How we handle bug reports

Tracking bugs, issues, and problems is a big task for any tech company. Here's how we handle it!

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Written by Support Team
Updated over a week ago

Bug tracking is a tough problem for any tech company and we're constantly experimenting with ways to solve it.

In the past we had a public bug board, but it quickly got too crowded with either (1) non-bugs that were a result of user error, settings, difference of opinion, etc, (2) duplicate submissions (because very few searched and upvoted existing bugs), or (3) bugs that affected certain combinations of device/browser/settings etc. that were impossible to reproduce without getting more info (which was often lacking in the form). It became very difficult to get meaningful data from this board.

We've since switched to an internal bug tracking system that our support team manages. When bugs are reported to them via chat, they first ask the questions to narrow down if it is a bug or a not, as well as learn the device/browser/settings configuration it applies to. 

They try their best to replicate the issue first so our developers can address it promptly. (This is why we're always asking you for steps to reproduce the issue - most bugs affect a small percentage of users.) If the bug already exists in our tracker, they add the chat conversation and an upvote to it, which allows us visibility into how widespread it is and gives us a track record of data. We prioritize what our dev team addresses on any given day based on these factors.

Some issues are solvable immediately or same-day. Some issues require updates of software libraries or systems that we use, which means delays until our vendors update their code. Other issues are technically complex and cannot be addressed immediately due to interrelated issues or dependencies.

Often some issues require more data to narrow down the pattern or root cause, which requires more people writing in and letting us know what they are experiencing. We simply don't have enough hours in the day to try to recreate one-off issues so we focus on the ones we have the most data on.

To help communicate system-level issues, we've instituted our status page at status.spectora.com. We also have a changelog with details on each release. We still communicate features via the Features Board on Trello. 

Because most bugs (that aren't quick fixes) are either very narrow in scope, highly complex, or technically unfeasible currently, the best way to communicate about bugs with us currently is via the chat bubble. Social platforms like Facebook don't allow us to collect the data we need to work towards a solution. We log every chat conversation for each bug and we try to personally notify you when issues are resolved.

Thanks for helping us track down and fix any issues you're experiencing!

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