Dr. Dobb's | 'Bug Battle' Testing Contest Results Are In

'Bug Battle' Testing Contest Results Are In

Contest had software testers from around the globe evaluate Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox for flaws

December 11, 2008
URL:http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/bug-battle-testing-contest-results-are-i/212400353

uTest, a company that provides application testing services via its global community of professional software testers, has announced the results of its recent "Battle of the Browsers" contest. In all, 1,331 uTesters -- 78 percent of whom specified "software tester" as their profession -- from 68 countries competed to see who could find bugs in Internet Explorer 8 (IE), Firefox 3.1 beta, and Google Chrome.

Over the course of a week in November, a total of 672 bugs were found. The uTest community identified 101 of those bugs as "showstoppers" -- flaws in need of immediate attention. The final Bug Battle results included:

356 uTesters evaluated Internet Explorer 8 and identified 168 bugs, including 9 percent that were classified as showstoppers.
514 uTesters evaluated Firefox 3.1 beta and identified 207 bugs, including 24 percent that were classified as showstoppers.
461 uTesters evaluated Chrome and identified 297 bugs, including 12 percent that were classified as showstoppers.

The overall winner of the uTest Bug Battle -- and recipient of $1,000 in prize money from uTest -- was Prashanti Gummi of India, who reported the most valuable bugs and provided the best testing feedback, according to the uTest judges.

"During this first Bug Battle, the uTest community discovered one bug every 15 minutes in the three leading browsers; the good news, however, is the fact that no 'showstopper' security flaws were found," said uTest's Doron Reuveni.

uTest will hold the Bug Battle on a quarterly basis, evaluating different applications or popular Web sites each time. The company will solicit recommendations for future Bug Battle subjects on its Web site.