Another installment on Defect Tracking Patterns, this one discusses how an automated bug tracking tool can help programmers and other development team members keep tabs on what their assigned tasks are.

Defect Tracking As Automated TODO List

Programmers and testers need a way to know what tasks they are responsible for and what priority those tasks have.

Therefore:

The defect tracking system should have sort and filter features that allow maintaining an automated TODO list. Each item in the bug tracking system is assigned to one person and has a priority associated with it. The list of bugs becomes a personal, automatically updated and prioritized, TODO list.

As a developer, filter on Assigned To to see your responsibilities. Sort by Priority to track the top problems that need to be worked on first.

The Dispatcher's role in assigning and prioritizing bug reports helps to keep things flowing during the development process.