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In this article, I’ll introduce you to an invaluable tool for Agile teams: the Gamal Bug Report. Named in honor of Mahmoud Gamal, this method provides a clear visualization of your team’s bug backlog, aiding in quality assessment, prioritization, and addressing technical debt.
Create the Bug report
To utilize the Gamal Bug Report effectively, gather three crucial metrics at the start or end of each sprint:
- Total number of bugs in the backlog.
- Number of new bugs discovered.
- Number of bugs resolved.
then you can make the following chart in Excel:
| Sprints/Iterations | New | Closed | Open | Fluctuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint 10 | 5 | 5 | ||
| (End of Sprint) | 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Sprint 11 | ||||
The numbers in the “New” and “Closed” columns are filled in by the Scrum Master or team members at the end of each sprint, sourced from Jira or any tracking system in use. The first “Open” number represents the total open bug tickets in the backlog. The initial Fluctuation number equals the total “Open” count. The second “Open” number is the average bugs at the sprint’s start and end, while the second Fluctuation number is the sum of bugs at the sprint’s start plus newly-created bugs.
| 1 | Sprints/Iterations (A) | New (B) | Closed (C) | Open (D) | Fluctuation (E) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Sprint 10 | | | 5 (from Jira) | 5 (=D2) |
| 3 | | 1 (from Jira) | 2 (from Jira) | 4.5 (=AVERAGE(D2,(D2+B3-C3))) | 6 (=D2+B3) |
| 4 | Sprint 11 | | | 4 (=D2+B3-C3) | 4 (=D3) |
| 5 | | 1 (from Jira) | 1 (from Jira) | 4 (=AVERAGE(D4,(D4+B5-C5))) | 5 (=D4+B5) |
The following table shows the team’s performance after 8 sprints:
| Sprints/Iterations | New | Closed | Open | Fluctuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint 10 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 2 | 4.5 | 6 | |
| Sprint 11 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | |
| Sprint 12 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 6 | |
| Sprint 13 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1.5 | 4 | |
| Sprint 14 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 9 | 9 | 2 | 11 | |
| Sprint 15 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | |
| Sprint 16 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Sprint 17 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 7 | |
| Sprint 18 | 3 | 3 |
Create a line chart using the following Data:
Why This Bug Report Matters
The Gamal Bug Report goes beyond mere data presentation. It serves as a powerful diagnostic tool, offering insights into various aspects of your team’s performance:
- Quality Assurance: The report highlights trends in bug discovery, indicating potential lapses in QA processes or code quality.
- Technical Debt: By tracking the accumulation of unresolved bugs over time, the report sheds light on your team’s technical debt, enabling proactive measures to address it.
- Prioritization: Armed with data on bug severity and frequency, teams can prioritize tasks effectively, ensuring critical issues are addressed promptly.
Reading the Bug Report
The report’s visualization is intuitive and informative:
- Total Bugs Trend: The dark teal line represents the total number of bugs in the backlog, offering insights into long-term trends and areas for improvement.
- New Bugs Spike: A sudden spike in newly discovered bugs, indicated by the orange line, prompts a closer examination of recent changes or potential process gaps.
- Fluctuation Analysis: Fluctuations in the bug count, particularly with minimal changes in the total count, signal inefficiencies in bug detection or resolution workflows, prompting a review of existing practices.
Conclusion
In the dynamic landscape of Agile project management, transparency is paramount. The Gamal Bug Report serves as a beacon of transparency, empowering teams with actionable insights derived from comprehensive data analysis. By incorporating this method into your workflow, you pave the way for enhanced collaboration, improved decision-making, and ultimately, superior project outcomes.