How to write the environment while reporting a bug in various bug tracking systems
How to write the environment while reporting a bug in various bug tracking systems
- 30.06.2017
- Posted by: Admin

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.
Let's take a closer look at the 2 main types of environments, their types and versions:- 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.
- 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)
Once you find a defect (failure, bug), it is required to report it as soon as possible using bug tracking systems. The top tip of the bug report creation: never put it off for later, if it can be created now. This advice applies not only to bug reports creation, but also to all the work of a specialist in the field of testing. Many testers neglect this simple rule and many defects remain unnoticed, affecting the quality of the product. The bug report template depends on the bug tracking system being used. However, the following fields are commonly present in all popular systems:- 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
In the Mantis bug tracking system, information about the environment is entered into the «Platform, OS, OS Version» fields. From the screenshot above, you can see that the «Platform» field indicates the platform on which the testing was performed. The «OS» field indicates the operating system on which the testing was performed. The «OS Version» field indicates the operating system version. Let's look at examples of the incorrect environment fields filling:
Example of the incorrect bug environment in Mantis BT

Example of the correct bug environment in Mantis BT
In the Jira bug tracking system the information about the environment is indicated in the «Environment» field. This field contains information about all data about the testing environment (platform, OS, OS version, build version, etc.).
Example of the correct bug environment in Jira BT
Let's take a look at the example of the incorrect environment fields filling in the Jira bug tracking system:
Example of the incorrect bug environment in Jira BT
In the Pivotal system the defect description, steps to reproduce, results and environment are written in the «Description» field.
Example of the correct bug environment in Pivotal BT
The project management web application Trello can also be used as a bug tracking system - the name of the created card will be a short description of the defect, and the steps to reproduce, the results and the environment will be indicated in the «Description» field.
Example of the correct bug environment in Trello
In the Bugzilla bug tracking system, all information about the environment is written in the «Version», «Hardware» и «OS» fields.
Example of the correct bug environment in Bugzilla
In this article, we considered the concept as «software environment», OS and web-browsers examples, bug reports templates in the most popular bug tracking systems Mantis, Jira, Pivotal, Trello and Bugzilla. So, let's summarize briefly: Software Environment – an environment in which the defect was found - operating system, browser, browser version, server, etc. Operating system – an environment in which the user runs the program. The most popular ones: Windows OS (OS for PCs and for mobile platforms - Windows Mobile), Linux, Mac OS (OS for PCs and for mobile platforms - iOS), Android. Browser – an application software for web browsing. The most popular ones: Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox, Safari. When you find a failure (defect, bug) you need to create a bug report in the bug tracking system as soon as possible. Basic fields required for filling in bug reports:- Unique identificator.
- Severity.
- Priority.
- Environment.
- Summary.
- Description.
- Steps to Reproduce.
- Actual result and expected results
- Attached files.
- In the Mantis system there are separate fields for describing the environment: «Platform», «OS», «OS Version».
- In Jira, all information about the testing environment data is specified in the «Environment» field.
- In Bugzilla, the information about the environment is specified in the «Version», «Hardware» and «OS» fields.
- 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.
