Software development is a long process with a lot of human effort. With a lot of changing requirements and complexity of a software program, it will likely have some errors. What is a software error? A software error or a bug is a coding error that causes an unexpected error in the program. In short, if the software is not performing as intended, it is most likely because of a software error.
Software programs have errors due to constantly changing or unclear requirements. Software complexity, coding problems, short timelines, communication gaps, using third-party plugins are also some of the reasons why a software program is a buggy.
In this article, we will discuss a few of these in detail to understand why software errors occur and how you can prevent them from using test case management tools.
1- Coding Errors:
So the first and the most important reason for software error is coding errors. Soft wares are developed by human beings, and they tend to make mistakes. Complex software designs and architectures are hard to understand and as the software develops with time, it has more features that are dependent on each other, which can cause more coding errors while maintaining the complexity. As a tester, using test case management tools will make it easier for you to find such coding errors using data reference errors, declarations errors, control flow errors, parameter errors, input/output errors, etc.
2- Missing Frameworks:
A software framework provides developers the certainty that the software being developed is in full compliance with the business rules, it is structured, and that it is both maintainable and upgradeable. If a software framework is missing, fixing a bug in one component might arise in another in a different or same component. This means that lack of foresight in anticipating what is being developed and for what platform can cause many serious problems and increase the bug count. Using frameworks helps in designing, re-designing UI, integration of modules, database management, and many other things. So if a framework is missing, your software is most probably going to end with many bugs.
3- Ambiguity and Changing in Requirements:
Constantly changing software requirements make it hard for developers and testers to maintain software quality. This is very common nowadays as most of the software startup companies are not so sure about the requirement and they tend to change quite often. Adding a new feature or removing an existing feature can be linked to other modules or components in the software. Using test case management tools can help testers to quickly cater to the changing requirements
4- Lack of Communication:
Software development now relies on multiple teams, the frontend team, the backend team, the DevOps team, testers, etc. Lack of communication between the teams leads to miscommunication which is one of the primary reasons for software bugs. With the increase in remote work during the pandemic, this has become even more crucial. Test managers need to use test case management tools more efficiently to communicate with the team members so that there is no miscommunication between the teams. In some cases, the software error can be related to the user experience, which is especially the case for new kinds of products. So you have to communicate with the users as well on how to use the product.
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5- Too Much Rework
It is very common in information technology companies to reschedule resources or hire new resources for the growing workload. Redoing or discarding already completed work, changes in hardware/software requirements can affect the software too, all this can cause software bugs. This is even more likely to follow if proper standards have not been followed, documentation is not done, knowledge transfer is ineffective, etc. With larger projects, doing rework is very crucial. So it is one of the major reasons why errors occur in software products. This can be minimized with the proper use of test case management tools being implemented from the start of the development.
6- Short Deadlines:
Programmers usually tend to rush as the deadline approaches. This happens due to wrong time estimations or due to too much workload. This is the time when most of the errors occur. Rushing to develop features is not the best way to go for software development.
Final Words:
To avoid bugs, the above points should be kept in mind from the beginning and test case management tools should be used to minimize and manage bugs. If keeping track of all the bugs becomes a complex task, it can cause even more bugs.