Our bug backlog was eating us alive, growing faster than we could keep up.
At some point, we realized that this isn’t just about fixing bugs. It’s about fixing the way we handle bugs.
So we set ourselves a goal: get control of the process and finally get on top of the list.
Here’s how we turned the chaos into something manageable and what we learned along the way.
1. Focus on the Biggest Bottlenecks
From the start, we knew that trying to solve every bug at once would be a waste of time. Instead, we looked for the main bottlenecks slowing us down.
They stood out quickly:
- Many bugs weren’t even ours, they belonged to other teams.
- Bugs weren’t categorized by the right size.
- Many couldn’t be reproduced at all.
Since we were the ones fixing most of these bugs, we could quickly pinpoint the real issues. And after a month, the data confirmed it:
Almost 40% of our bugs belonged to other teams, and 15% were large bugs that should’ve been tracked and prioritized separately.
Just by fixing those classification issues, we could effectively remove over half of our backlog. Without even touching the unreproducible bugs.
Lesson: Progress comes from removing bottlenecks, not from spreading effort across everything.
2. Small Changes > Radical Transformations
We didn’t roll out a new bug system or change the whole workflow. We just made a couple of small but high-leverage changes:
- Triaging bugs as close to open time as possible (with Slack nudges so no one “forgot”).
- Creating a lightweight weekly dashboard that answered two questions:
- Did every new bug get triaged?
- Does every in-progress bug have a clear owner and status?
That’s it. Two tiny changes. And suddenly the backlog stopped feeling like a black hole.
Lesson: Don’t redesign the whole process. Make small tweaks that matter.
3. Set a Goal People Actually Care About
We didn’t frame it as “follow the new process.” We framed it as:
“Let’s reduce the bug count, and keep it down.”
That was simple. Everyone got it. Everyone could see progress. And it felt good to watch the line go down week after week.
Lesson: Set motivating goals. People aren’t inspired by “better process.” They’re inspired by results.
Here’s how our open bug count looked over time. Not a straight line, but the trend told us we were on the right track.
4. Keep Focus with a Simple Review Dashboard
One thing that really made a difference for us was our weekly review dashboard.
It didn’t try to show everything, just the essentials:
- Are all new bugs triaged?
- Do all in-progress bugs have a clear owner and status?
- Is the overall bug count going down?
That’s it. Four simple charts answered those questions.
No vanity metrics, no noise.
By reviewing this dashboard every week with the team, we kept the process visible, the chaos contained, and everyone aligned on what mattered most.
Lesson: Focused visibility beats detailed reporting. The right few charts can drive far more progress than a wall of data.
Closing the Loop
In the end, reducing our bug backlog wasn’t about heroic fixing sprees. It was about:
- Focusing on the right bottlenecks.
- Making small, impactful changes.
- Rallying around a clear, relatable goal.
- Reviewing progress on a weekly basis.
The bugs didn’t magically disappear. But we went from drowning in chaos to working in control.
In the end, the specific tweaks mattered less than the shift in mindset: focusing on clarity, alignment, and steady progress.