# SR's & Bugs

**URL:** https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252
**Category:** Talk to a SUSE Technical Services Manager
**Created:** [September 5, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252 "2017-09-05T04:24:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![ScorpionSting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@ScorpionSting](https://forums.suse.com/u/ScorpionSting)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/1 "2017-09-05T04:24:02Z")

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So, I just need to understand what the policy is supposed to be…

I’ve had bug’s raised as a result of a SR, then the SR gets closed and  
the bug is “employees only”…so I’ve lost complete view of when the  
bug will be fixed with the SR providing no workaround.

This seems to be completely counter intuitive.

## – -“Also now available in ‘G+’ ([http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi](http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi)) and ‘Website’ ([https://www.isam.kiwi/](https://www.isam.kiwi/)) format”.- 😉

ScorpionSting’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663)  
View this thread: [https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154](https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154)

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![ScorpionSting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@ScorpionSting](https://forums.suse.com/u/ScorpionSting)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/2 "2017-09-06T07:04:01Z")

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Hmmm…got call as result of Survey against one of these…both have  
been reopened now

## – -“Also now available in ‘G+’ ([http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi](http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi)) and ‘Website’ ([https://www.isam.kiwi/](https://www.isam.kiwi/)) format”.- 😉

ScorpionSting’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663)  
View this thread: [https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154](https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154)

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### Author: ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/uploads/suse/original/2X/5/5012ba89e3ffb5220dac47d5ea0ba032e2fe1cb6.png) [@system](https://forums.suse.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2017, 10:44am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/3 "2017-09-07T10:44:02Z")

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Hello,

Thank you for asking the question.  
Normally when a defect needs longer to resolve, more than 1 month, the  
engineer may chose to temporarily close the SR.  
Temporarily means both customer and engineer would still get automated  
email notifications every time the defect is updated.

Once the fix is officially available, the engineer would re-activate the  
SR, and follow up with the customer to make sure it does what it is  
supposed to do.  
If the fix does not meet the needed requirements, Engineering needs to  
follow up the defect.

Even if the SR is closed, activities would still happen.  
Instead of the SR being used as a place holder, the defect is used  
instead.  
Even though there is no visibility, the SR is still listed as Closed,  
Awaiting Engineering, or Awaiting Public Patch, in NCC.  
It becomes the engineer’s responsibility to close the loop.

I hope the above answers your question.

Regards  
Tarik

## – tbaki

tbaki’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755)  
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### Author: ![ScorpionSting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@ScorpionSting](https://forums.suse.com/u/ScorpionSting)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/4 "2017-09-08T00:36:02Z")

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Theory sounds okay, but I think reality is very different. As a  
customer, I need a direct contact point to check in when the resolution  
to the defect is going to be released and this is not possible if the SR  
is closed off and the bug is inaccessible.

Even when I have had bugs tied to an SR, the only piece of information I  
ever received is the notification of the release several days after the  
patch is actually out (likely when the bug is marked resolved). This  
alone is insufficient.

## – -“Also now available in ‘G+’ ([http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi](http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi)) and ‘Website’ ([https://www.isam.kiwi/](https://www.isam.kiwi/)) format”.- 😉

ScorpionSting’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663)  
View this thread: [https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154](https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154)

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### Author: ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/uploads/suse/original/2X/5/5012ba89e3ffb5220dac47d5ea0ba032e2fe1cb6.png) [@system](https://forums.suse.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2017, 8:36am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/5 "2017-09-09T08:36:01Z")

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Thank you for highlighting ways to improve our customer interactions for  
defect related issues.  
If the theory does not work as expected, we need to review it.

Defect updates should not really be once , and only after final release  
of a fix.  
It should be with every status change of the defect, which is meant for  
external communication.

If I understand you correctly, you are using the SR as a sounding board  
to ask for regular defect updates.  
This is still a manual process needing the engineer to regularly update  
customers, and this could also fail.

