Report a Software Bug like a Lawyer

When you log a software bug, imagine a prosecuting attorney making a case against a criminal.

Detailed

Your case is ruined if the details are not well organized and thorough. So don't give the judge an excuse to throw it out for lack of evidence. Instead, make it easy for them by providing all the relevant facts supporting the bug, such as requirements or other authoritative documentation.

Persuasive

You are trying to convince a judge and a jury of developers, analysts who view bugs as an annoyance. They want to get back to working on their main project tasks. It's your job to win them over and make them care about that bug. Make sure that the bug summary is clear, memorable, and specific. For example, compare "Error in Database Test Case Scenario 7" with "Entering Last Name with an Apostrophe causes the Database Server to catch on fire."

Worst Case Impact but with a Reasonable Scenario

Imagine the worst impact the bug could have on the business. Paint a picture to the jury about how your defect has that critical effect. Avoid unrealistic input data that might cause it to be dismissed.  Study the business context to find the most likely, most reasonable scenario. For example, you are testing a web form with a name field. You discovered an error when an apostrophe is used. The initial test used ' as the input. Change that to O'Brien. Now you have Reasonable input, and we can frame the impact as potentially discriminatory.