Excel sheets and post-its are out of date as software products are becoming complex. The scope of defect management has extended beyond quality assurance. The entire product team including designers and product managers is increasingly involved in defect tracking and management.
We look at different ways in which different communication channels contribute to establishing good defect management processes.
Bug management tools are the first go-to for setting a strong and effective communication channel between team members. This is useful for teams working from different locations. It is also good for large-sized enterprises where there might be a disconnect between departments. Bug management tools have a significant amount of data stored in them on bugs and associated conversations. Team members can access information and coordinate between themselves. Having one central place for logging all bugs and issues saves time by avoiding duplicates. It is clear for everyone which bug is assigned to which tester or developer.
Email notifications serve as additional reminders to bug status updates via bug management tools. Often, email notification features are embedded in the defect tracking software. These can be customized as per need. For example, a developer working on an issue would prioritize receiving email updates on that issue alone to avoid clutter in the inbox. An instant messenger or a chat forum on the tool support more networking. Flashing messages can be disturbing during work, thus many tools offer a section for comments that becomes the equivalent of a group chat between the team. The history of the bug can be traced from the ongoing participation. Some tools have task discussions field that different stakeholders continuously edit and update.
Bug management tools support user communities. Feedback from end-users valuable to the developing team to uncover undiagnosed issues. Bug reports aided by screenshots, images, graphs, and charts tap into details that may be difficult to catch with lengthy reading. This method is easy to use for users who do not have the technical knowledge to write accurate descriptions of errors.
While defect management software makes it easy for remote teams to collaborate, an in-office manual communication system should run in parallel to online management, especially for smaller firms or individual departments. A management board should have notes on current issues. Seeing the board, anyone can comprehend the overall workflow visual comprising of tasks completed and ongoing.
There is nothing more powerful than direct support from managers and team coaches managing the development and testing teams. Mentorship and review are integral to good company culture. Testers have to be proactive in recording all test steps accurately. In agile teams, where testing is done in each sprint, a tester must record each test step well. In agile teams, daily sprint meetings maintain an active and motivated team.
Informal conversations between team members on management processes can boost creativity. Cloud-based visual models that show testers brainstorming on defects and issues can be used. Team members may contribute to blogs and articles to share their experiences and learn from each other.
Simply put, defect management cannot be efficient until all communication channels are working robustly. A blend of communication methods is what creates a solid testing environment.