PriorIT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General

What types of things do you test?
What types of things don't you test?
Do you do other types of contract than pay-per-bug?
What will happen about bugs that are already known?
Does it matter how much the software has been tested already?
Do you work from or need a specification?

Bugs

What does "finding a bug" consist of?
What if I am not happy that something you called a bug was one?
What difference does the bug severity make?

Payment

What does it mean that I "pay-per-bug"?
What if you find thousands of bugs - won't I have to pay for them all?
How much does it cost?

General

What types of things do you test?

We will test websites and any software that can be tested reasonably independently of complex hardware set-ups. So, for example we test:

• All types of websites
• Standalone windows style applications, e.g.
  • financial packages
  • Microsoft Access database applications
  • multimedia applications
  • games
  • PC tools
  • etc.

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What types of things don't you test?

We do not test:

• Complex multi-system interactions
• Hardware compatibility (e.g. whether a multimedia program supports all the available sound cards)
• Host applications
• Client-server applications

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Do you do other types of contract than pay-per-bug?

Yes. We have 3 ways in which we work with clients:

• Fixed-price contract. In this we will take a look at the website or software and offer you a fixed-price for the complete testing.
• Hourly rate. In this, we will test your website or software for an agreed number of hours, charging you per hour.
• Pay-per-bug. This is the unique system where you pay only for the actual bugs which we find in your software or website. We will of course give you an estimate when we look at your site of how many bugs we will find, and you will be able to specify a bug search limit. If it is website testing, and your site is already live, see also our website BugGuard service.

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What will happen about bugs that are already known?

When a program is sent for testing (or a website given), then a list of any known bugs should accompany the program. If a bug is found, then the list will be checked to ensure that it is not a duplicate. Any bugs not found on the list will be assumed to be new.

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Does it matter how much the software has been tested already?

No. It is up to you to decide how much to test it before we test it.

An initial assessment of the software is made, and it will be classified into one of three possible stability levels:

1. Low stability (bugs are expected to be easy to find, indicating that the program has not been tested or has only been very lightly tested)
2. Normal stability (normal level of bugs, indicating a normal amount of programmer testing)
3. High stability (bugs are expected to be difficult to find, indicating already well tested)

The proposed price-per-bug will relate to how easy it is expected to be to find the bugs.

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Do you work from or need a specification?

A specification (i.e. a written description of how the program should perform) can be used, but we do not usually require one.

The bugs that are found are generally things which any reasonable assessment would call bugs. For example, the program crashing, or an action doing something in most cases but not in others. Usually the error is very clearly a bug. One case where a specification might be needed is where the behaviour is difficult to reasonably guess; for example, a program which calculates life-insurance premiums based on certain formulae. Another case where a specification would be required would be where the behaviour should follow some particular pattern, but can only be guessed; for example, all windows of a certain type should contain an "OK" button while others of another type should contain "Cancel".

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Bugs

What does "finding a bug" consist of?

There are a number of steps which we perform:

• Searching for and locating a bug
• Analysing the exact circumstances under which the bug occurs
• Documenting the bug found
• Reporting the bug to you and if necessary helping you to reproduce the error
• Testing the fixed code to verify that it really is fixed

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What if I am not happy that something you called a bug was one?

We guarantee your satisfaction!

We are so confident that you will be pleased with the service that we offer that we give you the following guarantee: "If you are not happy with any bug we find, for any reason, you tell us why and that bug will be for free!"

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What difference does the bug severity make?

Whenever we find a bug we classify it into one of 3 severity levels. The price you pay depends on the severity of the bug found - the less severe the bug, the less you pay, the more severe the bug, the more you pay.

1. Severe - These are bugs which are a major problem in the program. For example:
   • Program crashing
   • Program hanging the system
2. Normal - These are bugs which usually cause the user some problems. For example:
   • A button opens the wrong window
   • A menu option is greyed when it should not be
3. Minor - These are bugs which normally cause no real problem for the user, but give a poor view of the quality of the product. For example:
   • Spelling mistake
   • Slight cropping of text in a window

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Payment

What does it mean that I "pay-per-bug"?

You pay for each bug we find, document, report, and re-test once you have fixed it. There are two key factors which affect the price you pay:

1. Software stability (see question Does it matter how much the software has been tested already?)
2. Bug severity (see question What difference does the bug severity make?)

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What if you find thousands of bugs - won't I have to pay for them all?

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How much does it cost?

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