If you are interested in a time frame for a defect fix, then I would  
recommend that defects needs to be properly prioritized, in order for  
developers to fix it in an acceptable time frame.  
For this, both business and operational impact are captured and  
communicated back to Engineering.

If on the other hand, a defect is not considered as high priority by  
customers, then it will likely take more than a month to fix.  
This is when automated defect updates are generally accepted by  
customers.

An SR remaining open for over 3, 6, and 12 months due to defects, hardly  
adds values, and does not reflect good practice..

If you were automatically updated via defect, every-time it changes  
status, would that be acceptable?

I must reiterate that the SR is only “temporarily” closed until a fix is  
released, or until such a time customers ask for it to be reactivated.

## – tbaki

tbaki’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755)  
View this thread: [https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154](https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154)

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![ScorpionSting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@ScorpionSting](https://forums.suse.com/u/ScorpionSting)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2017, 10:44am UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/6 "2017-09-09T10:44:02Z")

</div>

When a bug is marked for “Micro Focus Employees Only”, no external  
communication would occur. And as this is 100% the case when a bug is  
logged via a SR, then no bug update affects the SR. Then with bugs I log  
(making them external) and tie them to a SR, almost 100% of the  
engineering updates are private so, again, the process falls apart.

I have at least 2 SR’s and their relative bugs that are completely  
stopping us from moving any version of IDM 4.6.x beyond the DEV  
environment. These are critical as IDM 4.5.x current ends support  
February 2018 (which we can’t meet as it is with December and January  
always unavailable for changes to our environments). I know one of the  
bugs is tied to bigger issues around the ECMA implementation in the 4.6  
release, so is high priority with engineering.

I have SR’s that are almost 2 years old, simply because of the lack of  
any traction by engineering. Without the SR remaining open, I wouldn’t  
have front line available to always be chasing engineering for a  
response…and now making them 100% under the Product Manager radar.

All in all, the whole engineering process needs a complete overhaul if  
any SR/Bug process is going to work correctly…until that happens,  
making promises about “system notification functionality” would be  
pointless.

## – -“Also now available in ‘G+’ ([http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi](http://plus.google.com/+BenWalter-Kiwi)) and ‘Website’ ([https://www.isam.kiwi/](https://www.isam.kiwi/)) format”.- 😉

ScorpionSting’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=1663)  
View this thread: [https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154](https://forums.novell.com/showthread.php?t=505154)

---

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### Author: ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex022/uploads/suse/original/2X/5/5012ba89e3ffb5220dac47d5ea0ba032e2fe1cb6.png) [@system](https://forums.suse.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/7 "2017-09-09T13:24:01Z")

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If you say the defects are high priority then the SR’s should not be  
closed in the first place. This way the engineer provides regular  
updates until closure.

Each product portfolio has its own bugzilla guidelines. Maybe it is the  
case for IDM that every defect logged is marked employee only, but this  
is not the case for other products. I will investigate and let you know.  
Just to clarify that we are not talking about engineering updates being  
visible and shareable via email.  
I am referring to the defect status change.

I was not making promises, I was seeking your feedback. Anyway, it has  
come across loud and clear.

## – tbaki

tbaki’s Profile: [https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755](https://forums.novell.com/member.php?userid=13755)  
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### Author: ![KEVIN1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KEVIN1](https://forums.suse.com/u/KEVIN1)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2017, 7:10pm UTC](https://forums.suse.com/t/srs-bugs/30252/8 "2017-09-09T19:10:04Z")

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ScorpionSting wrote:  
[color=blue]

> All in all, the whole engineering process needs a complete overhaul if  
> any SR/Bug process is going to work correctly[/color]

I concur completely!

I have raised similar issues in the past as have other Knowledge  
Partners. We would be happy to provide our input if it would help  
resolve these issues.

It’s unfortunate that different products have different rules and  
processes. When dealing with vendors, Customers expect issues to be  
resolved in a consistent manner independent of the specific product!

–  
Kevin Boyle - Knowledge Partner  
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please show your appreciation and click on the star below this post.  
Thank you.
