Bug Swatting
As with the launch of any new system, no matter how much it is tested beforehand, once it goes live bugs are inevitable. This indeed was the case with KHIS 2.0, although the majority have been minor. Several mechanisms were used to record bugs:
- Automatic error logging
KHIS 2.0 automatically logs errors and emails the system administrator whenever a problem occurs. This enables problems to be actively tackled and there have been several occasions where bugs have been fixed and reported back to the user within an hour of the problem occurring!
- Bug reporting system
The open source TRAC bug reporting system is used to allow users to lodge tickets. Often problems don’t result in an actual error message; instead there could be an anomaly with missing data, or a user might want to request an additional system feature. TRAC allows such things to be recorded, with the progress of tickets being tracked and reported back to the users.
- Monthly KHIS Champions meeting
Once a month, nominated representatives from our five partner universities (Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside) meet with the KHIS development team to discuss problems and ongoing development work. This forum has proved to be an excellent way of identifying problems, eliciting feedback and educating the users about how to use the new system. There have been instances in the meeting where someone has reporting what they perceived to be a problem, only for another user to intervene and explain how to resolve it.
By actively involving the users in this forum, their trust in the new system has steadily increased.
