How much does one bug cost

[#1]

Some sources report that software quality issues may have cost the U.S. economy $2.41 trillion in 2022. Wow. The amount is impressive. Software quality is something that every development company fights for. The user evaluates it all and votes. They vote with their wallet and trust. Therefore, it cannot be neglected. Have you ever estimated the cost of bugs for your company? You can calculate the cost of a bug in general - the application crashed, and accordingly, the client unsubscribed or downloaded the trial version. But it is better to break the big picture of software quality into small fragments, estimate how much each bug costs, and understand the cost of your development's "pain" points.

How to calculate the cost of one bug in Jira?

Cost Tracker for Jira Cloud is a great application that can be implemented in your Jira to keep track of the cost of a task using the issue widget.

After installing the app and setting up all the necessary permissions to view the information (for more details, see the Manage Access documentation), you can track how much it costs for the company to fix a bug.

The cost is based on the simple expression worklogs*hour rate of the issue assignee. Beforehand, you need to set hourly rates for your teammates.

How to make a cost report and calculate the cost of bugs in a project?

So now that we've figured out how to get and track the cost of a bug in the middle of a task let's determine how much bugs cost us, for example, in the particular project. 

1. First, create a Jira filter by task. Select the type of issue - bug and set other necessary parameters - project, issue, time period, etc. Give it a name and save the filter.
2. Next, in Cost Tracker, go to the Cost Reports tab and click the Generate Reports button. Select the newly created filter, then fill in the necessary parameters, and that's it - you get a report on the cost of bugs within the entire project.

It doesn't matter which app you use for time logging - built-in from Jira, Clockwork, etc. The app even works with Tempo Logs, so integrating Cost Tracker into your Jira is simple and hassle-free (to set up their display in cost reports, use the instructions - Get Tempo Worklogs).

Similarly, by analogy, you can make reports and calculate their costs within a single development version, within a sprint, etc.

Takeaway

In today's realities, everything must be counted, and the costs must be understood objectively. And what if there are a lot of bugs, and it costs you a fortune? Maybe then it's time to revise the development processes or take a closer look and reorganize the work of the development department. Many conclusions can be drawn. And only in-depth analyzes can give results. People don't make mistakes only where they don't work. They make money when the process of cost tracking is transparent, simple, and informative. For you, we offer a 30-day trial for Cost Tracker for Jira Cloud so that you can get to know it better. Good luck and profits!