Last updated on August 25th, 2023 at 04:50 am

In an ideal setting, a QA team would be developing and releasing software applications quickly and efficiently free from any bugs or flaws. But the reality is, testers come across unlimited bugs, issues, and defects in pre-production. Since modern users have high expectations from applications, testers cannot afford to let any bugs slip unresolved through the QA process. Having said that, modern applications are complex and built on huge lines of code and intertwined programming languages. Typically, this gives birth to bugs that need to be identified, recorded, tracked, and fixed. Without any doubt, managing bugs can be time-consuming and daunting without defect tracking software for QA teams. 

Defect management is an optimum solution for smooth software testing practices. However, when equipped with the right software and tools, the bugs cannot slip into production. As a result, the enhanced user experience will lead to successful software products. But there are a few common myths about defect tracking that QA teams should know about, which are explained as follows:

Reporting Software Bugs is a ‘Bad’ Practise 

No one believes that software applications are 100% bug-free, which means it is normal for bugs and defects to appear every now and then. There is a common misconception about bugs, more specifically, the stigma attached to bugs being raised against a product. Developers become defensive in fighting these bugs, and somehow managers think poorly of the team’s performance. This is not deemed to be true, especially in agile environments, teams detect bugs early to get rid of them as soon as possible. By logging defects early in the scrum, major issues appearing in an application will be resolved before the product is sent into production. Isn’t that a great idea? Well, this is why reporting software bugs aren’t bad. 

100% of Defects need to be Identified and Fixed 

We already know the struggle of dealing with bugs cropping up in products during its production and even after that. There is a common myth that testers and developers are expected to identify 100% of defects with the help of defect tracking software and fix them in the current release. This is practically impossible. On the contrary, teams can use traceability matrix and defect triage to pave their path to effective bug management in the right direction. But expecting them to tackle all bugs appearing in an application won’t be wise enough. 

Automation Testing can Identify All Bugs

We know technology experts are working day and night to utilize automation in almost every industry. However, the importance of human processes in certain fields cannot be denied. Automation testing has freed manual testers from tedious and repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more meaningful tasks. But it is crucial to remember that automation is only for repetitive tasks, it cannot replace the value manual testers hold by running complex exploratory testing processes. In addition, automation is only as good as the person who designed and created it. Automated tests can only perform tasks they have been programmed to, it can ever replace manual testers. And it is also naive for individuals to expect automation to identify 100% bugs which are not possible under any circumstances. 

Only Testers own the Responsibility for Defects in Production

Testers are somewhat responsible for defects found in production but they cannot be entirely blamed for that. It is understandable that issues can leak if a tester does not ensure testing addresses all requirements, or if he does not utilize the traceability matrix. But some responsibility falls on developers to inquire if he had followed a testing scope before moving the application to the next stage of development. Since quality assurance is a team effort, the responsibility for a product’s quality lies in the entire team. It is a collaborative decision to accept inadequate testing or not fixing critical issues before releasing an app, thus everyone is equally responsible for the bugs.

Conclusion 

Although developers, QA teams, and managers work collaboratively to ensure their software applications are 100% bug-free, yet it remains a constant struggle. However, by keeping in mind the above common myths about defect tracking, teams can head in the right direction. They can make wise decisions about defect tracking and design a product to adhere to all quality assurance best practices.