How To Create A Jira Bug Report Template With Smart Templates

Crafting a Jira bug report template doesn’t seem like it should be that much of an issue in 2024. I mean, given the extensive pool of features, the availability of project templates, and customization options across the Atlassian family of products, surely there’s a simple way of creating a template for your bug issue type. 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Sure, there are certain workarounds like issue cloning, Automation for Jira, or field customization, but they all come with certain drawbacks and limitations. 

This article will explore a simpler way of creating and maintaining bug report templates in Jira. That said, you’ll need two external apps. Both of them are available on the Atlassian marketplace and offer a free trial, so you can try before you buy.

• Smart Templates
• Smart Checklist

? Note: You can explore the options for creating issue templates in Jira (with and without apps) here >>>

What goes into a bug-tracking report template?

Generally speaking, a bug report template is a piece of documentation that’s designed to offer a standardized approach to documenting and tracking bugs. The issue with having such a template as a standalone document is that QA engineers have to create many bug reports daily. 

Sure, there’s not much that goes into this particular template, but even something as simple as writing the phrase “Steps to reproduce” will transform into something along the lines of “ST” or “STR” over time. This means that you are missing out on a major factor that is contributing to standardization – consistency. 

Over time, this will lead to poor descriptions, missed steps, and continuous back and forth between the Dev team and QA. 

Therefore, creating a bug template once, and reusing it every time when you need to log a bug into Jira is a much better option. 

How to create a bug tracking report in Jira with Smart Templates?

Let’s go through the steps of creating a reusable bug report template ? 

Step 1: Download Smart Templates from the Atlassian Marketplace

None of the steps I will describe in this article are rocket science, but this one is probably the easiest. You have to find the Smart Templates app on the Atlassian Marketplace and install it.

? Note: You need Jira Admin permissions to install apps from the marketplace. Ask your admin or PM for help during this step. 

Step 2: Create a bug template from an issue in Jira.

1. Open your Jira board and create a ticket.
2. Select the bug issue type. 
3. Copy and paste the following text into the description field:

Steps to reproduce
// Please add the steps that are necessary to reproduce a bug
1.
2.
...
Actual results
// Please explain what happens when the bug is reproduced
...
Expected results
// Please describe how the functionality is intended to work
Environment
// Please fill out the following:
Operating system: {e.g. MacOS, Windows10}
Browser and version: {e.g. Chrome 124.0, Safari 17.4.1}
Software version: {e.g. V1.51}
Environment: {e.g. prod, staging, testing}

As a result, you’ll have a nice-looking, standardized issue in your project.

? Note: I prefer keeping everything in the description field for the sake of consistency. You can use the environment field in Jira to keep track of the details regarding app and browser versions, etc.

Step 3: Save your issue as a bug report template with Smart Templates

1. Click on the Smart Templates button.
2. Save the structure as a new template.
3. Enter the name of your template. In our case, let’s call it a Bug Report Template. Then click OK.
4. You will see a pop-up message stating that your template has been saved. Go to your template from the link in the pop-up. 

Step 4: Add text variables to your template

Technically, we already have a nice bug report template you can apply in one click. Still, we can make it better with text variables.

While this step is optional, following through the guide till the end will make your templates much more user-friendly and easy to follow. 

What are text variables? These variables let users enter a certain value before applying a template. The summary field will be a great example of text variables in use. A couple of simple edits now will ensure that your QA engineers (or whoever is reporting a bug) will include a descriptive issue summary.

1. Open the Smart Templates app from the sidebar on your left.
2. Click on the three dots next to the bug report template and select the Edit option. 
3. Select the variables tab and add a new variable. This will be our Bug Summary. 
4. Copy the variable’s name, go to the Issues Tab, and paste it into the summary field. Make sure that the name is surrounded by two sets of rounded brackets like so {{DescriptiveBugSummary}}
5. Click the Save button.

That’s it. Now, the users will be prompted to enter a descriptive summary every time they apply the template to create a bug in your Jira instance. You can create as many variables as you need. You can also use them in the description field.

For example, you can add a {{StepsToReproduce}} and a {{Environment}} variable. This way, users will need to complete these fields before they can create the bug issue. 

? Note: Technically, you can complete every step of crafting a template from the Smart Templates view. Still, I prefer to start at the issue view because applying the text formatting options inside the description field is much easier. If you don’t care about the looks – the Smart Templates option is much faster. 

Step 5: Establish and enforce a process with Smart Checklist

The next step in crafting a bug report template will involve a different app from our suite of Smart Tools. Like Smart Templates, you can install Smart Checklist from the Atlassian Marketplace. 

Keep in mind that this step is 100% optional. Still, I’d advise you to give the app a shot, as it can help you create a reliable QA process. 

We will be relying on Smart Checklist for creating a list of ToDo’s for the QA engineer to follow. You can enforce these ToDo’s by using the mandatory Items feature. This means that the tester will not be able to move the issue further through the workflow unless the checklist items you’ve specified are complete. 

You can read more about the functionality of mandatory items here >>>

For now, the only thing that you need to keep in mind is that every checklist item that is a #MUST needs to have an exclamation point after the dash. 

More on Smart Checklist formatting options >>>

1. Open the Smart Templates app from the sidebar on your left.
2. Click on the three dots next to the bug report template and select the Edit option.
3. Select the Smart Checklist tab on your right, under the summary field.
4. Copy and paste the following text into the window and save the changes:

-! Environment described
-! Steps to reproduce added
-! Actual and expected results added
-! Logs added
-! Video recording/Screenshots added
- Added affected application version

That’s it. Now, your bug template has a ToDo checklist. Furthermore, the QA engineer will not be able to escalate the ticket to the dev team unless they’ve added the necessary attachments and completed the required details ????

To summarize, we have just created a standardized, well-formatted Jira bug template with actionable ToDo’s in under five minutes. Nice!