As programmers, we inherently despise the bug finding and bug fixing process of a project.  It has been engrained in us since we wrote our first Hello World application that displayed an output of ‘Hello Wod’.  It can sap our confidence in a hurry and make the most professional programmer feel like a novice.

“Oh wow…how did I miss that?”

“Did I not think this solution through?”

When users and clients find and report bugs, feelings of despair can easily turn into anger.

“You don’t know how to use it!”

“Are you sure that’s what you saw?”

Any professional programmer knows that you will inevitably spend more time fixing the bugs in an application than he or she ever thought when initially estimating and designing it.  Embracing this eventuality is the only sane way to approach this part of the project, and since the programmer is going to have to do it anyway, they may as well find the good in it.

I, for one, LOVE bugs.  I think they’re fantastic! Large bugs, small bugs, non-bugs, feature requests…I love them all, and more importantly, I want my users/clients to report them all.  The idea is simple… a bug I don’t know about can’t be fixed.  I instruct our clients to report all bugs, regardless of the severity, regardless of the development cycle, regardless of the feature, and regardless of whether or not he or she thinks I know about the issue already.  This is key to making sure that all bugs are cataloged and tracked, even the ones we do not intend to fix.  It is ALWAYS better to release an application with a known bug than an unknown bug.

Here are some things to consider when negative thoughts begin to creep in about bugs:

Users are not bad people

You already know how to use your application.  The only way to truly test your application is to put it in the hands of someone that IS a user and let them figure it out. They will produce bugs you have never considered or were masked because you know exactly where to click, what to type, and how to navigate.

Users are not out to get you

A user’s intention is not to make your life more difficult, but rather to help you produce the most professional application possible.  When they report an bug, it is not a personal attack against you or your abilities.

You can decide what to fix

Remember, the user is just telling you what THEY think is wrong, not what is actually wrong.  You can decide if something is actually a bug, or a feature request, or nothing at all. You are the expert and, as long as you are honest, your clients will respect your professional opinion regarding any issue.

You don’t have to fix it now

Lastly, keep in mind that a bug report from a user is not a mandate to fix something immediately.  You can fix it when the time is right and when it makes the most sense.  Often, there is no need to stop what you are doing to fix a small, edge-case bug immediately.  Rather, fix it when during the bug fixing phase, or some later development phase.

The one thing to take away is…you can’t fix bugs that are never reported.  Embrace them!