Bugs, we guess this is one-word software developers just hate listening to, as this word is frequent throughout the software development cycle.

It’s next to impossible to make software without zero bugs, but one can definitely reduce the number of bugs and prevent them from occurring in the software.

In this article, we have jotted down some of the reasons that cause bugs in the software in the first place and bug prevention techniques one needs to follow to make software as bug-free as possible. 

Bugs detection is a much costlier prospect, so preventing it in the first place is vital. So if you are a tester or software developer, this article is a must-read for you; read it carefully, take note of some crucial points, and meet you at the conclusion.

Bugs in Software: Causes & Expert Tips to Prevent Them

In this article, we’re going to cover all the major causes of bugs and some tips from experts to prevent them.

What Causes Bugs In Software?

#01 Regression/Injection

A regression/injection is known to have occurred when a new code change has an unfavorable impact on existing code, such as a side effect. This means that the software was working as expected before the new code change, but a bug was introduced after the new code change.

Bugs due to Regression are caused when teams are working on large and complex legacy product codebases or when teams are unaware of how the modules they are working on may interact with one another. Sometimes product design is not clean, which results in bugs.

Regression/injection causes a severe issue to the quality of the software and needs to be addressed and kept in mind while developing the software.

#02 Communication Gap

No matter how much we automate, and develop frameworks, miscommunication cannot be eradicated from any organization.

Miscommunication results from a lack of organized communication. This is frequently the primary cause of software bugs after development. 

Bugs can occur due to misunderstandings about the project and its requirements. 

They can also be caused by a lack of communication, either about the project requirements or between team members who are collaborating, resulting in issues when attempting to integrate their code.

Bugs can occur due to engineers’ guesswork if the customer is unclear about what they want the project to accomplish. 

Changing the requirements during the coding process is also an excellent way to introduce bugs, as is adding features to existing code when the working developer or team is unfamiliar with it.

In many cases, the customer may be unsure how the product should ultimately function. 

This is especially true when developing software for a completely new product. Unfortunately, such situations frequently result in misunderstandings on both sides.

#03 Inadequate Testing

If the software was not thoroughly tested during its development cycle, there is a greater chance that bugs went undetected in the product. However, end-users eventually discovered these bugs, raising concerns about the product’s quality.

This lapse in testing could be caused by several factors, including:

1. a lack of appropriate testing procedures for the product.
2. An Inadequate number of experienced testers on the team.
3. Inadequate testing time and resources.

These bugs can undoubtedly be avoided from reaching end users by addressing the factors contributing to inadequate testing.

No tester wants to accept it, but let’s face it: poor testing happens in all organizations. However, there may be flaws in the testing procedure that is used. Lack of testing seriousness, scarcity of skilled testing, the testing activity carried out with little regard, etc. 

Although with TestGrid, you can automate testing and solve the bugs issue.

#04 Improper Planning

A simple lack of planning on the team’s end before development is the most likely cause of an absent specification bug. 

Such planning flaws can manifest as inadequate specification documentation, insufficient requirements, underperforming operations infrastructure, poorly written code, or a variety of other potential pitfalls.

#05 Messy Code

Sometimes errors are slipped into the code due to simply lousy coding. Bad coding practices such as inefficient or missing error/exception handling and lack of proper validations (datatypes, field ranges, boundary conditions, memory overflows, etc.) may lead to the introduction of errors in the code. 

In addition to this, some programmers might be working with poor tools, faulty compilers, debuggers, profilers, validators, etc., making it almost inevitable to invite errors and difficult to debug them!

11 Expert Tips to Prevent Software Bugs

#01 Behaviour Driven Development (BDD)

BDD or behavior-driven development is a software development methodology that combines test-driven development and domain-driven design practices. 

BDD aims to simplify development by utilizing a common domain-specific language (DSL) to convert natural language sentences and phrases into executable tests.

In many cases, BDD implementation begins at the broadest levels of expertise and progresses to the deepest, most fundamental levels of understanding. 

By overcoming these barriers, the team gains a better overall understanding of the scenarios and domains to be implemented, resulting in better-designed, more robust software.

This forces and thus improve communication across the team, significantly reducing the possibility of bugs resulting from an incorrect specification document due to a lack of communication.

BDD is one of the great ways for bugs prevention in software.

#02 Clear Communication

Open and transparent communication between teams and team members can be highly beneficial in highlighting missing scenarios in specifications. 

If every team member is encouraged to communicate about use-cases or scenarios that they believe are missing or in conflict with the specification, such issues can be identified much more quickly and early.

Encouraging teams to solicit input from relevant stakeholders and brainstorm for possible expected behaviors in cases of missing/conflicting specifications can aid in the reduction of bugs caused by implementation assumptions.

