5 Steps to Bug Regression: Day #5

Once you have regressed the bug, gathered and reported all pertinent data, it is time to either Close the bug or Assign it. The important part of this Step is to Assign your bug Accurately.

Step #5:
Assign Accurately

Depending on how your company is set up, you will close the bug yourself or assign it to your QA Lead to close. If you are to close the bug, the first two scenarios in Day #4: Comment Thoroughly should serve as an adequate model.

If you have to assign the bug to someone else to close, then Comment Thoroughly and make sure you state something like: “Bug no longer occurs. Please close. Assigning to [name of your QA Lead] for closure.”

That takes care of a bug that needs to be closed, but what if the bug you are testing still occurs? What if you Re-Activate the bug? Then what? Then, you Assign Accurately.

What I mean by this is that you need to make sure you assign the bug to the appropriate person. This may be the developer that attempted the fix, it may be the producer so that they can track how many bugs were fixed and how many re-activated per build, or you may need to assign it to your QA Lead so that they can verify your work and then assign it to the correct person.

All companies have their own policies for this, but the most common practice is that you would Re-Activate the bug as assign it back to the developer who most recently attempted a fix. When you do this, make sure you have written a Thorough Comment and then Assign Accurately.

Assign the bug to the correct developer. If the developers have to play hot-potato or ping-pong with the bug once you assign it to them until they can figure out who it should be assigned to, you have created more work for them.

Make sure you know who to assign the bug to and then do so. Now you are free to move on to the next bug on the list.

So there you have it!

Remember the 5 Steps to Bug Regression

1. Know the Version
2. Understand the Fix
3. Validate Appropriately
4. Comment Thoroughly
5. Assign Accurately

Follow those Steps. Practice them as perfectly as possible until you can do them in your sleep. Once you master these details, you will have increased the value that you bring to every project in which you participate.

Pay attention to what you are doing. State what you do with authority and confidence. Take the correct action and do the right things.

And when you do the right things, be sure to do them in the right way.

Congratulations!