Writing bug reports is not so easy task as it may seem. Sometimes novice testers find writing proper bug reports more difficult than finding software bugs in course of mobile testing, desktop testing or web site testing.
When reporting defects one should pay especial attention to steps to reproduce.
Steps to Reproduce a Software Bug Should:
- enable anybody to reproduce the defect;
- not be excessively detailed or generalized;
- take into account the environment.
Environment conditions are very important for repeating a software bug. It is particularly topical during mobile application testing as a lot of factors impact on mobile software products. Among the factors are various movements of the device, different network providers, technologies, network transition points, low battery and many others.
That is why errors of mobile applications often are hard to reproduce. In most cases this happens when some factors are overlooked. A professional software testing company recommends to make screenshots in course of web site testing, desktop testing and, in particular, during mobile testing.
One should examine each found error carefully before reporting it. It is wise to check if the problem still occurs when you omit some steps, when you utilize other network technology or provider, or when the battery is charged in case it was low when the error happened.
The observations and conclusions should be added to the bug report. They may be very useful for determining and fixing the issue.