Professionals in software development should plan when and how to fix software bugs. 

Some people require an immediate solution to avoid further problems, while others can be saved for a later stage.

Your development team should be able to explain how bugs are prioritized to meet your deadlines. Above all, don’t save all the bugs for last. Instead, repair the critical ones as soon as you find them.

Ensuring proper communication is really important for bugs prevention in software.

#03 Test-Driven Development (TDD)

Another fantastic technique for preventing bugs caused by code smell is test-driven development. TDD encourages developers to separate the code base into cleaner, distinct concerns, and frequent code reviews and refactoring. Together, these techniques reduce the frequency of bugs caused by smelly code.

TDD encourages the creation of failing tests for the feature/product before its development. As the feature/development product is completed, the test cases begin to pass, validating the expected behavior of the feature/product.

If tests are created before the feature, the likelihood of a feature reaching its end-users untested is significantly reduced if tests are created before the feature/product. TDD can be a powerful technique for preventing bugs caused by insufficient testing.

TDD is one of the commonly used techniques for bugs prevention in software.

#04 Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT)

Continuous integration is the practice of building and testing code automatically after every single code commits across the entire team.

Implementing continuous integration provides numerous advantages, including determining 

whether pushed changes are compatible with the existing code base or whether issues arise that must be addressed. 

As a result, continuous integration is a powerful technique that can significantly reduce bugs that would otherwise occur due to insufficient testing. 

Instead, it will typically shorten the time between builds, improving overall development and implementation speed and allowing for more testing and quality assurance time.

To achieve CICT for a product, the test automation system must be integrated with the product’s build system.

Having a CICT pipeline for the product ensures that any regressions/injections are detected as soon as they occur. 

This saves a significant amount of time and effort that would otherwise be spent tracking down the changes that resulted in the regression/injection.

Bugs prevention in software with CICT is one of the practices used in the software development industry.

#05 Specification Review And Management

In software development, a specifications document is typically used to define what functions the software should be capable of performing. This documentation is frequently used in conjunction with the requirements document. 

Because the specification defines what functionality the software (or components within said software) should provide, an incorrect specification will inevitably result in preventable bugs within the codebase.

A dedicated effort may be required to review and track the changes in specifications. Early detection of any changes in specifications that may result in a potential conflict can aid in the prevention of bugs later in the product’s implementation.

#06 Review And Inspection

A code review adds more eyes to the software. This usually entails several developers reviewing the lines of code. 

They look for common errors or other potential problems and ensure that the code adheres to the company’s coding standards. 

There will almost certainly be a follow-up review to ensure that the problems were adequately addressed if there are significant concerns. This is especially useful for new developers who are still developing good habits.

Proper code review and inspection help in bugs prevention in software.

#07 Regression Testing

As new releases are developed, testing all new features and bug fixes is critical, as previously stated. However, it is also critical to test all other areas of code that should remain unaffected. 

Because much of the software interacts with other components, unexpected problems can arise. Ideally, a full suite of automated regression tests will be implemented to run a consistent set of tests on each and every software release.

The problem may have been resolved, but another, more serious issue was created in the process, resulting in frustration and more wasted time and effort. Therefore, it is critical to effectively devote sufficient time to resolve any unexpected problems.

With the TestGrid automation testing tool, you can automate regression testing and which helps in bugs prevention in software.

#08 Root Cause Analysis

Root Cause Analysis is a way of determining the underlying causes of an incident. It aids in taking appropriate steps to address the problem. For example, in an ideal world, the software should have no defects and should not fail. 

We can ensure that software has few defects by using effective QA processes. However, we can also ensure that the appropriate techniques are available for determining the root cause of any defect. 

For example, the process of determining Why a problem has occurred in software is known as Root Cause Analysis (RCA).

Root cause analysis is used in many industries so as in the software development world and it ensures bugs prevention in software.

#09 Third-Party Tools Have Their Own Bugs

This is difficult to avoid because you frequently lack control over the code and functionality of a tool designed by someone else. For example, you might be able to tweak an open-source tool, but that takes time and skill away from your own project. 

If you discover that a third-party program or tool is consistently causing bugs in your own code, the best thing you can do is simply avoid using that program or tool.

#10 Fixing Bugs

Testers should be encouraged to report bugs in as clear and timely a manner as possible; this allows developers to circle back and fix errors in the code. 

In addition, all stakeholders should receive comprehensive information about the system’s functionality, performance, usability, and security from testers, with open communication between stakeholders, testers, and developers as the best path forward for dealing with bugs is chosen.

#11 Test Planning

It is not necessary for you and your team to accurately estimate every specific area that could cause a problem in the future. Instead, it would be best if you had a plan to devise a simple procedure by which any team member can begin outlining and documenting a potential problem area well in advance. 

