CSDV3017 · DEVOPS · SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, UPES

Issue Tracking Tools & Software Bugs Classification

Lecture 17 — kicking off our final Unit by examining how modern teams track, classify, and resolve bugs using tools like Jira, Bugzilla, and GitLab Tracker to maintain DevOps velocity.

InstructorDr. Mohsin Furkh Dar

SessionWeek 6 · Tue, 14 Jul 2026

Time12:00 – 13:00

UnitUnit VII

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II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

WELCOME TO UNIT VII

Agenda: Issue Tracking

Unit VI Recap

Testing & Builds

Shift-Left testing and the Testing Pyramid.
Build tools (Maven, npm) and Artifact generation.
Automated vs Manual Deployments.
Selenium, Cypress, and the IBM Case Study.

Lecture 17 · Today

Bugs & Tracking

What is a software bug? (Types and classifications).
Severity vs. Priority.
The Bug Life Cycle (Status transitions).
Issue Tracking Tools: Bugzilla, GitLab Tracker, Jira.

SOFTWARE DEFECTS

What exactly is a "Bug"?

Definition

A failure to meet specifications

A software bug is an error, flaw, or fault in a computer program that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result, or to behave in unintended ways. In DevOps, bugs are treated as unplanned work that disrupts the flow of value to the customer.

Error

Human Mistake

A mistake made by a developer (e.g., a typo, misunderstanding a requirement, or incorrect logic).

Defect (Bug)

The Code Flaw

The manifestation of the human error in the code. It is found during testing (Verification).

Failure

The Consequence

When the software fails to perform its required function in production for the user.

CLASSIFICATION

Common types of software errors

Type of Bug	Description	Example
Functional / Logic	The feature does not behave as specified in the business requirements.	Clicking "Add to Cart" subtracts an item instead of adding it.
Syntax	Incorrect use of the programming language grammar.	Missing a semicolon or unmatched parenthesis.
Runtime	Errors that occur while the program is executing, often causing crashes.	NullPointerException, OutOfMemoryError, Division by Zero.
Integration	Individual components work fine, but fail when connected.	API payload format changed, causing the front-end to crash.
Security	Vulnerabilities that allow unauthorized access or data breaches.	SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

TRIAGE CONCEPTS

Severity vs. Priority

When a bug is logged in an issue tracker, two distinct metrics are assigned to it. Mixing these up is a common mistake.

Severity

How bad is the technical impact?

Defined by QA or the Developer.
Measures the degree of impact on the system.
Levels: Blocker, Critical, Major, Minor, Trivial.
Example: An obscure edge case crashes the database (High Severity).

Priority

How urgently must we fix it?

Defined by the Product Manager or Business Owner.
Measures business impact and scheduling.
Levels: P1 (Immediate), P2, P3, P4 (Backlog).
Example: The company logo on the homepage is misspelled (Low Severity, but High Priority).

WORKFLOW

The typical Bug Life Cycle

New

→

Assigned

→

In Progress

→

Fixed (Dev)

→

Ready for QA

→

Testing

→

Closed

Happy Path

Straight to Closed

The tester finds a bug (New). The PM assigns it to a dev (Assigned). Dev fixes it (Fixed). QA tests the fix (Testing) and verifies it works (Closed).

Alternate States

When things go wrong

Reopened: QA tests the fix, but the bug is still there.
Duplicate: Someone else already logged this exact bug.
Deferred: Valid bug, but we won't fix it until the next major release (low priority).
Rejected: "Works as designed" (It's a feature, not a bug).

THE ECOSYSTEM

Why we need Issue Trackers

"If a bug isn't in the tracking system, it doesn't exist." — Golden Rule of QA

The Purpose

Centralized Source of Truth

Issue tracking tools provide a centralized database that records, reports, and manages the lifecycle of bugs and feature requests. In DevOps, these tools integrate directly with CI/CD pipelines — for example, a commit message like git commit -m "Fixes PROJ-123" will automatically close the bug ticket in the tracker when merged.

TOOL #1

Bugzilla

Overview

The Grandfather of Trackers

Created by the Mozilla Foundation in 1998.
Open-source, free, and written in Perl.
Used by major open-source projects (Linux Kernel, Apache, Mozilla).

Pros & Cons

Should you use it?

Pros: Extremely stable, highly customizable workflows, handles massive databases easily.
Cons: The UI feels like it's from the 1990s (because it is). Lacks modern Agile/Scrum board features.

TOOL #2

GitLab Issue Tracker

Overview

The "All-in-One" Approach

Built directly into GitLab alongside the code repository and CI/CD pipelines.
Tightly coupled with Merge Requests (MRs).
Modern UI with Kanban/Scrum boards.

Pros & Cons

Should you use it?

Pros: Zero context switching. You view the bug, the code fix, and the CI pipeline results on the same screen.
Cons: If your company doesn't use GitLab for hosting code, the issue tracker is practically useless.

TOOL #3

Atlassian Jira

Overview

The Enterprise Standard

Developed by Atlassian; originally a bug tracker, now a full Agile project management suite.
Supports Scrum, Kanban, Epics, User Stories, and Bugs.
Integrates with thousands of tools (GitHub, Jenkins, Slack).

Pros & Cons

Should you use it?

Pros: Incredibly powerful, industry standard (knowing Jira is a resume skill), highly customizable dashboards.
Cons: Expensive. Can become overly complex and sluggish if administrators create too many custom rules and required fields.

WRAP-UP

Summary & what's next

Lecture 17 · Key Takeaways

What you should remember

Bugs vs Errors: A bug (defect) is the code flaw caused by a human error, which results in a system failure.
Severity vs Priority: Severity = technical impact. Priority = business urgency.
Bug Lifecycle: New → Assigned → In Progress → Fixed → Testing → Closed (or Reopened/Deferred).
Tools: Bugzilla (legacy OSS), GitLab Tracker (tightly integrated with code), Jira (the enterprise Agile standard).

Next Lecture · Lecture 18

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 · 14:00–15:00 · Unit VII

Open-source issue trackers; Workflow configuration; DevOps with emerging tech (Big Data & IoT) — and our Course Wrap-up!

Prep for next class

The Final Lecture

Bring your questions. We will discuss how DevOps extends beyond web apps into IoT and Big Data ecosystems, and review the entire course.