How do you balance your dev time between debugging existing issues and new feature dev?

Question

Bhargava M N N · Accepted Answer

Intersting topic to discuss Manisha. Usually during our initial stages of testing (say in Beta) time taken to fix the issues reported is lesser as the issue reproduction & fix is straight forward. As the product starts maturing and our customers starts using the product, then we start seeing issues which are hard to replicate internally and becomes tricky. Here we spend lots of time to fix such tricky issues. Some issues takes days to understand why it happend. Looking at zipy now, i feel we shall start getting precise and useful information from zipy and tricky issues would be less tricker to resolve :)

Answer

I know how issues can impact project plans? I have spent lot of time in reproducing and debugging issues. It takes a lot of time and energy too. With Zipy I am sure we will be able to get the critical scenario information and it will save lot of time of developers :)

Allison · Answer

We dedicate specific days to fixing bugs - squashing small bugs saturdays and the occasional fixing fat bugs fridays 😂.

Konstantin · Answer

This is a very interesting question. In our team we take the approach of "sprints", where we work on brainstorming, preparing and actually creating new features. Then between every "sprint" there is a period (that can vary in its duration), when we patch the holes and work on correcting the existing issues. Of course it also involves prioritisation - how urgently does a current issue need to be resolved? Does it interfere with the main idea of the project? How important is the feature that isn't working correctly? Sometimes you need to correct an issue urgently before proceeding to create new ones, but if an issue is not pressing, I think it is important to allow yourself room to create new things and not only focus on correcting the existing issues, because something will never be entirely perfect. In this case, it is important to not pressure yourself with perfectionism in order to have room to grow in multiple directions.

Manisha Malla · Answer

@allison_mui Dedicating certain days a week for bug fixing does seem like a good idea.

Maciej Cupial · Answer

Fix for existing issues has to go first. I can't build anything new if the old features don't work.

Anchal Rastogi · Answer

@allison_mui This is a good way to keep the team focussed through the week. Except when some priority customer issues suddenly surface midweek. BTW,  I like 'fat bugs fri-days' :)

Manisha Malla · Answer

@bhargavamnn Absolutely. Bugs get trickier to solve as the product matures.

Keven Zhang · Answer

I found this post very interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing your special thoughts with us. I definitely share this with my peeps.

Grayson Leo · Answer

Great question. Normally I start my day with the development of new project. When I complete 50% of the new project I switch to the debugging mode like now I will do fixation of https://prourdu.pk/hesco-bill-online-duplicate/ . When it is fixed then again I will start the remaining 50% of the new project. So this schedule is quite good for me.

Harshbargerson Philips · Answer

That's a great question! I typically begin my day by focusing on the development of a new project. Once I complete 50% of the work, I switch gears to debug and resolve issues on other projects, like fixing a https://probottleneckcalculator..... After addressing those tasks, I return to complete the remaining 50% of the new project. This approach keeps me organized and productive.

Manisha Malla · Answer

@rahul_kumar_pandey True. It's always tough to prioritize between the two.

Manisha Malla · Answer

@nidhi_jindal1 Yes, some bugs are very difficult to reproduce. Finding the relevant information about them is what becomes critical.

Manisha Malla · Answer

@maciej_cupial Absolutely, especially for the P0s. The trickier ones to prioritize over new features are the smaller ones - which then keep piling up over time.

How do you balance your dev time between debugging existing issues and new feature dev?

Replies