How to set up Jira workflow for bugs? A step-by-step guide [with templates]
Last update: April 29, 2024
Bug tracking is one of the most crucial stages in the software development lifecycle. The Rule of Ten says that the longer a bug remains undetected in the advanced stages of development, the more money it takes to fix it. Learn how to set up a Jira workflow for bugs to optimize your testing and cut development costs.
Why choose Jira for bug tracking?
When Jira was created in 2003, it aimed to manage bugs. Of course, the tool has developed since then. Now, it helps plan and track all the aspects of the software development lifecycle. Teams from all over the world use Jira Software for managing tasks from backlog to release. It enables greater collaboration and optimizes hundreds of processes.
The main advantage of using Jira Software for bug tracking is that QA teams can use its planning features and comprehensive search functions. Moreover, the Jira workflow engine allows controlling the end-to-end development of digital products. Tracking and capturing bugs and issues is just one side of the coin. That’s something you can do with most of the free bug-tracking tools. However, using Jira Software as a bug tracker gives you more contextual information about the project. It enables one to prioritize and organize tasks correctly.
How do I track bugs in Jira?
Here are five ways teams can use Jira for defect tracking:
Prioritize bugs and determine their impact on the project
Look at all the bugs and decide which ones are most important. Figure out how each bug affects the project. Decide which bugs need fixing first. In Jira Software, you can create custom fields to rank bugs based on their priority. These fields can include options like “High”, “Medium”, or “Low” priority. Additionally, Jira provides tools for tracking bug status and progress, helping you understand how each bug impacts the project timeline.
Assign related tasks and notify the team members
Jira allows you to assign bugs to specific team members. It ensures that everyone knows who is responsible for fixing each issue. With built-in notifications and mentions, team members can stay informed about real-time bug assignments and updates.
Ensure traceability to spot the source of defects
Keep track of where each bug came from. Find out what caused each bug so you can stop it from happening again. Through Jira’s issue-linking feature, you can establish relationships between bugs and their root causes. No matter if it’s a specific code change, requirement, or user story. By linking issues together, you can track the origins of defects and identify patterns.
How to set up the Traceability report in Requirements and Test Management for Jira?
- Go to Apps > Test Management.
- In the Reports section, click Traceability.
- Select projects.
- Select types of requirements X-axis (columns) and Y-axis (rows).
- Click Generate.
- Read more in the article about the requirement traceability matrix in Jira >
Check test coverage after fixing the bugs
After fixing a bug, test the project to make sure it works right. Make sure you test everything that could have been affected by the bug. Don’t just fix the bug; make sure the fix doesn’t cause new problems.
Report defects to the stakeholders
Write down all the details about the bug so your team knows how to fix it. Jira provides customizable templates for reporting bugs, enabling you to capture essential details. It can be bug descriptions, steps to reproduce, and screenshots. Additionally, Jira’s reporting capabilities allow you to generate bug reports and share them with stakeholders.
Bug tracking in Jira Software: 5 best practices
1. Categorize bugs transparently
In Jira, we can use dedicated issues to represent anything: a software bug, a project task, or a request form. What’s more, Jira enables you to assign tags to bugs. Tags can indicate the affected software version, component, or area of the project. This categorization system ensures that bugs are managed effectively.
When team members identify a bug, they can create an issue and add all the relevant details. For example, an issue description, the severity level, the software version, and more. They can also add attachments to the issue like screenshots that show what each bug is about.
2. Assign and prioritize bugs with care
Once your team captures a bug, it’s time to prioritize it. You do it based on factors like its importance, how urgent the issue is, and what the current team capacity is. Assigning bugs is easy in Jira Software. We can do that right from the ticket by adding the Assignee name.
And how to prioritize bugs in Jira? All it takes is dragging and dropping specific bugs in the team’s backlog or in the ‘To do’ column, depending on our process. Again, thanks to Jira, your team can look at the bug from the perspective of the bigger picture. The commonly used software will keep everyone on the same page. This guarantees that team members will take care of the most important tasks before anything else.
3. Make sure that bugs are solved on time
Jira allows tracking bugs until they reach the status of ‘Done’. It’s good to do so and stay in the loop throughout the team’s workflow. It’s also a smart idea to configure a dedicated workflow for bugs. That way, the QA team can focus on resolving bugs and the product team – on building new features. The teams will be working separately, but they will stay connected in a single Jira environment.
