Talk:Bug Report Workflow (Support)

In LJ support, when there's something in the public board that needs senior support to move it off, one of the accepted protocols is to holler in support IRC for the attention of someone who has the ability to move out of the category that the thing is in, and then pass the link to them in PM, without linking to it in the main channel. The rationale for this policy is so that a) fewer volunteers who have no Need To Know will see the private information, and b) if anyone not of the support community happens to have joined channel, they will have less of a chance of seeing it.

Azurelunatic 05:49, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Proposed workflow (very very very beta)

Bugs

   * It's okay to tell someone that something's broken and that we're working on fixing it. 

   * If you're going to tell someone that something's broken and that we're working on fixing it, make sure it's in Bugzilla first. 

   * If something's broken and it's not in Bugzilla yet, take ownership of getting it in there if you're going to answer the request. If you need help with Bugzilla, contact an SH or a developer for help. If you can't find anyone to help you, leave an IC saying that it's not in 'zilla and you had trouble putting it in there.

   * Set expectations accordingly. If something's prioritized for the next milestone, you can tell the user that. If something hasn't been prioritized yet, tell the user that the developers are aware of the issue but there is not an estimated time frame for when it will be resolved.

   * Remember that everyone uses the service in different ways. If the user is asking how to do something that you think is a "wrong" use, it's probably not; it's just a use that we haven't thought of yet.  You may want to point the user towards Suggestions or dw_coolhunters
   * The workflow with bugs is as follows:
         o User reports a bug.
         o Try to replicate.
               + If you can't replicate, see if anyone else can replicate.
                     # If someone else can replicate, look it up in Bugzilla.
                     # If no one else can replicate, tell the user and request more information.
               + If you can replicate, then look it up in Bugzilla.
         o If the bug is in Bugzilla, leave an Internal Comment (IC) with the bug URL, and then tell the user that we know about it and are working to resolve it. Give a timeframe if appropriate.
         o If the bug is NOT in Bugzillla, put it in Bugzilla. Continue with previous workflow.
         o If the user is reporting strange behavior but you're not sure if it's a bug, ask one of the Triumvirate for help.
   * Bonus points (of the imaginary non-high-scores variety) to be awarded for anyone who does their own research on a bug. If you run into trouble, ask for help. Be sure to document what steps you took. ICs are useful for this.
   * See the More Info Needed section for ways to get more info about a bug from a user.
   * In general, we do not provide links to Bugzilla for normal users. It can be confusing and also may lead to zilla spam. If they display a Clue or mention Bugzilla in their request, then you can link to zilla.