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What does Bug Tracking have to do with the average computer user?

Home » Enterprise Software » Bug Tracking Software » What does Bug Tracking have to do with the average computer user?

Programmers use bug tracking software, but bug tracking is also of immense use to casual computer users.

Bug Tracking Software’s only purpose is as a tracking devise. But human bug trackers cannot “follow” a bug in a system without the help of a bug tracking program. Bug trackers rely on bug tracking software and bug tracking software is dependent on humans for the reporting of many bugs.

The way simple bug tracking works is that a person experiences a problem in a software program they use at home or work. The bug is a problem or instability in the program that causes undesired effects. The human can call tech support for the company from whom they bought the software and report the problem. More than likely the technician on the other end of the phone is sitting in front of a computer that will, given the proper information, be able to steer the technician through a series of possible fixes for that particular problem.

However, this is not just the end of bug tracking. It is also the beginning and the middle. When a consumer calls tech support, the reporting of the problem initiates a log entry, which will be followed by software designers after the fact. If the technician is unable to find a satisfactory solution for the consumer, the “bug” is logged with the expectation that a solution will be found in the future. This assists programmers in finding product glitches, helps quantify how often the problem happens in real world usage, and through the tech support data that is collected, shows which paths do not fix the problem. Knowing which fixes don’t work is almost as valuable to a program developer as finding the solution that does.

For programmers, gamers, and other computer techs, both professional and not, bug tracking has a more important and daily usage. As beta programs are released, many hard core computer users view finding the bugs in the new program as a challenge. Finding the problem and being able to duplicate it in regular use is a huge leap ahead for programmers so it is common practice to release trial versions of software programs with the goal of finding and correcting bugs before it is made available commercially. When bug trackers have “captured” and resolved as many bugs as possible, software programs that are sold commercially work almost seamlessly, astounding the unsuspecting public with how smart computer programmers are and how they are able to write source code that makes their lives easier without even knowing them.

Next Page: How does Bug Tracking Software Work?

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