BugZap is a defect and issue tracking tool for Windows developed to assist in defect and issue tracking for small-to-medium size projects.
If you are a programmer or a small programming group, you might need a small, easy-to-use, but powerful bug detector.
But the feature that makes BugZap the most unique among the issue tracking systems is its component-based architecture. To an end user, this means that BugZap is not a monolithic product - instead, it consists of a small Core ("small" does not mean "simplistic" - a BugZap configuration where only the Core is installed is still a perfectly useable solution for issue tracking) and a number of Extensions, which can be installed if necessary.
To give but a small example, consider the "export" functionality, which allows issues to be exported from an issue tracking tool into an external format. A typical issue tracking tool allows information to be exported in several different formats (such as "comma-separated text", "tab-separated text", "HTML", "XML", etc.) As a consequence, installing the tool causes the support code for all export formats to be installed as well, even if we do not need to ever export anything (or will always export to, say, XML).
In contrast, each BugZap extension responsible for performing a specific task is a separate component, which can be installed independently of other BugZap components (more or less - sometimes there are dependencies between components; however, they are infrequent and always enforced automatically). In the above example, we won't need to install support for any of the export formats if we don't plan to export; similarly, if we always export to XML than other export formats (such as "tab-separated text", "HTML", etc.) do not need to be installed.
Here are some key features of "BugZap":
· Record and maintain defects and issues.
· Assign properties to these defects and issues (such as issue's priority, severity, type, product or component where it has been detected, etc.) All properties are fully customizable (for example, you can decide what severity ratings you want to use for issues of a given project).
· Search for issues using a simple but powerful Query Language. The BugZap search facilities go well beyond what is offered by existing defect and issue tracking systems.
· Generate reports.
· Exchange information with other applications via BugZap import and export facilities.
· Restrict access to bug databases using a two-level user/role authentication scheme.
· Subscribe to defects and issues in order to be automatically notified when their state changes.
· Support for embedded and virtual attachments. While most defect and issue tracking systems allow you to attach extra information to issues by providing a link to the corresponding document (such as URL for a document available on the Internet), BugZap recognizes that for some information the best place is embedded within a bug database itself (embedded attachments), while some important documents may not be available in electronic form at all (virtual attachments). The traditional by-link attachment is, naturally, still supported (as a so-called remote attachment).
· For each issue, a complete change history is available. This allows reconstructing the complete state of a bug database at any particular point in the past as well as more traditional searches for specific events in a defect's or issue's past life.
· The powerful collaboration feature, which allows ongoing issues to be discussed in thematic discussion boards. As all discussion boards are saved along with their bug database, this gives a unique opportunity to see not only how a specific defect or issue have evolved over time, but also why it did so evolve.
· Additional import and export formats.
· Additional ways of creating new bug databases (e.g. from scratch, from template, from a merge of two existing databases, etc.)
· Additional ways to view the contents of a bug database (e.g. bug-centric, discussion-centric, etc.)
· Support for additional formats for documents that can be embedded directly into a bug database (e.g. plain text, rich text, MS Word document, OLE object, etc.)
· Additional ways to perform automated tasks (e.g. searching the bug database, spell checking, bulk updates, etc.)
· Additional report types and formats (e.g. MS Word report, HTML report, on-screen statistics reports with live charts, etc.)
Requirements:
· .NET Framework 2.0
· 3.8 MB hard disk space (1.2 MB for the GEM framework, which is used as an installation and configuration engine, and further 2.6 MB for BugZap Core component)
· 64 MB of memory
Limitations:
· Restricted ammount of bugs can be managed per repository. That's the only demo limitation.
