The Art of Perfecting Software

1
Defect Tracking and Debugging

• The Art of Perfecting Software

2
Defect Tracking

• Process by which faults and failures within a
  system are detected, communicated, tracked and
  resolved
• Defects can range from a simple typo in a label
  to a major failure in an algorithm causing system
  failure
• It is best to use some sort of defect tracking
  software to manage defects and there are many
  tools to choose from

3
Describing Defects

• The exact set of information that is tracked will
  vary among different organizations and even
  between projects
• Basic information that should be tracked
• Title
• Description (i.e. Symptoms)
• Steps to Reproduce
• Categorization (e.g. Priority, Severity)
• Status (i.e. Workflow State, See Next Slide)
• Assigned To
• Triage

4
Defect Tracking Process
5
Debugging

• Print Statements vs. Tracing
• Stepping into Code
• Inspecting Variables
• Stack Trace