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Bug tracking software plays an essential role in streamlining and managing the development of software. In fact, testing and bug tracking is now an integral part of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and bug tracking software is helping make software development more systematic the world over. Bug tracking software is responsible for maintaining a database of reported bugs and also helps software companies search through past projects to find solutions to already reported bugs.
Contrary to popular belief, bug tracking software does more than just keep tabs on all reported bugs. A bug tracking software ensures that all reported bugs are categorized and assigned a priority based on the severity of the error reported. For a software company, fixing bugs is just part of the problem; a software company has to know which bugs need to be fixed first and which bugs can be taken care of later. This is especially true when mission critical software is being tested and sometimes non functional software can result in millions of dollars in losses. Bug tracking software is pre-programmed to understand the severity bugs reported and the moment a critical software error is reported, the bug tracking software can be programmed to generate a red flag.
Apart from ensuring that critical bugs are fixed on a priority basis, bug tracking software also allows managers to keep a close on eye on the testing process. Most companies have a dedicated testing team that test all developed software, and bug tracking software is effectively the only way the development team and testing team communicate with each other. In fact, bug tracking software is used not just by the development and testing teams, but is also used by managers to keep a close eye on the progress being made during the testing phase of the software cycle. Bug tracking software essentially eliminates the need for dedicated management software and allows managers to better manage manpower by acting as a single point of contact.
When it comes to streamlining the software development cycle, bug tracking software also speeds up the testing phase. Instead of creating a lengthy reporting and follow-up procedure, bug tracking software ensures that all bugs are instantly reported to the development team, once the development team has received a bug report they are then assigned the bug depending on how critical the bug is. Bug tracking software has evolved over a period of time and apart from ensuring quick communication, it also ensures that all bugs are stored for future reference.
A majority of software companies create software in a common programming language, this means that bug fixes for one software may be useful for another software too. Bug tracking software does not delete finished projects but archives old projects, making it possible for software developers to use older projects as references when they encounter bugs. In essence, bug tracking software carries out the vital task of knowledge transfer between projects and helps new employees use the work of previous employees as reference.
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