System and method for updating end user error reports using programmer defect logs

• US 7,475,286 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2005
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Newburn, Heath Christopher, Altaf, Naeem, Wiggins, James Daniel, Kumhyr, David Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonzo; Bryce P
• Application Number:
  US11/032,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20060156077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,457 Days
• Field of Search: 714/46, 714/57
• US Class Current: 714/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/245 Query processing

Abstract

A system and method for correlating end user error reports with software developer defect logs to thereby update the end user error reports with information from the developer defect logs. With the system and method, when support personnel open an end user error report to address the problem encountered by the user, the mechanisms of the system and method search a defect report database to determine if there is any defect report related to the same error that is the subject of the opened end user error report. If so, the end user error report is updated to include information from the defect report. This information may include, for example, the identity of the source of the problem generating the error, the identity of the fix or patch that solves the problem generating the error encountered by the end user, if any, and the like.

Claims

1. A method, in a data processing system, for handling end user error reports for a software product, comprising:

opening the end user error report;

responsive to the opening of the end user error report, extracting information from the end user error report to generate an end user error report template containing the information extracted from the end user error report;

extracting information from one or more defect reports to generate one or more defect report templates containing the information extracted from the one or more defect reports, wherein the defect reports each comprise an identification of (i) at least one defect in the software product and (ii) a fix for each respective defect that is identified in the defect report, wherein the fix that is identified is computer code that is operable to correct its respective defect when executed;

comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates;

determining if a defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template; and

updating the end user error report based on a defect report corresponding to a matching defect report template if the defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template, wherein updating the end user error report based on a defect report includes updating the end user error report to include an identifier of a fix or patch that solves a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the identifier being obtained from the defect report.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein updating the end user error report based on a defect report includes updating the end user error report to also include an identifier of a source of a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the identifier being obtained from the defect report, wherein the end user error report is used by support personnel at a support system in handling reported end user errors generated at an end user system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the end user error report that is opened includes information that was automatically accumulated by a computing device prior to the computing device encountering an error for the software product.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by a support system, the end user error report from an end user system;

presenting the updated end user error report via a support personnel workstation at the support system, wherein the end user error report is used by support personnel at the support system in handling reported end user errors generated at the end user system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein extracting information from the end user error report to generate an end user error report template includes:

parsing the end user error report to identify information associated with first tags within the end user error report corresponding to fields in an end user error report template format; and

populating the fields in the end user error report template with information associated with corresponding first tags.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein extracting information from one or more defect reports to generate one or more defect report templates includes:

parsing the one or more defect reports to identify information associated with second tags within the one or more defect reports corresponding to fields in a defect report template format; and

populating fields in one or more defect report templates with information associated with corresponding second tags in the one or more defect reports.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates includes comparing contents of one or more corresponding fields in the end user error report template and the one or more defect report templates and determining if the contents match.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates includes determining a total degree of matching of the one or more corresponding fields based on results of the comparison of contents of the one or more corresponding fields in the end user error report template and the one or more defect report templates.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the updated end user error report in an end user error report database.

10. A computer recordable-type medium encoded with a computer program product that is operable with a data processing system for handling end user error reports for a software product, comprising:

instructions for opening the end user error report;

instructions for extracting, responsive to the instructions for opening of the end user error report, information from the end user error report to generate an end user error report template containing the information extracted from the end user error report;

instructions for extracting information from one or more defect reports to generate one or more defect report templates containing the information extracted from the one or more defect reports, wherein the defect reports each comprise an identification of (i) at least one defect in the software product and (ii) a fix for each respective defect that is identified in the defect report, wherein the fix that is identified is computer code that is operable to correct its respective defect when executed;

instructions for comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates;

instructions for determining if a defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template; and

instructions for updating the end user error report based on a defect report corresponding to a matching defect report template if the defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template, wherein the instructions for updating the end user error report based on a defect report include instructions for updating the end user error report to include an identifier of a fix or patch that solves a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the identifier being obtained from the defect report.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the instructions for updating the end user error report based on a defect report include instructions for updating the end user error report to also include an identifier of a source of a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the identifier being obtained from the defect report, wherein the end user error report is used by support personnel at a support system in handling reported end user errors generated at an end user system.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the end user error report that is opened includes information that was automatically accumulated by a computing device prior to the computing device encountering an error for the software product.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

instructions for receiving, by a support system, the end user error report from an end user system;

instructions for presenting the updated end user error report via a support personnel workstation at the support system, wherein the end user error report is used by support personnel at the support system in handling reported end user errors generated at the end user system.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the instructions for extracting information from the end user error report to generate an end user error report template include:

instructions for parsing the end user error report to identify information associated with first tags within the end user error report corresponding to fields in an end user error report template format; and

instructions for populating the fields in the end user error report template with information associated with corresponding first tags.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for extracting information from one or more defect reports to generate one or more defect report templates include:

instructions for parsing the one or more defect reports to identify information associated with second tags within the one or more defect reports corresponding to fields in a defect report template format; and

instructions for populating fields in one or more defect report templates with information associated with corresponding second tags in the one or more defect reports.

16. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the instructions for comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates include instructions for comparing contents of one or more corresponding fields in the end user error report template and the one or more defect report templates and determining if the contents match.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the instructions for comparing the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates include instructions for determining a total degree of matching of the one or more corresponding fields based on results of the comparison of contents of the one or more corresponding fields in the end user error report template and the one or more defect report templates.

18. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising instructions for storing the updated end user error report in an end user error report database.

19. A system for handling end user error reports for a software product, comprising:

a processor;

an end user error report database coupled to the processor; and

a defect report database coupled to the processor, wherein the processor opens an end user error report in the end user error report database, extracts information from the end user error report in response to opening of the end user error report in order to generate an end user error report template containing the information extracted from the end user error report, extracts information from one or more defect reports in the defect report database to generate one or more defect report templates containing the information extracted from the one or more defect reports, compares the end user error report template to the one or more defect report templates, determines if a defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template, and updates the end user error report based on a defect report corresponding to a matching defect report template if the defect report template in the one or more defect report templates matches the end user error report template, wherein the defect reports each comprise an identification of (i) at least one defect in the software product and (ii) a fix for each respective defect that is identified in the defect report, wherein the fix that is identified is computer code that is operable to correct its respective defect when executed, wherein the processor updates the end user error report to include (1) a first identifier of a source of a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the first identifier being obtained from the defect report and (2) a second identifier of a fix or patch that solves a problem that is a basis for the user error report, the second identifier being obtained from the defect report.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the end user error report that is opened includes information that was automatically accumulated by a computing device prior to the computing device encountering an error for the software product.