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What “Miscellaneous Bugs and Fixes” Really Mean
Bug jokes: A peek behind the developer’s curtain
Maybe you’re like me and every time you update your apps, you take a peek at the release notes. After all, you’re probably thinking, Didn’t I just update this last week? What’s new this time?
Let’s say it was Instagram that just indicated that a new version was available. Here’s what it might say:
- Fixed intermittent issue with image aspect ratio after multiple uploads
- Fixed notification alert on some Android devices
- Miscellaneous bugs and fixes
There it is. On the last line, hiding in plain sight for all to see.
Having released tons of software myself, I’ve definitely included that very benign-looking phrase almost every single time. Here’s what that line item could mean:
1. We Fixed Some Bugs That You Never Knew About
Some apps, services, and websites allow the users and the public to submit bugs on an issue tracker where they are tracked, assessed, and prioritized. When these bugs get fixed, they get included in the release notes.
Sometimes though, the developers, testers, and product owners find bugs that we neglect to add to the issue tracking software, because 1) we forgot 2) we were lazy 3) we simply didn’t want users to know about it. Often, there is an additional issue tracker maintained internally.
Of course, developers and reviewers also like to leave comments in the code:
// Fix this piece of crap, Jackson! You call yourself a Senior Dev?2. We Cleaned Up Some Technical Debt
Technical debt items are listed in several places. When these items are addressed, the debt entry is erased according to how or where they were originally tracked, rather than being mentioned in the release notes:
- In comments in the code — Either the comments are deleted from the code entirely, or additional counteracting comments are added, usually with some snark
- In developers’ heads — Developers never really forget tech debt. Once the debt is…
