If you're in market for your first bug tracking system software, the sheer number of available bug trackers, all of which claim to offer the best bug tracking capability, can be overwhelming. In order to make the right decision, it's important that you arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible about bug tracking system software and your soon to be bug tracking process. To help you on your way, we offer answers to some frequently asked questions about tracking software.
What's the Difference Between Onsite Tracking and Online Tracking?
Onsite tracking is when a tracking system is implemented at a company's location through the purchase of tracking software and the hardware that supports it. Online tracking is when a company receives bug tracking as a web service from a tracking provider that contains the tracking software and hardware at a remote location. Due to hardware and software purchase, as well as system maintenance fees and system upgrade costs, tracking onsite is significantly more expensive than tracking online. Customers of online tracking are not responsible for any of the aforementioned costs.
How Important is Remote Access in a Tracking System?
The importance of remote access depends on the arrangement that a company has with its software development team. If a company conducts projects structurally internally, remote access may be unnecessary. But for companies that have two or more locations that contribute to the same projects, employees who travel, or employees who work from home, the ability to access the tracking system from any Internet terminal can be indispensable.
Are There Certain Features That Indicate a Great Tracking System?
The value of a tracking system's features depends primarily on their applicability to a company's bug-tracking process. Nonetheless, there are some features that every tracking-system should possess in order to best support the tracking process: automatic email notification for new tasks; file attachment capability; history trail that shows all actions performed on a bug; ability to be fully customized to any tracking process; ability to generate selective reports; and the provision for customers to report bugs from a company's website using an automated reporting tool.
How Important is it to for a Bug Tracker to have Issue Tracking Capabilities?
More often than not, a company that experiences bug-tracking needs will also experience issue-tracking needs. Unlike bugs, issues do not result from errors in computer code, and are typically concerned with program usability issues from an end user perspective, the resolution of which can be effective to improving a program through selective releases. Attempting to use bug-tracking fields for issue-tracking generally slows down both processes and can even cause software release dates to be pushed back.