Crafting a Jira bug report template doesn’t seem like it should be that much of an issue in 2024. I mean, given the extensive pool of features, the availability of project templates, and customization options across the Atlassian family of products, surely there’s a simple way of creating a template for your bug issue type.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Sure, there are certain workarounds like issue cloning, Automation for Jira, or field customization, but they all come with certain drawbacks and limitations.
This article will explore a simpler way of creating and maintaining bug report templates in Jira. That said, you’ll need two external apps. Both of them are available on the Atlassian marketplace and offer a free trial, so you can try before you buy.
You can explore the options for creating issue templates in Jira (with and without apps) here.
What goes into a bug-tracking report template?
Generally speaking, a bug report template is a piece of documentation that’s designed to offer a standardized approach to documenting and tracking bugs. The issue with having such a template as a standalone document is that QA engineers have to create many bug reports daily.
Sure, there’s not much that goes into this particular template, but even something as simple as writing the phrase “Steps to reproduce” will transform into something along the lines of “ST” or “STR” over time. This means that you are missing out on a major factor that is contributing to standardization – consistency.
Over time, this will lead to poor descriptions, missed steps, and continuous back and forth between the Dev team and QA.
Therefore, creating a bug template once, and reusing it every time when you need to log a bug into Jira is a much better option.
How to create a bug tracking report in Jira with Smart Templates?
Let’s go through the steps of creating a reusable bug report template ?
Step 1: Download Smart Templates from the Atlassian Marketplace
None of the steps I will describe in this article are rocket science, but this one is probably the easiest. You have tofind the Smart Templates app on the Atlassian Marketplace and install it.
Note: You need Jira Admin permissions to install apps from the marketplace. Ask your admin or PM for help during this step.
Step 2: Create a bug template from an issue in Jira.
- Open your Jira board and create a ticket.
- Select the bug issue type.
- Copy and paste the following text into the description field:
