Unit test Bug Tracking

Question

During the process of building software applications, you would start testing what you have built in stages even before it is complete and you could start seeing issues/bugs. How do you track them, Do you use your regular bug tracking tool to add them as issues(waste of time - since it is a work in progress), just have them in your head to fix later, or have a simple text list.

What would be an efficient way to make sure that whatever you have found is eventually fixed as development progresses? Are there any tiny tools to do that?

Answer 1

I've found that the simplest and most efficient way to track tasks of all types (todos, work items, bugs, etc ...) is to use a single system. Typically a bug tracking system. This allows you to see all of the work remaining on your project in a single place.

Having multiple tracking systems almost always results in lost data. People eventually pick different systems, don't tell people about the system they are on, lose the piece of paper which has the list of work items, etc ...

Most bug tracking systems allow you to categorize your bugs so it's easy to distinguish the type of work remaining as well.

Answer 2

What I usually do is the following:

• Gauge the size of the bug/issue
• If it's too big, create an issue in the bug tracker.
• If it's small enough, write a failing unit test and then come back to it after I've finished the original functionality.

Answer 3

Make sure you CI tools such as CruiseControl.NET run unit tests as part of the build. This will cause the build shown as broken when unit test fails and the person who last checked in will be responsible for fixing it.