Defect documentation tool company QASymphony has announced a free version of its qTrace tool for testers and software developers. The product aims to save time during the reproducing and reporting of found defects during the software testing process.
The rationale for a more automated tool to serve this developer duty is that while simple defects are easy to replicate, complex or intermittent defects require a lot more effort by testers to document and report.
After what is claimed to be "less than five minutes", a user can have qTrace running and integrated with their defect tracking system. In terms of operation, qTrace is not a screen or video capture tool but is instead an intelligent capture technology similar to those found in sophisticated test automation tools.
qTrace being used online to test LinkedIn
After deployment, qTrace tracks users' interactions with an application and uses that information to automatically create detailed defect documentation. Its makers say that qTrace supports the recording of a "wide range of applications and technologies" on the browser, as well as desktop apps.
"Software development testers are frustrated by the amount of effort it takes to communicate complex defects clearly to the development team," says Vu Lam, CEO of QASymphony. "qTrace is an elegant solution that makes it simple for testers to isolate, highlight, and report software issues. It intelligently produces defect reports that contain detailed scripts of each test step, complete with screen shots and system information."
Useful editing features include annotation tools such as call-out boxes, pointers/arrows, blurring, and cropping, making it easy to further enhance the clarity of the defect report. qTrace expedites the QA process with more accuracy and (so say its makers) brings products to market by as much as 20% faster and cuts everyday defect reporting by 70%.
