We inform the developers about errors
Note: below is the translation of the article “Reporting bugs - a how-to guide” , which contains a number of simple actions that can help both the user and the developer to cope with errors on the site or in the web application. In light of the constant emergence of projects with the status of "beta" in RuNet, the article can be especially useful.
In the process of working on a project with a single performer or with their group - no matter whether you are a designer or a final customer who hired developers - you always strive for the same result: the most efficient and error-free application. In the process of testing any application, most likely, some errors or comments will still be detected. In this article, we strive to express our point of view on how best to report them, so that developers do not have to puzzle over for a long time and think about exactly what the problem is before they are able to fix it. This will help ensure compliance with the deadlines for implementation and the budget of the project, will also allow developers to devote more time to adding new features, rather than fruitlessly searching for details that would help to repeat the found error and correct it.
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When you find any problem, it is extremely tempting to immediately send an email with a minimum description and assume that the developer will instantly see it and understand everything. However, after spending just a few minutes to describe the problem in detail, you can prevent the developer from misunderstanding and save his time, because he doesn’t have to contact you to find out what actually happened and how to repeat it. or spend your time trying to reproduce it yourself.
A good bug report should tell the developer three important things:
There are two types of “errors”: in the first case, something breaks - and you see an error message, or the data you downloaded disappeared, or you sent the data through a form, and the data was not saved. Such errors, in general, are fairly easy to detect, and simply report them: in this case, the developer only needs to know what you were doing or typing at this time so that he could reproduce this error and then fix it.
The second type of error is that the application does not act as you expect. This can happen if the developer incorrectly embodied part of the technical task, but maybe the application simply cannot work as you like. In this case, the developer believes that it works as it was intended, and it really “works”, although it may be that it’s really wrong. If you say in your error message that this feature doesn’t work, the developer may spend a lot of time trying to detect any error in this part of the application, although he just needs to understand that it doesn’t work as you expect. If in your message you write about what you expect from the application, the developer will be easier to understand: “Hmm, he wants“ A ”to happen, but“ B ”actually happens - and the right decision will be made much faster.
In really very rarely, what happens can be called the word “nothing”, although very often it is written “nothing happened” in the error message. If in reality “nothing” happened in terms of the expected result, then it is worth explaining it literally in a couple of phrases. For example, if you click on the “send” button in a form, and it does not send the form data and does not go to the next page, you can write:
"The form is not sent - I stay on the same page where I was . "
But perhaps as a result of submitting the form, a blank page appears:
"After submitting the form, a blank page is loaded."
If an error message appears on the screen, include it in your message. Just copy and paste it.
If you use Internet Explorer, then your browser may not show error messages that the server gives, but simply a common page with an error. Make sure that IE shows exactly the error message that came from the server. To do this, go to
Your developer will also be interested in this information, but not because he wants to say that you did something wrong. Not. It just happens very often that an error occurs only as a result of a certain sequence of actions or when certain data is entered. The more information you can tell the developer, the more likely he will be able to reproduce the problem you saw and fix it. The following information is desirable to include in your message:
List exactly what you did in the correct order, if possible. If you can go back, repeat all these steps, and the problem will arise again and again - this is just great - just write down in detail everything you did to repeat the problem. The developer will be glad to death that you saved him time trying to reproduce your problem. Even if you cannot reproduce it, no one doubts that the problem really arose. In this case, just describe how you made this condition.
If the problem occurs after you enter any data into the form, include this data in your error message. If you upload something to the server, for example, a picture, you can add it.
Sometimes it may be useful to also copy and paste the URL from the browser’s address bar so that the developer knows exactly which page you were on at this time.
In the case of web applications, problems can occur in only one browser. Provide (your) developer with complete information about your system (including the version number) so that he can reproduce the environment and test it for a problem.
An effective error message can greatly affect how quickly a stated problem can be resolved and prevent disruption of the plans of both parties involved in the process. If you include the above information, even if it turns out to be useless, the developer will treat you with a greater degree of respect. You do not need to write a whole story, just a few clear lines that will include key information about:
This will be enough to highlight the most difficult problems from among the existing ones And if the error can be repeated, it means that it is already halfway to elimination.
Thanks to everyone who read and read my translations. I would appreciate any comments and additions. Good luck in fixing bugs!
