Issue Management is a process of identifying, reporting and resolving all such issues and bugs that may otherwise impair the progress of a project.
The process of managing issues, however, is not always a smooth ride. You have to ensure each issue is adequately reported on time, prioritized, logged into the database and appointed to a suitable person who has the optimum set of skills to fix it. Which is why Project Managers employ the help of an issue management software.
Here is our list of best issue management software tools that are on the rise in 2018:
Created way back in 1998 by the Mozilla Foundation, Bugzilla is practically the Godzilla of Issue tracking software. It is one of the most powerful platforms that help developers and teams alike, in bug tracking as well as project management. Bugzilla is a web-based tool whose expertise lies mainly in issue tracking and reporting. Even after decades, Bugzilla has not lost its charm, owing to its unparalleled features like advanced search capabilities and report charts that are automatically generated for scheduled reporting.
Key Features:
- Provides a display of complete bug/issue change history
- Enables users to attach and manage multiple issue related files on a given task
- Allows issues and bugs to be grouped into filters using various parameters.
- Provides a graphical representation of reports for a comprehensive analysis
- Contains email notifications that can be configured whenever there is a change in an issue
- Enables efficient time tracking of Issues and bugs
- Allows users to Save & Share Searches
Drawbacks:
- Limited ability to customize workflow and dashboard
- Limited visibility due to lack of scrum and Kanban boards
- Not a cloud-based server. Only a web-based server
Pricing:
- Open Source Tool. Completely Free!
Built for Agile teams and Agile management, Jira is a leading issue management software, that has acquired more than 75000 users across the globe. Jira’s extensive set of features allows teams of all sizes and nature to report, manage and track issues anywhere in a project’s lifecycle. It is because of this extensibility, that Jira renders itself ideal not just for the software development industry, but teams from all sorts of industries working to manage issues in their line of work.
Key Features
- Agile Issue tracking and reporting, to help add iterative value to the process of issue management
- Agile time tracking, that allows real-time insight to a team’s work and their performance on a sprint-to-sprint basis
- Maximum visibility with the help of Kanban boards and scrum boards that can be customized as per user convenience.
- Allows efficient transitioning and prioritization of issues via drag and drop feature across Kanban boards
- Robust APIs that facilitate numerous integrations with neighboring platforms and browsers.
- Provides unlimited bug fields with powerful advanced search and filters
Drawbacks
- Complex user-interface that complicates usability and often results in a long learning curve for teams
- The pricing plan is suitable for medium to large enterprises as opposed to small organizations
- Requires extensive configuration that makes it hard for users to make changes to workflows
Pricing
- Up to 10 Users – $10 monthly
- From 11-100 users – $7 per user/month
nTask is an online project management tool designed to streamline team collaboration within a single platform. It was created to simplify issue management with easy-to-maneuver features such as issue updates, issue assignees and change in issue status and priority.
In addition to Issue Management, nTask is an all-in-one tool that facilitates all necessary aspects of project management that include but are not limited to, meeting management, team management, and time management.
Key Features
- Easy to understand dashboard with issues assembled in a List view.
- A collection of filters to group and manage issues based on user preference
- Ability to link captured issues to relevant project or task.
- Allows users to define a status, priority and severity level for each issue
- Enables issue customization, so users can appoint and change the title of the issue, add details and attachments of any size and type.
- Assign multiple issues to multiple members for adequate issue tracking
- In-app notifications that arrive individually on each issue-pop up for immediate recognition
Drawbacks
- No integrations with neighboring tools and browsers.
- No Kanban or scrum boards for customizable visibility
- Issues can’t be deleted. They can only be switched to a ‘Closed’ status.
Pricing
- Free Plan – up to 10 members. 200 MB Storage
- $2.99 per user/month – unlimited access to all features.
Backlog is everything you need for a development workflow. In addition to effortless issue tracking, it enables teams to track and manage tasks as well as projects. Tasks can be divided into sub-tasks, that can then be assigned to one or more team members. With Backlog, teams can flawlessly manage end-to-end development of their product by assigning suitable members to capture issues and work on resolving them as early as possible.
Key Features
- Easy and systemic documentation of issues with parameters such as title, description, and attachments that help define a bug for quick assessment
- Facilitates Issue prioritization and issue assigning. Based on the level of urgency, teams can streamline their workload, change due dates for issues and stay in sync with which issues needs immediate attention
- Targeted notifications and issue-specific commenting allow the right people to stay informed on instant alerts and changes made to the issues created.
- Git branch view, that facilitates issue updates, fix-releases, and pulls requests all on a single chart.
- Multiple integrations with a variety of other tools
- Drag and Drop feature for smooth accessibility
Drawbacks
- Majority of advanced features are only accessible in Paid version
Pricing
- Free plan – up to 10 users. 100 MB online storage
- $20/month – up to 30 users. 1 GB storage
ReQtest is another cloud-based project management tool that is exemplary for quick and easy issue management. Although ReQtest is essentially a testing software designed to assist teams in overcoming testing obstacles, it is equally adept in facilitating project management as well as issue management. ReQtest is particularly popular among both small and big businesses for its ease of installation and configuration.
Key Features
- Contains Agile Boards that provide efficient visibility of tasks and issues alike
- Enables fast & easy searching, filtering, and categorization of bugs and issues during project management
- Generates issue reports in form of charts for a more comprehensive analysis
- Contains filters to help users quickly locate issues without wasting any time
- Allows users to visualize a preview of issues without having to click on them separately
- Single-view of all issues without the hassle of switching between boards
- Drag & Drop feature to assist easy navigation
- Capture images and videos of bugs while tracking each issue
Drawbacks
- Limited integrations.
- The pricing plan is too costly for small businesses
Pricing
- Up to 50 users – $45 per user/month
- Up to 50-100 users – $12 per user/month
DoneDone is without a doubt, the simplest issue management software available on the market. As implied by the name of the tool, Done Done aims to assist all sorts of teams, be it marketing teams or software teams in getting things done! This includes tracking of issues to be specific. It provides a central hub where teams can log issues and manage them in the seamless possible way imaginable.
Key features
- A simplified workflow that allows users to quickly familiarize with the tool and manage their way around
- Flexible views, that allow users to visualize issues logged on a daily basis, as well as on a larger scale in the form of lists
- Provides real-time in-app notifications that keep you updated on your browser, so you don’t have to constantly refer back to the app for update alerts
- Divide issues into groups of testers, priority, status, and project.
- Release Build feature allows users to coordinate issue testing and issue reporting with relevant issue assignees
- Integrations with useful apps such as Slack, GitHub, Beanstalk, and Bitbucket.
Drawbacks
- No free version available. Basic Plan too costly
Pricing
- Starter Plan – Up to 15 users. 10 GB storage. $39/ month.
- Pro Plan – Up to 50 users. 25 GB storage. $49/month
Issues in any project are as inevitable as a bump on a 100-mile road trip. With a solid issue management software, project managers and their teams alike can salvage a project’s lifeline from unforeseen hiccups that can dismantle the entire foundation of a project later down the road.
Likewise, Issues that are tracked on time can be obstructed from turning into bigger more precarious risks.