I recently encountered a UI bug that was difficult to describe with words. Then I remembered Adam White's recent Test Technique report - BB Test Assistant blog post and realized this was the perfect bug to attach a repro video to.
If your company doesn't have a BBTest Assistant license, Microsoft's free Windows Media Encoder in its Windows Media Encoder 9 Series download has an awesome screen capture to video tool and a wizard that does all the setup for you. I've been having fun attaching videos to my bug reports and since they include even more info than still screen captures, they'll hopfully increase bug turn around.
Here's a sample video of a little MS Word bug James Whittaker describes in his book "How to Break Software". (The message indicating the index columns must be between 0 and 4 displays twice.)
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That's a great idea. Sometimes words are not enough. I've also used this tool http://camstudio.org/ to create videos on the quick before. It's also free and easy to use. It can create avis or .swf files..
Brent, yes I actually messed with CamStudio but even with their latest codec the file sizes of my bug movies were too large to attach to my bugs. CamStudio appears to accept other codecs but I couldn't get them to work and no instructions were readily availble. If file size is not a big concern, I agree it is easier and quicker than Windows Media Encoder. Thanks for the post!
We eat our own dog food and use the Testuff Video Recorder to record our own bugs :)
It really helps me to prove that some bugs happened during ET or even scripted testing, even if they don't reproduce again. The devs believe it when they see the bug with their own eyes.
Video recording also saves extra explanations when they don't understand my bug descriptions, even though I try to make them as clear as possible.
I only wish I had thought of this video recording idea from the dawn of my QA days. I could've opened better bugs, or better yet, gone to establish my own company to make such a recorder.
Ido,
Testuff looks cool and I noticed it integrates with TFS (not sure what they mean by "integrates"). However, it's not free. :(
How much do you end up paying for it?
Just noticed your response. Testuff is completely free for 1 user, and a 5 user one month trial is also available. Licenses are $20 per tester per month.