Issue tracking is the process of detecting, managing, and maintaining project issues. This system allows you to respond rapidly to business and project issues with ease and more control.
The issue tracking ensures that you can monitor every action taken on an issue.
It is a method for keeping a record of open problems of a business or company. Medium to large corporate organizations usually uses these systems.
With effective issue management, you can quickly identify and address any problems that may occur during the project life cycle. Issue management and project management go hand in hand.
What is an Issue Tracking Software?
An issue-tracking software or system is any application or platform that allows you to carry out issue listing, tracking, and management.
These tools help teams automatically track issues with ease. Issue tracker systems assist you in managing project bugs, problems, errors, or complications for proper follow-up.
Why do you need an issue tracking software?
Issues and bugs are almost inevitable; thus, you need powerful software to track and solve problems.
Come to think of it…
A report by PWC shows that only 23% of businesses have an integrated crisis management system.
Considering how important issue tracking is for project teams, we will review some of the best tools and software available on the market.
But before that, let’s see the key features of an issue tracking software or an issue tracker.
Key Features of Issue Tracking Software
- Effective communication on various channels
- Easy collaboration features
- Ticketing features or a ticketing system
- Customer feedback features
- Analytics and data to help with further development
- Seamless app integrations
- Issue status indicator
7 Best Issue Tracking Software
The following are the seven best issue tracking software:
- YouTrack
- Zendesk
- Slack
- LiveAgent
- Freshdesk
- Jira
- Monday.com
#1. YouTrack – Enjoy a Powerful Project Management
YouTrack is a project and issue management software designed to help teams implement the agile project management approach. It offers several issues and project management solutions for businesses of all sizes.
This powerful bug tracker is a project management software developed by JetBrain.
This software can be customized to your specific processes and adapted to help you deliver great project management and issue tracking experience. It also enables you to track projects, and tasks, plan projects, and even use agile boards.
You can also design reports and create workflows all on one dashboard. And this dashboard will match your exact project processes.
Think about how your processes fit with a project or issue tracking software.
With YouTrack, you do not have to go through that. Instead, you can design your workflows according to your brand/project processes.
Key Features of YouTrack
- Bug and issue management
- Business process automation
- Backlog management
- GANTT/Timeline view
- Idea management
- Kanban board
- Multiple projects
- Prioritization
- Project planning
- Resource management
- Task management
Pros of YouTrack
- This software is designed for agile teams
- You can track tasks and issues from customers with ease
- You can easily customize your workflows to fit your needs
- Reports and GANTT charts
- You can manage projects
- Good for businesses of all sizes
- YouTrack dashboards and agile boards are easy to use
- Great interface
Cons of YouTrack
- You cannot edit tickets
- Little glitches and UX issues
- No chat/messaging
- No communication management
- No live chat
YouTrack Pricing
- Free (1-10 users): All features available with the YouTracker bug tracker.
- Premium plan ($3.67): All features plus you pay less as the number of users increases.
#2. Zendesk Issue Tracker
Zendesk is a simplified issue and customer management platform for small to medium-sized businesses. It is a powerful CRM software that offers various project and issue management features.
It is a tracker that provides simple problem management solutions with multiple communication channels like chat, email, phone, and other social channels.
Why do we love Zendesk?
It is an on-demand customer service software. You can easily track tickets, and bugs, send bug reports, and track issues with ease.
Zendesk is also a project management software to track and manage project issues effectively. With this tool, brands can easily respond to customer queries swiftly.
This issue tracking tool will create great experiences your customers will always love.
Key features of Zendesk
- Live chat
- Analytics and reports
- Account alerts
- Account management
- Activity tracking and dashboard
- Assignment management
- Batch communications
- Case management
- Contact management
- Customer experience management
- Customer report
Pros of Zendesk
- Zendesk issue tracking is easy to use
- It has a unified (and simplified) dashboard
- You can easily manage project tasks on one dashboard
- You can integrate with your preferred social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter
- It is one of the best customer support tools
- With Zendesk, there’s no training required. You can learn and adapt as you use
- It is secure and reliable
Cons of Zendesk
- There is no free plan
- No reminders
- A few complaints about delayed customer support response
Zendesk Pricing
Suite Team ($49 per agent): a ticketing system, messaging access to different platforms (web, mobile, and social), live chat, email, voice, help center, automation and workflows, unified agency workspace, reports and analytics, file storage, 1000+ app integrations, online support, onboarding guidance.
