Automate bug fixing and accelerate issue resolution
Whether you’re building something new or just need to keep an existing platform running smoothly, you need to be able to identify and fix bugs, fast.
As co-founder of SaaS user feedback platform Userback, I spend a lot of my time looking at how to improve and streamline the way that software teams can manage user feedback, feature requests and bug reports. As a developer I am always looking for ways to improve the bug fixing workflows — from collection to closure — so that we can streamline our own business as well as helping our clients to accelerate the development cycle for their products.
In this short guide I have highlighted 10 ways that Userback can help you to spend less time on bug fixing and more time doing what you love… building awesome stuff.
Lee Le
CTO & CO-FOUNDER, USERBACK
For many of us, bug fixing is a pain in the butt: it takes up too much time and takes us away from doing what we like to do best — building great products.
That’s not how I want things to be.
I want to spend my time developing, not bug fixing.
Sure, sometimes things are really broken, but too often what takes
up most of the time isn’t actually fixing the bug itself… It’s chasing up
all the relevant information required to replicate and resolve it.
And the pain increases the more we have to manually manage this process:
- 39% – of developers still use tools that require them to manually respond to errors
- 22% – feel overwhelmed when using manual processes to address errors in software
- 31% – say manually responding to errors makes them feel frustrated
*2021 State of Software Code Report commissioned by Rollbar
Knowing that bugs are always going to happen, I wanted to minimize their impact by detecting, assessing and resolving them as quickly as possible.
We built Userback as an end-to-end platform for managing user feedback — such as bug reports and feature requests — from collection to closure.
Here are 10 ways you can use Userback to streamline the bug fixing lifecycle and spend less time figuring out what’s broken and more time developing…
1. Collection: Standardized bug reports, every single time.
With Userback it’s easy for users to create standardized bug reports — along with feature requests and general feedback — ‘on the fly’ without leaving your app.
No more sifting through random emails, recalling distant phone conversations, or sorting notes and scribbles to understand what a user was trying to say.
Simply replace disconnected platforms with a single consolidated all-in-one solution.
BECAUSE IT’S EASIER FOR USERS TO REPORT BUGS THEY CAN BE DETECTED AND RESOLVED FASTER
2. Contextualization: Know exactly what’s what.
Userback removes any ambiguity and subjectivity from bug reports by automatically capturing contextual information in the background:
- Session Information
- User Data
- Console Logs
- Event Tracking
PRO TIP: USE OUR JAVASCRIPT API TO CUSTOMIZE THE DATA THAT IS CAPTURED, FOR EXAMPLE ADDING CUSTOMER TYPE OR ACCOUNT ID.
3. Visualization: See their bugs with your own eyes (and ears).
As well as automatically collecting user system and session information, Userback allows users to add screen grabs and video to their bug reports. With video recording the user can record a voiceover of them talking you through what they are doing.
Session Replays record every mouse movement and interaction in the background, so you can see exactly what has happened without having to ask the user.
NOTHING GETS YOU AS CLOSE TO BEING THE USER AT THE POINT IN TIME WHEN THINGS DON’T WORK THE WAY THEY SHOULD!
4. Annotation: Accelerate resolution.
Userback also allows users to enrich their feedback by annotating screen grabs and videos with scribbles and notes when they’re submitting a bug report.
You can then respond to their comments if you need more information.
5. Integration: Supercharge workflows with instantly actionable bug reports.
You can use Userback on its own, or it can be readily integrated with your existing project management, workflow and communication platforms.
By automating your bug reporting loop within your existing workflows you can significantly shorten developer cycles and get updated products and features to market faster.
6. Communication: Keep users in the loop
It’s probably fair to say that most developers would prefer not to have to communicate with users directly if they can avoid it. Userback allows you to automatically keep users in the loop when they submit a bug report:
- Acknowledge that their report or request has been received;
- Let them know the planned resolution;
- Loop them back in when the necessary updates have been made.
PRO TIP: ACKNOWLEDGE USERS’ INPUT AND KEEP THEM INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS
7. Prioritization: Take the guesswork out of what to do first.
If you have a number of issues to resolve it can be hard to know where to start or where to focus your time and effort.
With Userback’s Feedback Portal you can give your user base access to the list of bugs that you are planning to resolve. They can up or down vote what is most important to them, so you know what matters most… and work on that first.
PRO TIP: USE THE FEEDBACK PORTAL TO FOCUS ON BUILDING WHAT’S OF VALUE TO THE MAJORITY OF USERS, NOT JUST THE MOST VOCAL ONES.
8. Implementation: Get it right first time, every time.
When it comes to scheduling bug fixes, the additional context and information provided through Userback allows for more accurate estimates of effort (story points) and decreases the risk of timelines and budgets getting blown out.
It’s also easy to assign the task to a developer and Userback streamlines the communication loop as the work is being done, so that everyone knows where things are at.
9. Completion: Don’t just close the loop on bugs, slam it shut.
Once the issue has been resolved you can use Userback’s Feedback Portal to share updates and status changes with your community with zero effort and make sure their feedback has been addressed.
This helps to build user engagement in the future of your product.
10. Installation: Set up your automated bug fix feedback loop in minutes.
Getting started couldn’t be easier — you can set up an automated user feedback loop for bug tracking in minutes. Simply drop the widget into your site or app.
PRO TIP: CHOOSE FROM A RANGE OF BRANDING, CONTENT, PLACEMENT, ADVANCED TARGETING AND TRACKING OPTIONS.