4. Set up a notification system
In Jira, you can set up notifications to inform the right people when something changes. For example, if a team member captures a bug, this bug needs to be transferred to the correct person to fix it. It shouldn’t require any further discussions about who that might be. Remember to be specific.
You can configure Jira notifications to automatically update someone when a bug status changes. That simple functionality can take bug tracking to the next level. It automates many aspects of the testing process and makes communication easier.
5. Integrate with other tools
Organizations often use Jira Software together with other Atlassian products such as Bitbucket. Once the QA team captures and prioritizes a bug in the backlog, the information can be passed directly to software engineers. Then, they can create a new branch in their source code management. Developers can start fixing the bug directly from the Jira ticket. As the bug moves through the workflow to completion and deployment, Jira updates the ticket automatically. The statuses reflect pull requests, merges, builds, and other stages. As a consequence, you can be sure your team is always on the same page.
How do I create a bug workflow in Jira? A step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Configure a bug-tracking project in Jira
It’s a good practice to have a dedicated project for bug-tracking. Especially, when creating one in Jira is easy to prepare. It only takes a few steps:
- Log in to your Jira.
- In the top navigation bar, choose Projects, then Create Project.
- Click on the Project Templates, select Software Development, and next Bug Tracking.
4. Choose Use Template, then complete your project name and key.
5. Click Create Project.
That’s it! You’re now ready for the next steps and further customization.
Step 2: Create custom issue types for bugs in your Jira
The setup above gives you a dedicated Bug issue type with summary and description fields. To create more issue types:
- Go to Global Settings and Issues in your Jira.
- Select Add Issue Type.
- In Issue Type Scheme settings, locate your Jira project, and hit Edit.
- Drag your new issue type into your project’s scheme.
- Move to Screen settings and select Add Screen.
- Choose the custom fields you want in this issue type, like Summary, Description, and Priority.
- Navigate to Screen Schemes and select Add Screen Schemes to create a new one, linking it to your custom screen.
- Finally, go to Issue Type Screen Scheme, click on your Jira project, and then Associate an issue type with a screen scheme. Choose your new issue type and its screen Scheme, then click Add.
Here’s how you can do it in Requirements and Test Management for Jira. In RTM app, Defect is a dedicated issue type. Make sure to add it to your RTM project.
How to create defects in RTM for Jira?
- Go to to Project > Defects > Add defect
Remember, defects tree will be available only if you define project with defects as the same one in which you store requirements and tests. To check your settings, go to: RTM Configuration > Issue Types > Defects.
Step 3: Customize your Jira workflow for defects
Customizing Jira workflow for defects is straightforward. It also takes only a few steps. Here they are:
- Navigate to Project settings on the left side of the screen.
- Proceed to Workflows, and then click the icon located under Actions.
- Create additional statuses to reflect your team’s work style. Don’t forget to set transitions to All so users can go back anytime it’s needed.
Step 4: Prepare a dedicated Kanban or Scrum board
Kanban and Scrum boards in Jira help keep track of tasks and stay up-to-date. With clearly outlined stages, spotting and fixing bugs becomes quicker and simpler. Here’s how you can create a board in Jira:
- On the left side of the screen, choose Boards, then click on the Create board.
- Select Kanban or Scrum board, and next, Board from an existing project.
- Give your board a name and link it to your current project.
Step 5: Prioritize bugs transparently for your team
In Agile projects, the goal is to prioritize new issues quickly. Everyone should understand what is first to be done and what can wait. Opting for the less is more rule, we recommend using the Jira default prioritization system.
With dedicated plugin you can visually prioritize your test cases. It’s possible thanks to the tree-structured view with folders and subfolders. What’s more, testing tools like Requirments and Test Management for Jira allow you to track bug relations and sources of defects.
What is the bug-reporting workflow?
The bug-reporting workflow is the step-by-step process for identifying, documenting, and resolving bugs. It typically involves the following stages:
- Discovery – a team member, a user, or an automated testing tool identifies an issue.
- Reporting – the bug is documented in a bug report. The report includes details and any relevant attachments.
- Assignment – the bug report goes to a team member responsible for fixing the issue.
- Investigation – the assigned person investigates the bug to understand its cause and find the solution.
- Fixing – a team member implements a fix to resolve the bug. This may involve writing new code, modifying existing one, or making configuration changes.
