Bug and New Feature Reporting Guidelines

1. Before submitting a bug/new feature request please use the search page to see if the bug/new feature has already been reported.  If so, please register a vote for the issue instead of entering a duplicate issue.
2. If you are reporting a bug:
   1. Please come up with a list of steps to reproduce the bug.  This may be very hard, but it is extremely vital.  Before any developer can attempt to fix your bug, they will need a list of reproduction steps.  It is much easier for all parties, if the reporter can provide a list of reproduction steps.  These steps should be entered into the Description field.
   2. Please determine the severity of your bug, using the following table:

      Severity	Definition
      Show Stopper	Prevents accomplishment of a critical task impacting a key operation of the system, jeopardizes security requirements or causes rework (usually caused by a catastrophic system failure in a normal operational mode or sequence) or involves unprofessional practices revealed in the work product
      Critical	Adversely affects the accomplishments of a critical task or causes non-significant rework (usually caused by a system failure in a non-typical operational mode or sequence); no work-around is known
      Important	Adversely affects the accomplishment of a critical task; a work-around is known
      Inconvenient	Acts as an inconvenience/annoyance; does not affect the accomplishment of a critical task
      Minor	Consists of a cosmetic mistake (for example, typos)

      It is important that you select the proper severity. This helps everyone understand the impact of the bug. Severity should NOT be confused with priority. If you report a bug with a "Minor" severity, but would like to see it fixed sooner than another bug, the following actions are recommended. You can "vote" on the issue to register your interest in the bug. Or better yet, you can contribute a patch to the community that fixes the bug.

3. If you are putting in an enhancement or new feature request:
   1. Please try to describe what enhancement or new feature you would like to see implemented. It is important to describe the end result you desire (i.e. the what) and not necessarily the method (i.e. the how). This helps everyone involved to see that multiple people want the same end result and then everyone can work together to come up with a common method (i.e. the how).

1. Go to the "Create Issue" tab found at the top of the bug/new feature tracking tool.  Please note that you will need to login before you can access the "Create Issue" tab.  See the "Creating Account" section in the upper-right corner of this page for details on creating an account.
2. Select "Opticks" as the "Project:" you are creating a bug/new feature for.
3. Select "Bug", "Enhancement", or "New Feature" for the "Issue Type" depending on what you are reporting.  See below for more details.
   1. Select "Bug" if you are describing a problem that you encountering while using the software. Select "Enhancement" or "New Feature" if you desire a new capability be added to the software. The difference between "Enhancement" and "New Feature" is the scope of the new capability being added to the software.
4. Click the "Next>>" button to continue filling out your request.
5. Fill-in the remaining fields and then click the "Create" button.
6. Your issue has now been created, but is only visible to you (i.e. the reporter) and the Tech Lead of the Opticks project. The Tech Lead will review the issue and ensure that the content of the issue is suitable for the Opticks open-source community. If the Tech Lead has any concerns about the content of the issue, he/she will contact you via your provided Jira contact information to resolve any concerns. The issue will have a status of "Awaiting Triage" during this process, so once the status has changed to something other than "Awaiting Triage" the entire open-source community will be able to see your issue. This process is in place to ensure that all issues reference material available to the entire Opticks opens-source community.

An account is NOT required to view or query existing bugs/new features.

1. Go to Sign-up page of the Opticks bug/new feature tracker.
2. Enter your desired username, password and e-mail address. It's vital you provide an e-mail address so that Opticks developers can contact you with questions when trying to fix the bug.
3. You now have a bug tracking account.  With this account, you can create your own bug and new feature requests.  You can also vote on issues to increase the likelihood they are fixed.  You can also subscribe to issues to be notified when their status changes.