Software Review
For BugAware
Category: Project Management
In a world where customizable often rhymes with confusing and complex, BugAware is a shining light of simplicity: from its interface to its basic, no-nonsense forms, this system is built for people who don't have time to waste.

BugAware is an issue-tracking software, available online or directly on your corporate Intranet. It is a simple form-based system where logged users and even anonymous users can fill in trouble reports. We especially liked the trouble ticket forms, the ease of configuration and external access.

Bug reports in BugAware are called Tasks. They are a simple, easy-to-fill-out form that gets the basic facts such a problem description and user assignment. However, they can be customized to include more fields. A nifty feature is the assign/reassign feature, where the task creator can assign it to a user, who in turn can pass it on to someone else. Task severity uses a simple yet effective color-coding that makes it very easy to single out the most important problems.

Tracking can be enabled on tasks, in which case a change history appears at the bottom of the task. This is especially useful for teams. BugAware's search feature is quite powerful, and permits searching on any of the task parameters. We found it ingenious that search results can be exported to csv format, a clever way to create reports.

External access is another very clever feature. It permits creating an anonymous URL where external users (for example, beta testers) can enter their problems without having to log in to the system. The external access form can be customized to assign all tasks to a specific user, for example tier 1 support.

The rest of BugAware's configuration follows this simple setup. It really seem like the designers behind this system have spent the time to make it as simple as possible to make the system just right for one's workflow! The configuration section lets system administrators change just about everything in the task forms, from the terminology to the appearance of severity levels.

In BugAware administrators create components, which are like projects or products. For each component, the task form can be adapted to fit its specifics. In just a few clicks, the new product or component is added and users can enter reports about it.

The configuration section is chockfull of clever attentions, for example user migration. It permits assigning all tasks from one user to another; very useful is someone's role in the team changes.

In conclusion, BugAware is the perfect issue-tracking system for organizations with very little time on their hands for system configuration and customization, and yet want a performing system with a professional look and feel to it.

Go to BugAware's Home Page


Screen Shots for BugAware