- Testing – after implementation, it’s time for testing to ensure that the bug has been successfully resolved.
- Verification – the QA team verifies the bug to confirm that no new issues have been introduced.
- Closure – once the bug is fixed, the team can close the bug report. In this stage, the team can perform documentation updates and post-mortem analyses.
Throughout this workflow, collaboration is essential. It ensures that bugs are addressed efficiently.
To make managing bugs in Jira easier, use Requirements and Test Management for Jira. The tool helps you organize your testing process. First, define what needs fixing. You can do it using the Requirements feature:
Then, set up the test cases to check if the bugs are fixed, and make sure these tests are linked to the bug reports. Keep an eye on bugs from start to finish using the tool’s tracking features. Customize Jira workflow for bugs to see how bugs are fixed, and use special labels to keep track easily.
How to write test cases in Requirements and Test Management for Jira to get full traceability?
- Go to your project > Test Management > Test Cases and click the + button to create a new test case.
- In the Details section, complete all the relevant fields such as:
- Summary
- Issue type
- Description
- Assignee
- Test Plan
- Folder selection
- Components
- Priority
- Epic link
- Sprint
- RTM Environment
- Fix Version
- Labels
- Attachments
- There are three ways to add steps to your test case. First, you can create a new group of steps. You can also link steps from another similar test case. It’s also possible to import steps from a .CSV file
- Fill in the Preconditions field.
- Open the test case’s Requirements tab and add existing requirements that will be covered by this test case. You can also create new requirements at this point.
- Have you completed all the necessary fields? Click Create to generate your test case!
How to report bugs in Jira?
You can report bugs in Jira in just a few basic steps:
- Log into Jira and go to the project you wish to work in.
- Click Create to create a new issue.
- Choose Bug from the issue types list.
- Fill in the needed info like summary and description.
- You can add screenshots or files, if helpful.
- Click Create or Submit to send the report.
Remember that the specific steps may vary depending on the customization of your Jira instance.
Bug ticket template in Jira
Here’s the exemplary template that shows how to fill in the bug ticket. Remember to be specific but always provide the necessary context:
Issue Description
We’ve discovered a bug in [software name] affecting [customer or feature name].
Steps to Reproduce:
[1]
[2]
[3]
Actual Behavior:
[Provide a detailed description of the issue, including where and what is happening]
Expected Behavior:
[Describe the expected behavior]
Features Affected:
[Specify the affected part of the software]
Attachments:
[Add relevant screenshots or log files to help developers understand the problem]
Don’t forget to prioritize your ticket and assign it properly.
Atlassian provides teams with ready-to-use Jira ticket templates. One of the popular examples is a bug report template. A bug report template in Jira offers a pre-built framework for documenting defects. It’s customizable to fit your needs and speed up the reporting process. This specific template ensures consistent workflow and reporting of bugs. It makes it easier to communicate inside and across the teams during QA processes.
Bug reporting template in Jira
Finally, look at automatically generated test reports to monitor progress. The reports in Requirements and Test Management for Jira are easy on the eye and intuitive. Presenting them, you build the stakeholder’s trust and make sure everyone knows what’s going on.
How to set up Requirement Coverage report in RTM for Jira?
- Go to Apps > Test Management.
- Click on Reports and select Coverage.
- Set the following parameters: Project, Issue Type, Fix Version, Component, RTM Environment, Assignee, Labels.
- Click on Generate.
- View covered and uncovered requirements.
- Click the Export icon to download as a .csv file. Adjust displayed fields using the Preferences icon if needed.
The summary: how do I handle bugs in Jira?
It’s crucial to provide the QA team with a tool for bug tracking and collaboration. Team leaders should ensure that every team member can detect and record defects. They should also be able to assign the issues they find to the right team members at the right moment. Atlassian’s toolset offers the possibility to set up a dedicated Jira workflow for bugs. Jira also provides seamless integration for the entire software development process. As a result, teams can prioritize and automate tasks in Jira, including bugs, with the context in mind while delivering value to customers.
Learn more on topic
Katarzyna Kornaga
Katarzyna is a Content Specialist, responsible for writing on the Deviniti blog. She values helpful, unique content where users can find answers to their questions. When not writing, you can find her walking her dog, Loki, flowing through Ashtanga yoga classes, or curled up with a good book at home.
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