New data reveals that fixing bugs and errors in code is the number one developer pain point at the present time. For businesses, this finding if of importance since manually fixing code negatively impacts upon developers’ productivity and morale, and this leads to workfplace inefficiencies and the risk of personnel leaving.
From the human side too the extent of the problem is causing developers to feel frustrated, burned out and want to quit their job – at a time when there are not enough developers to meet demand.
According to a U.S. focused survey of 950 software developers commissioned by Rollbar, more than a third (38 percent) of developers said that they spend up to a quarter of their time fixing software bugs. Slightly more than a quarter (at 26 percent) said that they spend up to half their time fixing bugs.
Furthermore, some two-thirds of all developers said they would rather do an unpleasant activity than fix errors. More than one quarter (26 percent) indicated they would rather pay bills. More than a fifth (21 percent) stated they would prefer going to the dentist. While 20 prevent of respondents suggested would rather spend time with their in-laws.
Nonetheless, with so much time invested into fixing code, bugs and errors are still going undetected. This suggests a widespread issue with much of the commercial software available. For example, two-thirds of developers suggested they have found out about errors in code from users reporting through the app. Moreover, one quarter of developers said that they have heard about errors from users sharing concerns across social media
Software problems also affect overall operations. Here 89 percent of developers proffered the view that undetected errors can take a big toll on the business, such as in terms of losing users of the app, company reputational damage, and with a slow-down of external investments.
