Streamline user bug reporting
Efficiently resolve issues affecting your users
Table of Contents
Why user-reported bugs are difficult to resolve
User bug reporting can play an important role in finding and fixing problems in web and mobile apps. Even the most thorough testing cycle can’t reasonably account for every device, browser, and operating system combination possible when an app hits production. No matter how scrupulous your team is, some bugs are bound to sneak through.
While user bug reporting can be useful for maintaining and improving applications, users may describe the problem vaguely or lack the technical knowledge to understand what went wrong. From their perspective, it can be difficult to pinpoint when and how an issue occurred. This means Engineers don’t have the context to reproduce and fix the problem, and users are subjected to back-and-forth questions — a frustrating situation for both sides.
Beyond this difficulty, not all bugs need to be fixed. With more intrusive user bug reporting options, such as dynamic feedback forms, users sometimes report an otherwise trivial issue. If, for instance, an issue affects one out of a million users with no impact to revenue, it’s likely not worth fixing. But how can you tell?
Without the necessary clarity and context, user issue resolution can result in a lot of wasted time and inefficient outcomes. A successful process involves understanding what happened and properly scoping the impact and reach of the problem before prioritizing a fix.
User bug reporting options
Methods for user bug reporting range widely, from simple to sophisticated. Some of the top user bug reporting options include:
- Email address: Simply adding an email address to your web app’s footer or contact page can help users report issues quickly and easily. As an added benefit, this opens a direct communication line with the user to find out more about the bug
- Static feedback form: Including a form for reporting issues allows you to guide the user to record crucial context that can help you understand and resolve bugs more efficiently. This form can be placed in the footer of your site or app, or on a page of its own
- Support chat application: Connect with users directly to obtain real-time feedback. A chat application allows you to request more information about a bug, such as a screenshot, and also invites users to flag bugs as they experience them
- Dynamic feedback form: There are a variety of free and paid tools that allow you to listen for things like exceptions, failed requests, and other errors. These issues then trigger a form that prompts the user to explain what they were doing
- Application monitoring solutions: Tools that send information from the client can drastically reduce the need for users to self-report bugs they experience. But not all solutions are created equal; some may show you what happened but lack the technical telemetry to help you figure out why, while others may add to the noise instead of cutting through it
Depending on how highly you prioritize collecting bug reports from users, you may want to keep in mind that some of these methods are considered more intrusive while others are more passive.
How LogRocket makes user bug reporting more efficient
LogRocket’s session replay provides the context that Support and Engineering teams need to efficiently identify, reproduce, and resolve issues at their root cause.
When a user reports an issue, you can see exactly what that user saw, as well as the technical context for why it happened. Furthermore, you can see how many users the issue affected and whether it impacted key business goals or not. With this data, you can determine whether a bug is worth fixing and how to quickly ship a fix.
With LogRocket’s Galileo machine learning module, you can find out about the most impactful issues before users report them. We’ve analyzed over a trillion user interactions and, using that data, have built a model to alert you each week with an Issues Digest of the most impactful user-facing problems that need immediate attention. This way, you can know the work you’re doing each day will have an effect on the vital KPIs that drive your business.
If you’re interested in reducing or removing the need for users to self-report bugs, start a free trial of LogRocket today.
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