Finding software can be overwhelming. We've helped hundreds of project teams find bug tracking software so they can centralize work order requests and prioritize tasks.
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Wrike FrontRunners 2020
Wrike FrontRunners 2020
Wrike is a cloud-based project management platform for teams of 20+ that is suitable for both large enterprises and SMBs. It supports remote work for various teams. This solution comes with Gantt charts, calendars, workload view f... Read more
Raygun
Raygun
Raygun is a cloud-based networking monitoring and bug tracking application. It is suitable for large and midsize organizations across a variety of industries and offers crash reporting, user monitoring, user tracking, deployment t... Read more
Backlog FrontRunners 2020
Backlog FrontRunners 2020
Backlog is a cloud-based project management and issue tracking solution that caters to development teams working with design, marketing and IT teams. The key features of the solution include project and issue management, subtaskin... Read more
Airbrake
Airbrake
Airbrake is a cloud-based error and bug reporting solution that caters to development teams in small and midsize organizations. The features of this solution include backlog management, filtering, ticket management, issue tracking... Read more
Asana FrontRunners 2020
Asana FrontRunners 2020
Asana is a cloud-based project and task management solution that enables teams to collaborate, communicate, and manage several tasks and projects. It can help teams meet project deadlines while tracking the completion of all tasks... Read more
Bugfender
Bugfender
Bugfender is a cloud-hosted remote logging tool that enables you to find bugs before your users do. Get fast remote access to your mobile or web application logs for any user in real-time - wherever they are in the world. Bugfend... Read more
BugHerd FrontRunners 2020
BugHerd FrontRunners 2020
BugHerd is a cloud-based issue tracking and project management software solution for web developers and designers. The solution helps convert client feedback into tasks, which include all the needed changes and screenshots. W... Read more
Jira FrontRunners 2020
Jira FrontRunners 2020
Jira Software is a business process management tool used by agile teams to plan, track and release software. Jira Software supports Scrum, Kanban, a hybrid model or another unique workflow. Jira enables users to create projec... Read more
zipBoard FrontRunners 2020
zipBoard FrontRunners 2020
zipBoard is a visual bug tracking and design feedback tool that helps eLearning and web development businesses create tasks, organize projects and track user activity, among other processes. It enables staff members to assign task... Read more
Rollbar is a cloud-based bug tracking and monitoring solution that caters to organizations of all sizes. Rollbar supports multiple programming languages and frameworks like JavaScript, Python, .NET, Drupal, Wordpress and Pyramid. ... Read more
Caspio is a cloud-based application development solution for organizations of all sizes. The platform is suitable for industries such as health care, media, government, education, nonprofits, consulting, churches and community ass... Read more
MantisBT is a cloud-based issue management and bug tracking solution designed for software development organizations. The solution helps team members to collaborate on projects and share software development progress with internal... Read more
Retrace is a cloud-based application performance management solution. It is designed for developers at organizations of all sizes and provides bug tracking, data aggregation and automatic alerts. The solution provides an acti... Read more
LambdaTest is a cloud-based testing solution that helps development teams in organizations to manage their software testing and patch release processes. Key features include live browser testing, resolution display testing and mul... Read more
Planio is a cloud-based bug tracking and project management solution that enables users to process incidents, manage workflows and build a central database for document management. The solution tracks issues and bugs during softwa... Read more
Sifter is a cloud-based bug and issue tracking solution designed for large and midsize businesses. It offers backlog management, issue tracking, ticket management and release management within a suite. Sifter allows users to ... Read more
Lean Testing is a cloud-based and on-premise bug-tracking and test case management solution that allows business to streamline testing for their website, mobile application and software projects. Users are able to submit and custo... Read more
Formerly known as Jira Service Desk, Jira Service Management is an IT service management solution that unlocks high-velocity teams. IT is in the midst of rapid transformation to build capabilities that enable quick delivery ... Read more
SprintGround is a cloud-based project management solution designed for small and midsize businesses. The product caters to both IT companies as well as in-house IT teams. It allows users to organize their work, collaborate with th... Read more
Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management solution designed for small and midsize companies. It offers project scheduling and budgeting, which allows project managers to define project tasks, assign them to their teams, es... Read more
Popular Comparisons
Bug tracking software allows teams to track and resolve bugs that arise during a project. These systems help centralize and standardize issue management processes. They are most often used for software and web development projects.
This guide will help you understand the role of bug tracking tools within the larger project management market, so you can make a more informed purchase. We'll cover:
What Is Bug Tracking Software?
Common Features of Bug Tracking Software
The Vendor Landscape
Benefits of Bug Tracking Software
Key Considerations for Bug Tracking Software Buyers
What Is Bug Tracking Software?
Similar in function to task tracking solutions, bug trackers are specifically designed to separate bugs from regular project tasks and prioritize them appropriately. Capabilities vary, but these systems typically follow these steps:
Bug Tracking Process
Submit: Work order is created by a project team member, or through an IT ticketing system or emailed service request from a customer or end user.