This dramatically increases the likelihood that the team adequately plans for and covers the most troublesome details. 

It encourages everyone working on the project to be open and vocal about things they might anticipate as a problem, rather than relying on a handful of individuals to come up with everything.

Well proper planning is required in all industries but it is very crucial for the software testing industry and is one of the most important ways for bugs prevention in software.

Read also: Easy & Step-By-Step Ways of Finding Bugs in Software

Software Testing with TestGrid

With the TestGrid automation tool, you get tons of features that make the job pretty easy for testers, and anyone with no knowledge of coding can start with software testing using TestGrid.

Some of the features of the TestGrid Automation testing tool are :

The browser and Mobile devices cloud for scalability. Remote access for manual and automation testing.

#01 Cloud Infrastructure: 

Cloud infrastructure is one of the most crucial features any automation testing tool provides. 

With cloud infrastructure, you can run tests from anywhere globally as all the resources required are available on the cloud. As the resources can be accessed anytime from anywhere, it saves ample time and enhance the scalability and result in a faster launch of the software. 

Also, cloud automation testing is cost-effective as you do not need to spend on hardware. With the cloud, automation testing time is also reduced. So you get all these features with the TestGrid automation testing tool.

#02 AI + No Code Automation :

With the TestGrid automation testing tool, anyone with no knowledge can start testing, TestOS is very simple to use, and you do not need coding knowledge to run testing with TestGrid. 

TestGrid automation testing tool is integrated with AI, which automates test cases using simple keywords and to auto-heal and access the code.

#03 Security

TestGrid includes an integrated SAST report because security is a top priority for any application or website. Furthermore, static application security testing (SAST) looks for security flaws in source code that could compromise your application.

As a result, you can determine whether an application or website is security vulnerable or not using an auto-generated SAST report generated with each build execution.

#04 24×7 Support

TestGrid was created with the sole purpose of providing maximum value to our customers.

However, there may be times when you get stuck due to some test cases or an error or issue with a tool not working correctly. Therefore, we are always available to assist you with any TestGrid test automation issues.

TestGrid offers 24×7 Support, saving you valuable time that you would have otherwise spent waiting for a solution in a community or for the testers to figure out.

#05 Native Mobile Support

TestGrid automation testing tool supports scriptless automation test cases for Mobile. Generates XCUITest, Appium, and Espresso Code. Browser-based test case execution on real physical devices.

#06 Robotic Automation

Robotic Arms is built on open source components that help automate POS devices and OTT devices. Etc.

#07 Parallel Test Execution

You get parallel testing with the TestGrid automation testing tool, which allows you to test multiple test scenarios on multiple devices simultaneously; this saves a lot of time, and work can even be easily outsourced to different people or computers.

#08 Device Lab 

Enabled offshore model for a client with Mobile Lab set up and created wireless remote device access to work with Zebra device.

#09 Efficiency 

Faster test case development, and API integration testing, saved efforts and manpower.

#10 Reusability 

Faster Test Script Cloning, Better Version Control, reusable scripts, etc. Reduced the efforts on test case maintenance by 70%

#11 Easy migration

Along with TestGrid’s support team, the company quickly migrated its existing test case repository over to a scriptless environment in a span of fewer than 3 months.

#12 Performance Testing

With the TestGrid automation testing tool, you can run script-less UI test cases and re-use them to generate Web, Mobile UI Performance Results, and API Performance Results.

Even scriptless automation testing with voice-enabled devices like Alexa and Google Homes is supported with the TestGrid automation testing tool.

#13 Seamless execution on browser & mobile cloud 

Scale fast and test rapidly with our choice of browsers and real mobile devices hosted in the cloud or on-premise as per your requirements. Also, with the TestGrid automation testing tool, you get the maximum no of test cases in the industry.

We can go on and on with features as the TestGrid automation testing tool is loaded with tons of features that save you time and money and give high-level optimization of resources. 

We at TestGrid provide the best value for money products in the industry. TestGrid is one of the best for software automation testing and is loaded with tons of features.

Know more: 5 Professional Ways to Deal With Missed Bugs Effectively

Conclusion

We hope this article was helpful for you in understanding why bugs take place in the software in the first place. 

Though a bit of a philosophical analogy but accurate as well, the software is like life. 

Like in life, we make a mistake and get hurdles in life in the same way in software case bugs comes in the software, but it’s essential to understand both in life and software why bugs occur in the first place and how one should prevent them, 

We hope this article answered both of your questions. Still, it would be best if you had someone to deal with and fix the bugs in your life. 

However, in the case of software, TestGrid is a comprehensive solution to conduct automation testing and detect bugs for you. In addition, it provides the best values and solutions for software testing in the industry.

Click here to try the TestGrid Automation testing tool now.