Re: What do you want me to do?

Tom Lane wrote:

>Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net> writes:
>  
>
>>I don't think we need decicated bug transferrers.  Typically, when someone
>>reports a problem by email, the first step is that some developer or other
>>expert responds (unless the reporter gets blown away by fellow users as
>>clueless :-)).  So the natural extension of this process would be that the
>>person doing the analysis records the problem.
>>    
>>
>
>Yeah, that sounds like it would work.
>
>I still think it would be a good idea to have one or two people actively
>in charge of the overall health of the bug repository --- cross-linking
>duplicate bugs, making sure fixed bugs get closed out, in general
>correcting misinformation when they find it.  This wouldn't be a large
>time commitment AFAICS, but without somebody applying pressure in the
>right direction I think that the general quality of information in
>the database would inevitably slide downhill.
>
>  
>

You have described a good part of my professional life in the last 3 
years ;-) I had a meeting every morning with product/project management 
to review/triage bugs and in turn I would spend hours asking my staff 
"What is happening with bug xyz?". I lived off the bug system (bugzilla 
and/or ClearQuest). Getting developers used to it is still a hassle - I 
once had to send out an email that said in effect "if you aren't working 
on a defect assigned to you then you aren't doing your job."

In a volunteer project things work somewhat differently, of course, but 
the housekeeping functions are still essential.

cheers

andrew