October 2004 Archives
Mr Ed.: Testers: Are they Vegetable or Mineral?.
Well, uhm, umpf. Ahem. Of course, from a software developers point of view, the answer is: "Yes."
Great post by Mr. Ed. I would like to elaborate a few points:
Omitting Screen Shots
It's not about screen-shots per se, it's about getting a snapshot of the systems state when the bug was noticed. In a desktop environment, that's obviously a test document created with your application (plus any support files). Otherwise 9 out of 10, the developers won't be able to reproduce the bug which causes lots of frustration. Plus it wastes valuable engineering resources.Diagnosing Instead of Reporting
Refrain from wondering why the bug was introduced in the first place. Don't give hints on how to resolve the bug ("You should refrain from dereferenceing a null-pointer").Irrelevant Estimates
Don't include phrases like "should be easy to fix" or "will only take 5minutes" in your bug reports. There are no easy fixes. The last easy-fix I heard about was seen in Tasmania in the late 1930s.Bugs & Features
Carefully distinguish between bug and feature request. Especially if you're an engineer testing software.Calm down
Last but not least: Don't write bug-reports when being stressed-out. Beware of your language after having discovered a bug while being at the wrong time in the wrong place.Raymond Chen: People lie on surveys and focus groups, often unwittingly.
Michael Cage: Client education in retail health food stores (and your small business, too...).
On a related note, we found that a substantial amount of customers won't ask tech support for help if they are stuck with the product. They won't call. They won't e-mail. How do we make it as easy and effortless as possible for customers to ask the right questions?
Good Enough: There is no such thing as "good enough". There is only improvement or decline. (Via Hot Needle Of Inquiry.)
Improving just a little bit every day get's damn hard if you're in a CD-Master production frenzy for more than 3 weeks.
On the lighter side of things, here are the winners of the 2004 Ig Noble Prices.
Highlights are
- The Effect of Country Music on Suicide - Oops, gotta watch my iTunes habits - I've been listening to Willie Nelson/Jonny Cash lately
- Patenting the Combover - Vital for male geeks rapidly approaching the age of 40
Hilarious. Check it out.
