2018-11-05, 11:44
I've been following the new GitHub Issues feature the team have been using and it is a fantastic improvement. Already some great fixes produced and bugs identified. I also see Microsoft announced they are working with GitHub to prioritise new features for this as well so hopefully some improvements on the way in terms of filtering, search and templates soon.
Anyway I also see developers replying to first line support requests(not an easy job), so here is some advice from someone who has worked in 1st line support for many years...
- Always thank the user for taking the time to report a problem. You would be amazed how far this goes to getting good bug reports.
- Politely advise them if they have not completed the bug reporting template to satisfaction. Using the wording "please", "if possible" is what I mean by being polite.
- Assign an owner to the report as soon as possible, even if they are going to close it or cant help. Ownership is important for quickly resolving things and good organisation.
- Use category tags for reports even if invalid.
- If you close a request tell the submitter why and crucially ask them to fix the missing information if that is what is required.
- Arguing or flaming reporters is utterly pointless, guide them in the direction or don't reply at all. If they are rude (and some will surely be) don't be rude back.
- Its always worth remembering that users who make it past the GitHub barrier probably don't use it, and we all started somewhere once so worth giving them a helping hand.
- Celebrate fixes!
Hopefully this makes the process a friendly and effective place to fix bugs and issues.
Anyway I also see developers replying to first line support requests(not an easy job), so here is some advice from someone who has worked in 1st line support for many years...
- Always thank the user for taking the time to report a problem. You would be amazed how far this goes to getting good bug reports.
- Politely advise them if they have not completed the bug reporting template to satisfaction. Using the wording "please", "if possible" is what I mean by being polite.
- Assign an owner to the report as soon as possible, even if they are going to close it or cant help. Ownership is important for quickly resolving things and good organisation.
- Use category tags for reports even if invalid.
- If you close a request tell the submitter why and crucially ask them to fix the missing information if that is what is required.
- Arguing or flaming reporters is utterly pointless, guide them in the direction or don't reply at all. If they are rude (and some will surely be) don't be rude back.
- Its always worth remembering that users who make it past the GitHub barrier probably don't use it, and we all started somewhere once so worth giving them a helping hand.
- Celebrate fixes!
Hopefully this makes the process a friendly and effective place to fix bugs and issues.
