1 What’s a bug bash?
This chapter covers
- What a bug bash is and why it matters
- What is a high-level overview of a bug bash
- What you will need before running a bug bash
Imagine a global software company called Bash IT. Their story is one many software companies know all too well, and one I’ll use to illustrate the concept throughout the book. It’s about dealing with… bugs.
A bug
is a software error, defect, or feature that does not function as expected or intended.
Bash IT’s developers know that the software they built contains potential bugs. What they do not know is how many and how to surface them quickly. The product release is just around the corner. The testing team did what they could, but they are a small department with just a few people. Following the embarrassment of the last release, the engineering team recognizes they need to test more. Still, they lack the personnel, budget, and time to do so beyond their previous efforts.
External testers are not an option here. They had tried it in the past, but it was expensive, unpredictable, and ultimately not helpful... In addition, they missed the opportunity to write comprehensive test cases to guide the externals, and they cannot afford the effort required to filter out the noise in public feedback.