Web Optimizator: checking the speed of loading sites
In the process of working on a project with a single performer or with their group - no matter whether you are a designer or a final customer who hired developers - you always strive for the same result: the most efficient and error-free application. In the process of testing any application, most likely, some errors or comments will still be detected. In this article, we strive to express our point of view on how best to report them, so that developers do not have to puzzle over for a long time and think about exactly what the problem is before they are able to fix it. This will help ensure compliance with the deadlines for implementation and the budget of the project, will also allow developers to devote more time to adding new features, rather than fruitlessly searching for details that would help to repeat the found error and correct it.
"It just doesn't work."
')
When you find any problem, it is extremely tempting to immediately send an email with a minimum description and assume that the developer will instantly see it and understand everything. However, after spending just a few minutes to describe the problem in detail, you can prevent the developer from misunderstanding and save his time, because he doesn’t have to contact you to find out what actually happened and how to repeat it. or spend your time trying to reproduce it yourself.
Good report
A good bug report should tell the developer three important things:
- what behavior was expected;
- what actually happened;
- what did you do or did.
What behavior was expected
There are two types of “errors”: in the first case, something breaks - and you see an error message, or the data you downloaded disappeared, or you sent the data through a form, and the data was not saved. Such errors, in general, are fairly easy to detect, and simply report them: in this case, the developer only needs to know what you were doing or typing at this time so that he could reproduce this error and then fix it.
The second type of error is that the application does not act as you expect. This can happen if the developer incorrectly embodied part of the technical task, but maybe the application simply cannot work as you like. In this case, the developer believes that it works as it was intended, and it really “works”, although it may be that it’s really wrong. If you say in your error message that this feature doesn’t work, the developer may spend a lot of time trying to detect any error in this part of the application, although he just needs to understand that it doesn’t work as you expect. If in your message you write about what you expect from the application, the developer will be easier to understand: “Hmm, he wants“ A ”to happen, but“ B ”actually happens - and the right decision will be made much faster.
What actually happened
In really very rarely, what happens can be called the word “nothing”, although very often it is written “nothing happened” in the error message. If in reality “nothing” happened in terms of the expected result, then it is worth explaining it literally in a couple of phrases. For example, if you click on the “send” button in a form, and it does not send the form data and does not go to the next page, you can write:
"The form is not sent - I stay on the same page where I was . "
But perhaps as a result of submitting the form, a blank page appears:
"After submitting the form, a blank page is loaded."
If an error message appears on the screen, include it in your message. Just copy and paste it.
If you use Internet Explorer, then your browser may not show error messages that the server gives, but simply a common page with an error. Make sure that IE shows exactly the error message that came from the server. To do this, go to
Tools > Internet Options > Advanced , then scroll down and turn off the Show friendly http error messages option. For IE 7 users, go to > > and enable the http option.What did you do
Your developer will also be interested in this information, but not because he wants to say that you did something wrong. Not. It just happens very often that an error occurs only as a result of a certain sequence of actions or when certain data is entered. The more information you can tell the developer, the more likely he will be able to reproduce the problem you saw and fix it. The following information is desirable to include in your message:
Sequencing
List exactly what you did in the correct order, if possible. If you can go back, repeat all these steps, and the problem will arise again and again - this is just great - just write down in detail everything you did to repeat the problem. The developer will be glad to death that you saved him time trying to reproduce your problem. Even if you cannot reproduce it, no one doubts that the problem really arose. In this case, just describe how you made this condition.
Any data entered
If the problem occurs after you enter any data into the form, include this data in your error message. If you upload something to the server, for example, a picture, you can add it.
Sometimes it may be useful to also copy and paste the URL from the browser’s address bar so that the developer knows exactly which page you were on at this time.
Browser and operating system
In the case of web applications, problems can occur in only one browser. Provide (your) developer with complete information about your system (including the version number) so that he can reproduce the environment and test it for a problem.
An effective error message can greatly affect how quickly a stated problem can be resolved and prevent disruption of the plans of both parties involved in the process. If you include the above information, even if it turns out to be useless, the developer will treat you with a greater degree of respect. You do not need to write a whole story, just a few clear lines that will include key information about:
- what behavior was expected;
- what actually happened; and
- what did you do or did.
This will be enough to highlight the most difficult problems from among the existing ones And if the error can be repeated, it means that it is already halfway to elimination.
Thanks to everyone who read and read my translations. I would appreciate any comments and additions. Good luck in fixing bugs!
Web Optimizator: checking the speed of loading sites
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/31214/
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