How to write the environment while reporting a bug in various bug tracking systems

Software Environment – an environment on which the defect was found - operating system, browser, browser version, server, etc. If the defect is reproduced in all environments, then a corresponding comment is made.

1. One of the environment types is the Operating System. This is the environment in which the user runs the program. For example, the DOS operating environment consists of all DOS commands available to the user. On the other hand, the Macintosh operating environment includes a graphical user interface that uses icons and menus instead of commands.

The most popular operating systems for the period 2015-2017 are:

• Windows family (versions: XP, 7, Vista, 8, 10), which has 32x and 64x versions. Which also includes an operating system for mobile platforms – Windows Mobile (versions: 7.1; 8; 8.1; 10). Companies using this software: Samsung, Nokia, Acer, Alcatel, HTC, Xiaomi;
• UNIX-like systems family LINUX (versions: Debian, Redhat, Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint);
• OS X family (Macintosh) last versions (10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan, 10.12 Sierra). It also includes a closed source operating system for mobile platforms;
• iOS. Last version: iOS 6; iOS 7; iOS 8; iOS 9; iOS 10. Apple is a company using and developing a series of software products OS X, iOS;
• Android – a free operating system for the mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs and smartbooks based on the Linux kernel, developed by Open Handset Alliance and owned by Google. Currently released 13 versions of the system. Last versions: Android 4.4 KitKat; Android 5.0, 5.1 Lollipop; Android 6.0 Marshmallow; Android 7.0, 7.1 Nougat.

2. Browser – application software for web browsing, web-documents keeping, computer files and their directories, web application management, as well as solving other tasks. On the global network, browsers are used for requesting, processing, manipulating, and displaying the content of the website. A lot of modern browsers can also be used to exchange files with ftp servers, as well for viewing the contents of files in many graphic formats (gif, jpeg, png, svg), audio-video formats (mp3, mpeg), text formats (pdf, djvu) and other files.

• Opera – a web browser and web application suite produced by Opera Software. Developed in 1994 by a group of researchers from a Norwegian company Telenor.  Supports operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android и iOS. Interface languages: multilingual support (61 languages pack). Hardware platform x86-64, ARM and x86. Last version – Windows, Linux and Mac: 45.0.2552.888 (9 june 2017). State - in active development.
• Google Chrome – a browser developed by Google based on the free Chromium browser and the Blink engine (WebKit was used until April of 2013). Android operating system (4.1 and higher), iOS (7.0 and higher), Linux (+GCC v4.6 & +GTK v2.24), macOS (10.6 and higher), Windows (7 and higher). Interface languages: 53 languages. Hardware platform x86-64, ARM and x86. Last version - 59.0.3071.86 for Windows, macOS, Linux (5 june 2017). State - in active development.
• Mozilla Firefox – a free browser based on the Gecko engine, developed and distributed by Mozilla Corporation. The second most popular browser in the world and the first among free software. Firefox is officially distributed for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and Android. Interface languages: multilingual support. Hardware platform x86-64 and ARM. Last version – 53.0.3 (9 June 2017). State - in active development.
• Safari – browser developed by Apple and included with OS X and iOS. Consistently ranked fourth in terms of the number of users. Safari is based on the freely redistributable WebKit engine. This browser was created when the contract between Apple and Microsoft to develop Internet Explorer for OS X came to an end. Internet Explorer for Mac was discontinued shortly after Safari was released. Safari was first included with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther and has become the only browser shipped on Mac OS and iOS since. State - in active development.

Let's have an example of how to describe the environment correctly while creating a defect ( Mantis, Jira, Pivotal, Trello and Bugzilla are taken as example)

• Unique identificator (ID)
• Severity
• Priority
• Environment
• Summary
• Description
• Steps to Reproduce
• Actual result
• Expected result
• Attached Files

• the «Platform» field (Browser, PC, Mobile phone etc.); 
• the «Operating system» field (Operating system name [Windows, Mac, Linux]); 
• the  «OS Version» field (Operating system or browser version number).

Example of the correct bug environment in Mantis BT

Example of the incorrect bug environment in Mantis BT

Example of the correct bug environment in Mantis BT

Example of the correct bug environment in Jira BT

Example of the incorrect bug environment in Jira BT

Example of the correct bug environment in Pivotal BT

Example of the correct bug environment in Trello

Example of the correct bug environment in Bugzilla

1. Unique identificator.
2. Severity.
3. Priority.
4. Environment.
5. Summary.
6. Description.
7. Steps to Reproduce.
8. Actual result and expected results
9. Attached files.

1. In the Mantis system there are separate fields for describing the environment: «Platform», «OS», «OS Version».
2. In Jira, all information about the testing environment data is specified in the «Environment» field.
3. In Bugzilla, the information about the environment is specified in the «Version», «Hardware» and «OS» fields.
4. In Trello and Pivotal there are no separate fields for describing the steps to reproduce, results and environment, therefore all this information is specified in the «Description» field.