Useful Resource: Bug/Defect Tracking Expert

March 22, 2002 -- This week, we shine a light on an entry from our Resources directory: Bug/Defect Tracking Expert.

A handy tool for software developers, this bug tracker combines an HTML interface with a relational database back-end, enabling teams in different locations to access each other's defect information. Bugs are assigned ticket numbers in the database, which creates an historical archive for identifying related defects. "This reduces the time and resources required to resolve defects, handle requests, and provide necessary product enhancements," according to the product's maker, Applied Innovation Management.

Bug/Defect Tracking Expert lets users access the system from any computer with a browser, log in, and click on hyperlinks to submit bug or feature requests.

Product highlights, according to the Las Vegas-based company, include:

• Searchable Database: Employees can find out if a bug has already been submitted by using the tool's search function.
• E-mail and Paging: Staff members can be paged or e-mailed to ensure all defects are taken care of immediately.
• Charts and Reports: It generates accurate charts and reports to aid in the making of informed decisions.
• Searchable Knowledge Database: Employees can use free text queries to search your custom knowledgebase of bug/defect information.
• Web-Based Administration: Administration for the system, such as mail notification rules and more than 40 configuration tool parameters, can be changed on the fly with a browser.
• Flexible Workflow: It uses a flexible scheme to accommodate medium to large organizations to enable automatic or manual ticket routing and assignments.
• Relational Databases: It employs relational databases, such as MSSQL, Oracle, Sybase, Access, Postgres, and DB2, to store data.
• Customization: It's fully customizable, with no programming necessary.

Something for Everyone

Bug/Defect Tracking Expert lets customers or employees submit issues, with a concise description, to the technical staff for resolution and receive a ticket number for future reference. Users can append, reopen, or escalate an issue using its ticket, as well as search for existing tickets to eliminate repetition. The system stores employee profiles on the server, so that contact information can be associated with the bug/feature request.

Managers and technical staff can submit and assign defect/bug requests, find/edit tickets, assign or de-assign tickets, and filter e-mail. They can generate charts and reports to measure issues, including metrics on the number, type, and frequency of defect/bug problems reported and solved, as well as print any ticket for easy reference.

The server runs on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Solaris 2.x, Red Hat Linux 6.x or 7.x. The client can be any platform with an HTML 3.0+ capable browser. A standard 3-staffer package of Bug/Defect Tracking Expert runs US$3,600. It comes with a number of optional add-on modules.

To get a feel for Bug/Defect Tracking Expert, you can view an online demo at its Web site. Give it a ride. You may never look at software bugs the same way again.

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