Troubleshooting user issues - techniques?
This is a pretty general question - but what are some of your strategies / procedures for troubleshooting issues that users find?
Specifically, I'm talking about web based programming - a combination of PHP, mySQL, Javascript (Ajax).
We're running an commerce platform and we've done successful test transactions on most major browsers. We've done in person user testing to discover and fix bugs. And we've processed hundred of orders without a hitch. However, invariable every once in a while a user will come across a bug we've never seen before.
The most frustrating thing is often I can not recreate the bug, so its very very hard to try and fix. It's also frustrating going back and forth with a customer trying to work out our technical glitch (or determine if they're doing something wrong)...while potentially frustrating them and loosing an order.
So what do you do when a user writes in about a bug you can't recreate? Do you have any tips on how you isolate the problem, the steps you take? etc.
Specifically, I'm talking about web based programming - a combination of PHP, mySQL, Javascript (Ajax).
We're running an commerce platform and we've done successful test transactions on most major browsers. We've done in person user testing to discover and fix bugs. And we've processed hundred of orders without a hitch. However, invariable every once in a while a user will come across a bug we've never seen before.
The most frustrating thing is often I can not recreate the bug, so its very very hard to try and fix. It's also frustrating going back and forth with a customer trying to work out our technical glitch (or determine if they're doing something wrong)...while potentially frustrating them and loosing an order.
So what do you do when a user writes in about a bug you can't recreate? Do you have any tips on how you isolate the problem, the steps you take? etc.
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For example we support teachers across the state and districts are known for "locking down" the district computers. Therefore when a teacher calls with a problem which we've been unable to duplicate we call their district (or regional) Help Desk staff and enlist their aid.
We ask them to see if they can duplicate the problem and if they would be willing to "test" our solutions once we've changed the code. This worked well for us AND built up our network of our website knowledgeable people!