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I'm learning about the open source web based project management tool Trac and I'm a bit confused about its role in the area of reporting defects vs bug tracking.

For those unfamiliar with Trac itself, it has a Ticket system which is the tool used to report issues, and you can choose between reporting a task, an enhancement, or a defect. It's that last option that I'm confused about.

I get the impression that Trac is not meant to be a bug tracking tool, but if that's the case then what is the defect field for? I looked at the way the Trac team uses their own system, and it does look like they post some things that appear to be bugs, but for the most part it's other kinds of issues, and that actually blurries the distinction for me even further.

Can someone explain to me how the "defect" option is to be used? Is defect==bug? Should tickets be opened for bugs?

EpsilonVector
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2 Answers2

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I use it to track features and tasks in addition of defects.

I use the Defect option when the item I'm adding is a defect.

(I'm using Task option when it's a task, and Enhancement when it's a feature)

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Trac is a tool to keep track of things, assign them to people, and report on progress through state and comments.

Software development shops often have QA keep track of all the problems they've encountered (defects) and assign them to developers to fix.

Enhancments and other incidentals can also be kept track of as well, but they are not necessarily defects.

Classifying what you're doing in this manner allows the people doing metrics to sort out what's broken, what's new, and where the additional time went when work was being done that didn't fall into either category.

Walt Stoneburner
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