Suite Growth ($79 per agent): You get all that is in the Suite Team plan plus multiple help centers, a self-service customer portal, knowledge management, customizable ticket layouts, up to 50 light access licenses, service level agreement management, and multilingual support.
Suite Professional ($99 per agent): You get everything included in the Suite Growth plus up to 500 AI-powered automated answers, custom reporting and analytics, custom app integrations, up to 100 light access licenses, live agent activity, community forums, customizable dashboards, advanced voice capabilities, data location options, HIPAA compliance and events connector for Amazon Web Services (AWS).
#3. Slack
What is Slack used for, and why is it good for issue management?
Slack is a service that allows teams to communicate seamlessly. It is fast, organized, and more secure than most platforms (including email).
Slack allows the project team to work whenever and wherever they are. In addition, you can keep up with conversations with your customers and team using Slack’s applications for Mac, Windows, and the web.
With this software, your team is only a single click away from resolving customer issues easily.
Why do we love Slack?
It is a communication platform or program originally designed for the office but is now being adopted for personal use since it is easy to use.
This software aims to transform how businesses communicate and connect people (or customers).
Think about it; how easy would it be to communicate on a single dashboard with various platforms? Email would not beat that!
What is exciting about this software?
Even if you have never sent a message to a slack user, this software allows you to do so. You can easily find any slack user on the platform.
Key Features of Slack
- Issue management and issue tracker
- Interaction tracking
- Meeting management
- Messaging
- Milestone tracking
- Multi-channel communication
- Onboarding
- Surveys and feedback
- Video chat and video conferencing
- Activity tracking
- Commenting
- Knowledge base management
- Real-time notifications and updates
- SSL security
Pros of Slack
- Slack allows a simple workplace for easy communication
- Slack connects users with the people and tools they use daily
- You can easily organize work in projects or departments
- Central notifications and updates
- With this software, you will not need to constantly find emails, switch between tabs, or miss notifications – you access them all on your dashboard
- Content shared in Slack is automatically indexed, so teams do not create knowledge base platforms manually
- According to Slack, over 80% of its users agree that it has increased team transparency
- Perfect for freelancers and businesses of all sizes
Cons of Slack
- The video and audio conferencing tends to lag sometimes
- The free version of Slack is quite limited
- Not sufficient tutorials on how to get the best out of Slack, so you need to learn manually
- Workflows are not customizable
- No help desk management
Slack Pricing
Free plan ($0): You get access to 90 days of messaging history, 10 app integrations with software like Google Drive, office 365, Helpdesk, etc., 1:1 video and audio conversations, and screen sharing.
Pro ($7.25 monthly): You get all the benefits of the Free version plus the full context of your brand’s messaging history, unlimited integrations, audio and video conferencing with up to 50 people, and secure collaboration with guests from within Slack.
Business+ ($12.50 monthly): You get all the features of the Pro Plan plus advanced identity management, compliance requirements, data exports for all messages, 99% guaranteed uptime, and 24/7 support.
Enterprise Grid: (Contact sales): With this plan, you get all the goodness of the Business+ Plan plus enterprise-grade security and compliance, HIPAA support, Enterprise key management add-on, large-scale collaboration, support for up to 500,000 users, customizable policies, centralized controls, designated account, and customer success team.
#4. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a fully-featured customer support tool used by teams to address and manage customer queries quickly.
It is a complete help desk platform that brings your customer support queries to one place, making it super easy to monitor and manage customer complaints.
LiveAgent even makes the issue management process simpler for teams by allowing seamless connection and integration with numerous applications on Zapier.
LiveAgent believes great customer service should start with effective Help Desk Software and a user-friendly customer service platform.
This software lets teams engage with customers through a company’s live chat to quickly answer and respond to questions.
What is interesting about LiveAgent?
It also offers a powerful CRM framework that lets teams create unique CRM fields to store, organize, and reach any information with ease.
Companies like BMW, Huawei, Orange, etc., use LiveAgent software to manage customer complaints and issues.
You can merely use this software to harness the power of the omnichannel inbox, where you can chat with customers using different platforms from one place. You also get real-time live chat and a built-in call center.
