Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “reproduce bugs and write up bug reports”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

20 min
typically, every day
50%
of the time can be automated
Easy
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Capture bugs with a tool that records steps, logs and screenshots for you

Bug capture tools grab the screen recording, console logs, network calls and browser details in one click, and some write the report with AI.

Typically saves about 45% of the time15 min to set up
  1. 1Install a capture tool your company allows: Jam, Marker.io, BugHerd, or use Sentry session replay.
  2. 2Connect it to Jira, Linear or GitHub Issues.
  3. 3When you hit a bug, capture it and let the tool create the ticket with everything attached.
  4. 4Ask product and support to use it too, so you get fewer "it is broken" reports.

Tools: Jam · Marker.io · BugHerd · Sentry session replay · Loom

Fix 2 of 2

AI

Debug with AI by giving it the error, the code and what you tried

AI is fast at reading stack traces and logs and suggesting likely causes. A coding agent can also reproduce the failure and try fixes in the repo.

Typically saves about 30% of the time5 min to set up
  1. 1Collect the error message, stack trace, relevant logs and the code involved.
  2. 2Paste them into your coding assistant, or run a coding agent in the repo so it can read the code itself.
  3. 3Ask for ranked hypotheses before asking for a fix.
  4. 4Confirm the root cause with a failing test before you accept the fix.
Prompt to copy
I am debugging [SHORT DESCRIPTION]. Expected: [WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN]. Actual: [WHAT HAPPENS]. Here is the error and stack trace, the relevant code, and what I have already tried. Give me the three most likely causes ranked by probability, how to confirm each one, and then the smallest fix for the most likely cause. Do not rewrite unrelated code.

Error and logs:
[PASTE]

Code:
[PASTE]

Already tried:
[PASTE]

Tools: Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot agent mode or Devin Desktop (ex-Windsurf) · ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

QA / Test engineer

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Take the free check Scan my team, $49

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.

Other common tasks for QA / Test engineers