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Providing clear steps to reproduce an issue is a benefit for everyone
When I’ve had to contact a company’s technical support through a form, I provide a ridiculously detailed description of what the issue is, when it happens, the specific troubleshooting that narrows it down, and (if it is allowed by the form) screenshots. I suspect the people on the other end aren’t used to that, because I know it is not what happens most of the time when people submit issues to me.
What’s the benefit of an effective bug report?
There are two sides to this, one is the efficiency of the interaction between the bug reporter and the (hopeful) bug fixer and the other is the actual likelihood that the issue will ever be fixed.
Why do we need “repro steps”?
The first part of fixing a problem is to make sure you understand it and can see it in action. If you can’t see the problem happen consistently, you can’t be sure you’ve fixed it. This is not a software development concept; it is true with nearly everything. If someone tells me the faucet is dripping, I’m going to want to see the drip happening before I try to fix it… then when I look and see it not dripping, I can feel confident that I resolved the problem.
Is it possible to provide too much information?
I’d rather have too much detail than too little, but I also feel that the bug reporter shouldn’t be expected to try to track down every possible variable or to try to fix the problem.
Human Nature and Incomplete Issues
I mentioned two sides to this, the efficiency of interaction and the likelihood an issue will be fixed. If you assume someone will ask for all the missing info, even if it takes a lot longer, then the only benefit to a complete bug report is efficiency. In reality though, developers are human, and when they see an incomplete issue where it could take many back-and-forth conversations to get the details they need, they will avoid it in favor of one that they can pick up and work on right now with no delay. Your issue, which could be more important than anything else in the queue, could end up being ignored because it is unclear.
A detailed bug report, with clear repro steps, is a win for everyone.
read this entire unedited super post at https://www.duncanmackenzie.net/blog/creating-an-effective-bug-report/
