Hi all
I’m thinking of getting organised and keeping some kind of system where i track all the bugs i find, and if i know, what causes them
that way i can go through just trying to crush the bugs
does anyone keep track of bugs? if so, how? do you use a document, a spreadsheet, some kind of online website
I’d be interested in how its usually done
Also, how do people usually do bug report systems so users can submit bugs?
Usually you vet bug reports. Some do it in a bugtracker(allowing public to submit; and then filtering out bad reports) others vet their bugtracker and add reports from forums,emails, etc to the tracker themselves.
We personally use Jira, but there is also a few others like FogBugz; but Jira seems to be the best respected and deservedly so based on my experience.
We currently use Mantisbt - https://www.mantisbt.org/
Though we are probably moving over to Jira soon.
Jira is probably too big and expensive for small teams or hobbyists (but it is fairly great, my workplace uses it and I actually somewhat enjoy working with it).
Some source control hosters (e. g. Bitbucket and Github) have integrated ticket systems that can be used for things like that, and if you run your own version control server, something like Redmine will offer similar integration. I’ve also seen some people using the web app Trello for bugtracking (e. g. the Mini Metro team).
The basic workflow is more or less the same for all these solutions, so have a look what best fits your needs.
Mine tend to be a brief description in Tomboy, but my projects are all solo, so I don’t need anything more complex. So far, the bugs are mostly things I’ve found myself while testing.
One does not keep track of bugs, one is haunted by them.
You can get a Jira subscription from atlassian in the cloud for $10/month. That’s what my partner and I are using to keep track of not just software bugs but tasks/todos for the business in general. You can host it yourself if you want but in this case I think cloud is much easier and hassle free.
I just kill them the moment they’re found. Leaving them is not a great plan for me. So work on main things stops, bug dies, then normal work resumes (even if it takes a week).
I only make games though, and it’s only me programming so there’s that…
You need bugtracking software.
For less than a dozen issues text document might suffice, For anything else you need bugtracker.
File everything, assign priority to everything, assign people for bugfixing, and keep working through it. They list will get bigger and bigger over time.
Mostly, I do what hippo does and fix them the instant they are discovered (well sometimes it takes more than a couple minutes depending on their nature). If I can’t after a couple hours and I have other things I have to get done, they go in Trello and I’ll fix them soon. Trello is free. Why would you pay for bug software? But JIRA is really cool, used it before.
Not a good idea to let them sit around unfixed because they will often lead to other related bug reports that you wouldn’t have to investigate if you had fixed the original bug quickly. So that would be time saved by you and by the bug reporting person.
Thanks for the suggestions guys 
I’ll be looking into them
I currently have two bugs sitting around, havn’t fixed them as dont have a clue what causes them. they just, happen sometimes.
To be fair, Jira is a lot more than bug tracking software. it’s an incredibly useful tool, though only for teams I would say.
As for bugtracking, I think it’s essential, stopping mid-development to fix bugs is inefficient and wastes time. bugs need prioritisation and to be managed as such, that’s why software is useful to track it. Even if I was a lone developer, I’d track bugs. There’s a reason for traditional development using alpha and beta development phases, bug fixing is a big part of that workflow.
Yes Jira is a lot more than that. Trello isn’t enough except for smaller teams, I agree.
As far as stopping mid-development to fix bugs, I disagree. True: you don’t have to fix every single bug immediately all the time. Sometimes it will be a “blocking bug” so you have to fix it so work can continue, and some people just prefer to keep the bug count low or nonexistent so that other related bugs aren’t filed as I mentioned. But if no one’s testing and filing bugs, that’s not an issue I suppose. I could argue that it’s “inefficient” to be playtesting when bugs exist (unless they’re only cosmetic).
One approach doesn’t fit all, to be sure.
In my opinion, bugs that don’t impact the gameplay aren’t worth halting development for
Im currently trying out hack n plan, I might keep track of my bugs there but im not really sure
At a previous job we used bugzilla - and it seemed to work well for the programmers
I get what you are saying but isn’t stopping development and fixing bugs - prioritizing them? Yes - they are top priority.
I can see how tracking them is useful though - when running into similar issues in the future - personal information can be referenced.
Solo developer here, using mantis bug tracker running on a home server.
I agree with @3agle . The bug tracking software is there so you don’t have to stop development on more critical features. Obviously, high priority bugs will take precedence over new feature development though.
We used agile workflow in my previous job, and after several sprints (say, 4-6 months), there’s a hardening sprint which is solely dedicated to bug fixes and reducing technical debt. No feature development is done in this time. I’ve sort of adopted this workflow, but with shorter time intervals.
Two things: You can’t always put fixing bugs above implementing new features. E. g. on experimental stuff where you’re not sure if it will even make it into the final game, fixing minor bugs seems like a huge waste of time. Those can wait until you’ve finalized the game design. But you still might want to document them. And second, you might actually have more bugs than you can fix right away, in particular once your game is live and gets played by a lot of people. Prioritizing bugs doesn’t just mean putting bugfixing above all else. It also means choosing which bugs to tackle first.
Sometimes you might even be unable to fix a bug right away because it is related to a problem with Unity or with an Asset Store product you’re using and you’ll have to wait for a bugfix from upstream.
Well, if someone doesn’t want to pay for bugtracking software… there was Fossil, Bugzilla and few others. For those kinds of tasks there are usually opensource tools available.
They are not. Show stopper bugs are top priority. if you stop development for every single thing, your project will die and your company will go bankrupt.
Just dont let them pile up too much or Ubisoft will hire you
Seriously - the act of stopping development to fix any bug - re-prioritizes your work instantly. This might not re-prioritize your working day - or your list of to-do items - but stopping to do something else automatically arranges priority.
Maybe not the best workflow - agree - the game and everything around will die - but it’s still changing priority.
Like stopping to take a piss - on your way to check the mail. Your priority was mail - and now its relief. Once relief is over - back to mail.