Process: Bug is assigned to a team member, prioritized by importance and labeled according to status, e.g., ''new'' or ''reopened.'' The system classifies the bug, e.g., ''security'' or ''user interface.''
Track: Employee tries to resolve the problem and provides frequent status updates, e.g., ''blocked,'' ''testing'' or ''reviewing.''
Report: Bug tracking systems can offer valuable information about issues, how quickly they're resolved and more. These insights help in planning future projects.
Common Features of Bug Tracking Software
Common capabilities of bug tracking systems include:
| Custom fields | Ability to customize fields, views and workflows to your team and business needs.E.g., add a corresponding customer ID number to bugs submitted by customers. |
| Time tracking | Tracks time to resolution: how long the bug has been open, if it's past due, percent complete, etc. |
| Collaboration tools | Upload files to tickets, post comments and receive email or in-app notifications. Some platforms include interactive discussion forums with similar collaborative capabilities. |
| Dashboard | View individual or team dashboards to monitor status and progress of open bugs. Some platforms include an activity stream or notification center on the dashboard. |
| Reporting and analytics | Track progress of open bugs and milestones reached. Visualize and document trends regarding the quantity, severity and category of bugs, team productivity and more. |
| Knowledge base | Centralized repository of solved and unsolved bugs with notes about resolutions etc. that teams can refer to, learn from and add to. |
| Integration with code repositories | Connect code repositories (e.g, Git or SVN) to bug tracking software so source code updates from the repository are automatically reflected in the bug tracker. |
The Vendor Landscape
Bug tracking software is available in both on-premise or cloud-based solutions. Typically, bug tracking can be purchased in one of the following ways:
Offered in suite,as one application included as part of a comprehensive project management (PM) system. Purchasing a PM platform that includes issue management helps ensure that bug tracking is fully integrated with other key project management processes, such as scheduling resources and project tracking. This integrated environment allows data to transfer seamlessly between applications, increasing visibility and keeping everyone on the same page. Some examples are:
Best-of-breed, or stand-alone. A business may choose to purchase bug tracking best-of-breed for several reasons. For example, their current PM platform may not offer bug tracking—or, perhaps it does, but doesn’t have all the features their team needs. Businesses purchasing best-of-breed solutions should first ensure the bug tracker integrates with the other software systems their team uses: Namely, their PM platform, but also their code repository or communication tools, such as Slack. Examples of this include:
Additionally, because bug tracking tools are critical for software development teams—who typically use agile project management methods—it is commonly included with Scrum and Kanban project management solutions. For example:
Benefits of Bug Tracking Software
Bug tracking software provides teams with several benefits, such as:
Improved organization: Work order requests and resolution strategies are centralized and automated, adding structure to team workflows and standardizing bug management strategies.
Increased productivity: Assignments and progress toward resolution are displayed on dashboards, making it obvious if someone falls behind or if bottlenecks occur. Users know what bugs they are responsible for, and the priority and due date. This helps increase project efficiency and improve performance.
Useful insights: Reports and analytics help create permanent project and issue management records that can influence future business decisions.
Key Considerations for Bug Tracking Software Buyers
Here are the top things to keep in mind when choosing a bug tracking solution:
- Powerful yet simple workflow. Workflow management is an important functionality of bug tracking software. An effective system will help you catch issues early and offer resolutions faster. To gauge the efficiency of the workflow, check how it helps you do the following tasks:
- Capture and report. The system should allow you to raise tickets, ask questions, discuss issues and share ideas on a centralized platform.
- Prioritize and assign. There could be a number of issues at one time. The solution you choose should help you create priority lists and assign the most important tasks first.
- Resolve and review. Workflows should be designed to help you push issues toward resolution. Additionally, an effective review system should be in place, which allows you to catch any bugs that may have slipped through the cracks.
- Ease-of-use. An efficient bug tracking solution is one that can be used with little to no special training. A simple dashboard with a drag-and-drop workflow helps employees—even those without any technical knowledge—create tickets and track their status. On the other hand, a cumbersome solution with functionalities that demand technical expertise of its users can be a tremendous strain on your company’s time.
- Open source or paid software. There are many free, open source software solutions available, but they come with certain limitations. For instance, you must host the software on internal servers and manage its maintenance. This is not much of an issue for small businesses, but as your business grows, you need a solution that automates the tracking of thousands of tickets. At that level, you need a flexible solution that can be customized to your needs and offers back-end support.
Your Guide to Top Bug Tracking Software, September 2020
Software Advice uses reviews from real software users to highlight the top-rated Bug Tracking Software products in North America.
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“Usability” includes user ratings for Functionality and Ease of Use.“Customer Satisfaction” includes user ratings for Customer Support, Likelihood to Recommend and Value for Money.Reviews analysis period: The reviews analysis period spans two years and ends on the 15th of the month prior to publication.