10 Critical Elements of a Bug:
Day #7

The Assignee field is used to ensure that every bug is owned by a project team member. This helps build in accountability and makes it possible to accurately track the progress of every bug.

Upon submission, each bug should be assigned to the appropriate party. This usually begins as an assignment to the Producer or Project Manager. On some projects, the default assignment is given to the lead developer. Either way, once submitted each bug gets assigned to the person who can do something with it.

Element #10:
Assignee

Once Engineering fixes the bug, they Assign it to QA. QA tests the bug and then Assigns it back to Engineering if it needs further work. In this way, the bug is always Assigned to the appropriate party who is in line to perform their job on the bug.

Two very important actions you must remember regarding the Assignee field:

• Commenting the Bug:
• Every time you Assign a bug to someone, be sure to make a comment in the bug stating why you are changing the Assignment. This is so that the person you Assign the bug to will have some idea of why you did so and what action they should take. When you don’t clearly comment a bug, you create confusion. How would like to have a bug Assigned to you and have no idea why? Take the time to state in the bug why you are Assigning it. (This is covered in full detail in the 5 Keys to Bug Regression course)
• My Bugs Filter:
• Create a search in your bugbase that will show you at a glance all of the bugs that are Assigned to you. Make sure you remain current with this list and do your best to keep it as short as possible. Once a bug is Assigned to you, take the action you need to and Assign it to the next person or Verify and Close it. If you keep the bugs Assigned to you to a minimum, you will be seen as an efficient and Quality Professional. (This is covered in full detail in the 10 Skills of Elite Testers course)

Learn these Elements. Understand each Element individually and what part it plays in a bug. Then using a wider view, gain an appreciation for how they fit together. If you can do this, soon you will be able to write great bugs every time!

10 Critical Elements of a Bug

1. Brief Description
2. Expanded Description
3. Reproducibility
4. Steps to Reproduce
5. Result
6. Expected Result
7. Severity
8. Priority
9. Status
10. Assignee

And there you are. That is your introduction to the anatomy of a bug.

Just remember that this was only an introduction and an orientation. To truly master the skills needed to excel in your bug work, check out our courses 5 Keys to a Bulletproof Bug and 5 Keys to Bug Regression.

It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.
~Richard Feynman