the beginning but if done in a right way.Anuj Magazinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12007419487924715310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059141237828900559.post-83090663313286718462008-07-04T23:14:00.000+05:302008-07-04T23:14:00.000+05:30@ Anuj,What is the incoming bug rate ? Is the bug ...@ Anuj,<BR/><BR/><B>What is the incoming bug rate ? Is the bug find rate declining or increasing?" - how does it help the developer? what could be the side effects of this on testing team and developement team? Can you think on those terms?</B><BR/><BR/>I feel bug rate is defined as the number of bugs discovered per week.<BR/><BR/>The side effects caused by bug curves is disccused in detail in BBST foundation class by Cem Kaner. To list a few<BR/>- Testers are made to find higher number of buugs early in the project, this gives them very less time to plan more complex, or even prepare and plan tests, which they might require during the later stages.<BR/>- Since more number of bugs are expected in the early stage of the project testers might find trivial bugs which might not have any value to the stake holder.<BR/><BR/>Couple of side effects when bug curve is expected to decrease<BR/><BR/>- testers are pressurised to run the same tests again and again.<BR/><BR/>- more bugs are categorised as not reproducible, invalid etc<BR/><BR/>Do you agree?Sharath Byregowdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05598574569004749448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059141237828900559.post-59696653242686189962008-07-04T15:17:00.000+05:302008-07-04T15:17:00.000+05:30Hi Sharath,Thanks for your words.It would have bee...Hi Sharath,<BR/>Thanks for your words.<BR/>It would have been great had you mentioned the context of your questions. Nevertheless, i will try and answer based on my thinking.<BR/><BR/><I> What is the incoming bug rate ? Is the bug find rate declining or increasing?" - how does it help the developer? </I><BR/><BR/><BR/>Incoming bug rate is a definite indicator of the stability of the module being tested. Having said this, just a mention of number of bugs would be an incomplete indicator of stability. Other factors that should invariably be considered along with number of bugs are Severity, Priority (if defined), Which component the bug was logged, whether the bug is valid or not, whether the bug is a regression issue or not etc. This information does help the developer to assess the stability of module and in some cases to forecast the work in coming time.<BR/><BR/><I> what could be the side effects of this on testing team and developement team? </I><BR/>The answer to this question depends upon the way the metrics are used in organization. If the metrics are blindly used to assess the performance of certain group, then the incoming bug rate may highlight the efforts of Test or development team in a positive way or negative way depending upon the numbers. This is obviously not the good practice.<BR/>In all cases, it depends upon the way the information is used. But if used in a right way, there are no side effects as such and the bug information can be a very useful indicator of healh of project (along with other relevant information such as Test coverage, resource utilization metrics etc.) and can provide useful insights in to risk mitigation.<BR/><BR/>I am not sure if i asnwered you fully but would like this discussion to continue if there are more questions.Anuj Magazinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12007419487924715310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2059141237828900559.post-80683765925991320582008-07-03T13:58:00.000+05:302008-07-03T13:58:00.000+05:30Anuj,I like the way you write your articles, it's ...Anuj,<BR/><BR/>I like the way you write your articles, it's very clear and easy to understand. I am still sharping my skills on writing better articles.<BR/><BR/>"Designing effective Test status reports" - does it really help?<BR/><BR/>Let's analyze the very first question you have posted "- What is the incoming bug rate ? Is the bug find rate declining or increasing?" - how does it help the developer? what could be the side effects of this on testing team and developement team? Can you think on those terms?Sharath Byregowdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05598574569004749448noreply@blogger.com