Author: Mike Saunders

LibreOffice’s QA (Quality Assurance) community helps to identify and fix bugs in the software. Every week, Ilmari Lauhakangas from The Document Foundation (the non-profit entity behind LibreOffice) live-streams bug triaging sessions, so that others can see how he works on bug reports, and ask him questions.

Last week, we talked to Tammy Lawson and “bunk3m” about their experiences with the live streams. Today, let’s hear from two more participants!

First up is Andy Hengst:

I joined a long time ago (a year?) and was probably invited by Ilmari to one of his triage sessions, or to an intro video call meeting with him – I don’t remember. I’m embarrassed to say I have not been active in triaging, but that should change! I feel like I have everything I need. Without live-triage, that would probably not be true. I attend sessions sporadically when my wake-up time matches your “afternoon” sessions. Having worked in IT for decades* but never really seriously using any cool tools like Linux, Git, or virtualization, I found watching Ilmari do bug triage to be a really interesting general learning experience as well.

For someone like me I think a play-by-play of one or two bug triages could have been helpful – more focus on tools and tricks, less on what makes great triage. I took recordings of a few sessions (for personal use!) so this is an idea in my mind to do.

I enjoy the relaxed and focused approach. No politics, no chit chat, just triage. Nothing to get upset about 😄 I don’t know if this is personal style or Good European Work Ethic – stuff just gets done. I used spreadsheets for many years, so another side-benefit of watching Ilmari work is to see features that I generally never use or know about.

*retired, with plans to learn. Sudden lack of structure is a challenge.

Then we talked to sockseight:

I learnt about the streams using the community mailer, and I find the spontaneity in triaging the bugs very enthralling. The highlight: for those bugs which we find it difficult to test, Ilmari is kind enough to accommodate requests for such bug retests. This would be a great learning experience in many ways – different ways to understand the issue, nuances about the product, the next steps for that bug, whom to report about what needs to be looked into, it goes on and on…

Many thanks to Tammy, bunk3m, Andy and sockseight for taking part! Everyone is welcome to join our QA community and help keep LibreOffice rock-solid for all users.

LibreOffice’s QA (Quality Assurance) community helps to identify and fix bugs in the software. Every week, Ilmari Lauhakangas from The Document Foundation (the non-profit entity behind LibreOffice) live-streams bug triaging sessions, so that others can see how he works on bug reports, and ask him questions.

So, what do attendees think of the sessions so far? We asked some regulars – here’s what they said. First is Tammy Lawson:

I heard about the bug triaging streams after I signed up for the QA mailing list. They are an hour long, which is great, and I now understand how to take a ticket, read it, test it, research it, and triage it. I have learned different techniques on how to work with testing. It has helped in a way that I can understand how to work with a ticket. Also, I like how documentation has been provided about how to work with tickets. In addition, I like that there is an IRC chat channel to ask questions.

Next, bunk3m said:

I’ve been involved in bug reporting in open source software for some time. Until recently, I wasn’t doing more than reporting and some function testing.

Earlier this year, Ilmari asked me to bisect one of the bugs I reported. I had no idea what to do but he offered to help me learn. He spent some time giving me some direct guidance and also invited me to join the live streams to see how he and others test and verify bugs. It has been fascinating to see and learn. I feel good that I’ve been able to support an open source project that I think is valuable for everyone.

I’m a business person so I didn’t know much about testing software. I’ve never been involved at this level of detail and now have an overview and appreciation of how software is built and tested. I’ve also learned to use Git for testing purposes. I have a personal goal in 2023 to learn more about software testing and use of git so I’m excited to be helping make LibreOffice a better product while I learned a new skill.

There are many people involved in the testing. Volunteers and those working for the Document Foundation like Ilmari, Xisco and Stéphane, are very helpful and patient with my limited knowledge. They are eager to help me learn so I can be more productive. They are willing to spend some time to explain the how and why. I feel this has helped me to be able to contribute to the project.

Many thanks to Tammy and bunk3m for their contributions! Stay tuned for more feedback from the bug triaging streams soon. And in the meantime, you can join the streams – check the mailing list to see when the next one is taking place!