Reporting bugs with the OVO and Kaluza platforms - guide

Your guide on reporting web site, portal & app faults

Has this ever happened to you?

It’s just one of those days when everything is looking great, when suddenly… KABOOM! Your computer decides to randomly crash into a dreaded Blue Screen of Death and your live chat session with the support team goes down the drain?

Or maybe one of those times when you just got a shiny new update for the OVO Energy app on your phone and want to see what the wizards at Kaluza have been wor…Uh oh! It looks like something went wrong. :( Could you try again later? Sorry for the trouble. Oops… 

Yeah… That’s never a good thing. Unless you’re a bug hunter like me and love smashing up literally everything, it’s not a great experience when you can’t get something to work properly. But you can help to fix that. Here’s some of my top tips on how to report bugs, glitches or other issues with the OVO and Kaluza platforms.

So… What counts as a “bug”?

The exact definition is a bit complicated and it’s not easy to pin down exactly what it means. But in short, if you spot something that doesn’t seem to be working in the way it should, then that’s probably what I’d call a bug.

But I don’t want bugs, I just want my stuff to work! So why does it keep breaking?

I totally hear you there, and it’s never great when bugs and glitches get in the way. But it’s inevitable that there will always be one or two critters lurking away somewhere… Nothing can ever be perfect, but it can certainly be made better. 

I think I’ve found a bug in the OVO or Kaluza platform. How can I get it reported?

Ok, well firstly, sorry for any trouble it’s causing you! The good news is you’re in the right place (lucky us!). The forums here are perfect for reporting these things. But just before you flag it up, please do a quick search for anything that sounds related, just in case.

Didn’t find anything? Great. Let’s get that report in. Please create a new thread and provide the details of the problem. Other can then discuss it here as well as providing more info or help. Teamwork!

But wait! I think this is a security bug. Surely I can’t post it here?

Firstly, nice catch! Security bugs are my personal speciality, but I can’t easily get permission to tell you about you those bugs for security reasons… 

If you think you’ve caught a rare bug of the security kind, please don’t post any details here. The best place for those is to ping them over to the security team right this way

Thanks for playing fair!

What if the security bug isn’t for OVO’s stuff?

Found something else huh? No worries. If you’ve caught a rare security bug that’s related to the Chameleon IHDs or the inSided platform that this forum runs on, OVO’s own security team can’t help you there. Not to worry though, there are options!

If the security bug relates to a Chameleon In-Home Display, such as the Chameleon IHD3-CAD-PPMID or Chameleon IHD6-CAD-PPMID or anything else related to Chameleon’s platform, please feel free to chat with the security team at Chameleon Technology directly. You can find their Vulnerability Disclosure Policy right over here. Please be advised that this contact option is only for security bugs! Anything else will be rejected and you’ll be referred back to OVO’s Support Team instead.

But if the security bug is for the inSided platform, there’s a couple of options you can do. The recommended option would be to reach out to inSided directly via https://support.insided.com but if you’d rather not do that, feel free to PM either @Tim_OVO, @Emmanuelle_OVO or @Abby_OVO with the details and they’ll help you out.

Please don’t perform any active testing without seeking permission first! 

Umm… Reporting this bug means leaking personal info that I don’t want to share on the forums… Can I report it privately instead?

Yup. That’s probably a good move too - especially for account specific issues. If you’d rather not report a bug via the forums, you can also try having a chat with the support team instead.

What’s the best way to write a report?

Feel free to write it using any style you prefer, the more useful details you can offer, the easier it is to do. But if you’re stumped, here’s a template you can use to help provide a summary. It also helps if you set the thread to be a Question too!

What’s the problem?
A quick one line sentence that gives us an idea of what’s wrong

How do I make it happen?
Walk through each step you took to trigger the bug. Using the numbered list feature the forum provides can help too!

What should happen when I do this?
Tell us what you think should have happened

What happens instead?
This is the “bug” itself. Tell us what happens if you trigger the bug

Is there anything else you think might be useful to know?
Use this space for any random notes like app version, device info, other things you spotted, screenshots/videos or anything else you think might be relevant.

I’m not sure how to write the report, but I know what the details are. Can you help?

No problem! Feel free to write up the details in your post in a way that works for you. We can always give you a hand to convert it later if needed.

Help! I think I managed to trigger a bug, but completely forgot how to do it?

Don’t panic! We can still help you out. There’s a few bug hunters and puzzle solvers on the forums and we love a challenge. Feel free to share the details that you remember and we’ll try to help you piece together the rest of the puzzle.

Ok… So I’ve put the report in. What next?

Thanks for getting this far. Hopefully it can get passed over to the right team to check it out pretty quickly. After that, keep an eye out for updates on any progress. Feel free to post any other comments too, such as if it gets any better/worse or if you find another way to make the bug happen.

How long will it take to fix?

I’m afraid that’s not something I can answer as a forum volunteer. It could be anywhere from an hour to a few weeks. It’s hard to say really. But we’ll try to keep you posted with any news.

Do I have to use a template?

Nope! While I’ve created a handy one above, you’re welcome to use a different style if that works best for you.

I like your template! Is it OK for me to use it elsewhere?

Thanks.  I’m glad you find it useful. Feel free to use it wherever you like, on the house!

I have another question about reporting bugs. Can I ask you about it?

Go for it! If there’s something you’re not sure about, drop a comment below and we’ll try to help out.