Every specialist knows well that it is impossible to create unique software that would work absolutely without errors and failures. No one is immune from this. However, for successful functioning in the market, you must learn how to respond to them in time and adequately.
There are several main types of errors, each of which has a different impact on the quality of your product. Many programmers believe that some bugs can be overlooked, while others can be fixed next quarter. However, this is a false statement. Practice shows that even the smallest error should be eliminated immediately after it is discovered.
There are ten main reasons why it is worth fixing errors right away:
- Old mistakes mask new ones;
- The client may decide that quality does not matter to you;
- Discussing uncorrected bugs take a long time;
- This leads to duplication of efforts;
- Possible unreliable metrics;
- Distract the whole team;
- Interfere with the release of new releases in a short time;
- Lead to inaccurate estimates;
- Fixing a familiar code is more accessible than a forgotten one;
- The cost of correcting errors today is cheaper than tomorrow.
Each of these reasons is significant enough. Let’s look at them in a little more detail.
Old mistakes mask new ones
It doesn’t matter what types of QA testing you use; after making corrections, your specialist can say: “I checked the correction of an old bug and found 1 – 2 new ones.” It is an entirely normal process because one problem can block access to another.
The client may decide that quality does not matter to you
Each person strives to use a quality product (especially if we talk about paid programs). If we see some bugs that are not fixed for a long time, most likely, we can say with confidence that the quality of the product is not controlled too much. It makes people think that, most likely, other products do not work correctly, which means that you should not use the product at all.
We notice that various bugs can work as great anti-advertising. It can create a bad reputation for you as a developer or project curator, which means that you are unlikely to be able to develop.
Discussing uncorrected bugs takes a long time
If you work in a team, then from time to time, you gather colleagues to discuss upcoming tasks, report on the work done, and make plans for the future as is happening today in the full-cycle software testing company TestFort. Often you have to spell out all the mistakes that you have not eliminated in the past repeatedly. It will continue until you finally do it.
This leads to duplication of effort
Sometimes not fixing 5 bugs can result in you having to set 50. Every experienced developer knows that one minor mistake at the beginning of the code leads to new ones at the end. Then you have to perform long monotonous work to eliminate them.
Possible unreliable metrics
No one is safe from bugs in testing today. The question is, what do you do when you find them. Experienced testers keep particular metrics to determine how the number and quality of errors change depending on various factors. If changes are not made in time to eliminate them, then such metrics will fail.
Distract the whole team
Let’s compare the development team to the human body. When one of the systems fails, everyone else begins to feel uncomfortable, and we get sick. The same goes for your team. If one person does not do their job, the whole project cannot get a good result.
It prevents new releases from being released on short notice
To grow your business, you need to offer new products or services to your customers. To implement new modules, you need to ensure that the old ones work correctly.
So, before running any add-on, you need to fix possible problems in advance. In addition, it is necessary to retest to make sure that the work is done correctly. It takes extra time. It is incredibly disappointing when you know that your direct competitor is also trying to offer something similar to the client, and the score in the race for users’ hearts goes not for days but for hours.
This leads to inaccurate estimates
All errors are different. You are unlikely to be able to immediately determine how long it may take to eliminate the error before you start working. Sometimes, it takes specialists weeks to stop a bug he or she hoped to deal with for a few minutes.
Fixing familiar code is more straightforward than fixing unfamiliar code
The human brain can’t keep chunks of code in memory for long, even if you’ve spent months writing it. It will be easier to understand the code during the first week after writing it than in a year. One mistake can lead to a drop in your earnings. The sooner you identify and fix it, the less money you lose.
