Proposal + RFC: Improving the Bugzilla layout

[Ryan McDougall <ryan mcdougall telusplanet net>]

I always hated the bugzilla interface. Even as someone who knows
computers and programming well, I dislike filing bugs in it. It feels
cluttered, and requires way too much effort to use properly. I thought
I'd take a stab at streamlining the UI in the following proposal.

The following is just a quick and dirty interaction design, and there
are a lot gaps that need to be filled in, but basically it can be
implemented using 95%+ of the existing bugzilla site.

1. Terminology

The terminology that follows is used to clearly define the matters we
will be discussing, and can be used in a Help Page to clarify their
usage on the main web page for users who are unfamiliar with their
meaning.

Bugzilla is a term that refers to the software implementation of a bug
tracking system originally developed for the Mozilla project. It has no
inherent meaning for anyone who is unfamiliar the Mozilla or some other
OSS project, or anyone who is unfamiliar with software engineering in
general.

GNOME Software Quality System is the name of the system used to track
issues regarding the quality of GNOME software, and should be used in
place of "bugzilla".

A Bug is a colloquialism for an insect, or jargon for a software
malfunction resulting from programmer error. For someone unfamiliar with
common English usage may not be aware of either form. For someone
unfamiliar software engineering they are likely to partially confuse the
first form with the last. Either way bug is not formal English, and
therefore not clear enough.

1.1. GNOME Software Quality System Terminology

A Program Malfunction is an incorrect program behaviour that results
from mistake in design, including but not limited to: crashing on valid
input, outputting valid input incorrectly, failing to build correctly,
or otherwise failing to operate in a manner consistent documentation.

A Program Feature Request is a formal request for the program's
developers to implement a behaviour that the program currently lacks,
but if added would improve the operation of the program, including but
not limited to: performance improvements, increasing the number of
inputs which are treated as valid, improving the quality of outputs,
improving the documentation, or otherwise make the program more useful
to users.

A Formal Program Enquiry is a formal request for the program's
developers to comment on a problem that a user has encountered with the
program, or to respond to a comment the user has made on the program's
behaviour. This includes anything that might not be considered either a
Malfunction or Feature, including but not limited to: changes in design,
scope, or method in the behaviour of the program.

An Item is an entry in the database corresponding to any of the above
three cases, previously called a "bug".

None of the above are meant to be a forum for any of the following:
abusing the program's developers, general discussion of the program,
help in using the software, or any other kind of technical support.

2. Suggested Layout

2.1. Main Page Interaction

Welcome to the GNOME Software Quality System!

This system is used to formally remember, organize, and track issues
regarding the quality of software that is part of the GNOME project.
This is where you can notify GNOME developers about a Program
Malfunction, make a Program Feature Request, or make a Formal Program
Enquiry. You can also search the entire software quality system any item
in our database.
-To see a list of programs or projects that are a part of GNOME, and can
be managed with this software quality system, please click here.
-To learn more about what a Program Malfunction, Program Feature
Request, or Program Enquiry is, please click here.
-In order to use the GNOME Software Quality System you must provide the
system with a valid email address, and confidential password. To
register with the system, please click here.

2.3. Create Item Interaction

To Report a Program Malfunction, make Program Feature Request, or make a
Formal Program Enquiry, please enter your email address and password
below then click "continue".

2.3.1. Create Item Interaction: Unregistered User

You don't appear to have previously registered with the system with the
address $GIVEN_EMAIL_ADDR. If you would like to register with that
address, please click "continue" and your new password will be mailed to
you. If you would like to try another address, please click "back".

2.3.2. Choose Item to Create Interaction: Registered User

Before you proceed, please read this brief guide on submission etiquette
for the GNOME Software Quality System.

Would you like to register with the software quality system a:

1. Program Malfunction
-To find out what a Program Malfunction is considered a valid
malfunction, please click here.

2. Program Feature Request
-To find out what a Program Feature Request is considered a valid
feature request, please click here.

3. Formal Program Enquiry
-To find out what a Program Feature Request is considered a valid
enquiry, please click here.

2.4. Search Item Database Interaction

To search the GNOME Software Quality System database for current or
previous items, please click here.

2.4.1 Search in Detail Interaction

To execute a customizable search request on the software quality system,
please click here.

To see the most frequently reported Program Malfunctions, please click
here.
To see the most frequently requested Program Feature Requests, please
click here.

To see the most active Programs that are tracked by the software quality
system, please click here.

2.4.1.1. Custom Search Interaction

Choose a category (Malfunction, Feature Request, Formal Enquiry) and
search using one of the following methods:

1. Search by Item Number: [text entry]
2. Search Item Text for: [text entry]
3. Search by Program: [predefined list] or [text entry]
4. Search by Operating system: [predefined list] or [text entry]
5. Search by Item State: [nested list*] or [text entry]
6. Search by Date: from [text entry] to [text entry]
7. Search for Email address: [text entry]

*A nested list allows you to choose one of {Status, Resolution,
Priority, Severity, Target, ...} which then allows you to choose the
related possible states, such as one of {UNCONFIRMED, NEW,
ASSIGNED, ...}.

2.5. Create and Manage GNOME Software Quality System Interaction

To register yourself with the software quality system, please click
here.
To manage an account you previously registered with the software quality
system, please click here.

2.6. Recruiting Help Interaction

To help the GNOME project run and manage the software quality system,
please visit the GNOME bugsquad homepage here.

2.7. About Bugzilla Interaction

To learn more about the GNOME Software Quality System, and how it is
implemented, please click here.

3. Comments please!!