How To Submit A Great Ticket
This article will explain the best practices for submitting a bug report to GreySignal for analysis.
Some basic items that we request you file with your report are:
Title
The ideal problem title is clear, concise, succinct and informative. The ideal title includes the following:
- Build or version of the software and OS (Windows, Mac, Linux) on which the problem occurred
- Verb describing the action that occurred
- Explanation of the situation that was happening at the time that the problem occurred
- In case of a crash or hang, include the error message you receive, if any
When creating a title, we also recommend the following guidelines:
- Be objective and clear; refrain from using colloquialisms/slang.
- Include keywords or numbers from any error messages you may be receiving.
- Avoid using vague language such as “failed,” “useless,” “crashed,” etc.
Include a Summary, Steps to Reproduce, Expected Results, Actual Results, Workaround, and Regression/Isolation.
Summary/Description:
Recap the problem title and be explicit in providing more descriptive summary information.
- Provide what happened, what you were doing when it happened, and why you think it’s a problem.
- If you receive an error message, provide the content of the error message or an approximation of it.
- Provide specifics and refrain from using vague language or colloquialisms.
Instead of using descriptive words or phrases when something “looks bad,” “has issues,” “is odd,” “is wrong,” “is acting up,” or “is failing,” be concise and describe how something is looking or acting, why you believe there is a problem, and provide any error messages that will support the problem being reported.
Examples:| When printing, nothing happens. Application doesn’t work. | Print Menu item enabled, print dialog box appears, print button enabled, but progress dialog box doesn’t appear. |
| Safari is slow. | Safari is slow allocating JavaScript arrays. (Also provide a Shark sample and sample JavaScript.) |
Steps to Reproduce:
Describe the step-by-step process to reproduce the bug, including any non-default preferences/installation and the application configuration information. Note: It is better to include too much information than not enough, as this minimizes the amount of back-and-forth communications. Be very specific and be sure to provide details, opposed to high-level actions.
- Important points to note when providing steps to reproduce are:
- When does the problem occur?
- Does it occur after log-out?
- Does it occur after relaunch?
- Does it occur at a certain point of the day?
- Do you receive an error message?
- Do you receive an error number?
- Where is the web address of your web app that you’re working from?
- Is this a test or production environment?
- Are you getting a browser error or web page error?
- What type of user is it that is in question?
- Is it a standard user?
- An admin user?
- Is it a managed client user?
- Be sure to include any Accessibility features that you’re using (such as VoiceOver, keyboard navigation), as well as stipulating whether you’re using the keyboard or the mouse to navigate.
- Include information about any preferences that have been changed from the defaults.
Expected Results:
Describe what you expected to happen when executing the steps to reproduce.
Actual Results:
Explain what actually occurred.
Workaround:
If you have found a workaround for this problem, describe it.
Regression/Isolation:
Note any other configurations in which this issue was reproducible. Include details if it is new to this build or no regression testing was done.
Screen shots
Provide a screen shot when it will help clarify the bug report. In addition to providing screen shots for error or dialog messages, please type the text of the error/dialog message you are seeing in the description of the bug report (so that the message contents are searchable. If there are steps involved, a sequence of screen shots, or even a movie is always appreciated (but be sure to write down the steps associated with each screen shot).
It is useful to provide a screen shot when:
- Seeing a dialog
- Experiencing rendering or redraw issues
- You are trying to describe an icon or other aspect of the screen and you’re not sure what it is called
- A UI (user interface) error is present
Contact Information
Be sure to include current contact information. This will ensure that we’re able to correspond with you as we investigate your issue. It is also recommended you create a support account at http://greysignal.zendesk.com/registration to get better support.
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