Key Features of LiveAgent
- Customer management
- Call center management and call routing
- Communication management
- Contact management and database
- Email management
- Queue management
- Real-time reporting
- Support ticket management and tracking
- Workflow management
- Live chat
- Appointment management
- Data import and export
Pros of LiveAgent
- LiveAgent offers seamless automation, SLAs, Ticketing, Ticket Routing, Live Chat, and more
- You can easily link other channels like Facebook, Tweets, and phone calls
- LiveAgent supports 43 languages
- You get the best support from LiveAgent support agents
- With LiveAgent, you can build a powerful customer community for your brand
- It is one of the most affordable Help Desk software out there
- Perfect for freelancers and businesses of all sizes
- Supports phone, email/help desk, live chat, FAQs, and a knowledge center
- Training options are available in videos, webinars, online, and in-person
LiveAgent Pricing
LiveAgent offers three pricing plans:
Free ($0 per agent): 7 days ticket history, 1 chat button, 1 phone number, 1 email address, basic reports, customer portal, and forum.
Ticket ($15 per agent monthly): Unlimited ticket history, unlimited email addresses, advanced reporting, customer portal and forum, API integrations, rules and time rules, customer service, and white glove setup.
Ticket+Chat ($29 per agent monthly): With this plan, you get everything included in the Ticket plan plus unlimited chat buttons, feedback management, real-time visitor monitoring, proactive chat invitations, chat satisfaction surveys, social networks, time tracking, and audit log.
All-inclusive ($49 per agent monthly): With this plan, you get everything in the Ticket+Chat plan plus call center support, video calls, IVR, call routing and transfers, hardware IP phone, and unlimited call recordings.
#5. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a customer service platform that provides helpdesk support features for teams to manage and control issues. It is a cloud-based platform that support’s multiple channels, including live chat, email, social media platforms, and phone.
It is also a customer relationship management platform that offers everything teams need to deliver the best customer service experience, including email ticketing, live chat, and phone.
The software enables you to engage in meaningful conversations with customers across multiple channels. It allows teams to build long-lasting relationships with customers seamlessly.
Freshdesk allows you to manage issues by giving agents more flexibility, automation, and control. In addition, it provides smart helpdesk support with the necessary automation to handle customer issues and complaints.
You can enjoy the benefits of issue management at an omnichannel level. Over 50,000 customers trust it in multiple countries.
Key Features of Freshdesk
- Issue and incident management
- Interaction tracking
- Issue tracking
- Job management
- Knowledge base management
- Live chat
- Live monitoring
- Multi-Channel communication
- Online forums
- Problem management
- Queue management
- SSL security
- Status tracking
- Support ticket management
Pros of Freshdesk
- Freshdesk offers an intuitive UI
- Getting used to Freshdesk is easy and offers an easy-to-navigate interface
- You can stay focused on complaints from email, phone, chat, and social media platforms
- This software is designed to improve team productivity and help teams stay at their best
- You can connect numerous tools like salesforce, Jira, Shopify, and WordPress
- Freshdesk offers great support that is 24/7 via email, chat, and phone support
- The free version of Freshdesk offers a lot of features
- Handles tedious projects tasks and issues
- It is great for all businesses sizes
Cons of Freshdesk
- No autoresponders
- No detailed customer service analytics
- Real-time monitoring is not available as well
Freshdesk Pricing
Free ($0 forever): Integrated ticketing across email and social, ticket dispatch, knowledge base, ticket reed report, out-of-the-box analytics and reporting, choose your data center location, team collaboration, 24/7 email support.
Growth ($15 per agent monthly): With this plan, you get everything included in the Free plan plus automation, collision detection, 1000+ marketplace apps, in-depth helpdesk report, SLA management & business hours, custom email server, custom ticket views, custom ticket fields and status, custom SSL, easily track time spent by agents on tickets, 24/5 phone support.
Pro ($49 per agent monthly): You get everything in the Growth plan plus multiple products, up to 5000 collaborators, round robin routing, custom roles, custom reports and dashboards, segment customers, customer journey, canned forms, extendable API limits, CSAT surveys & reports, multiple SLA policies and business hours, SLA reminder and escalation, multilingual knowledge base, custom apps, average handling time (AHT).
Enterprise ($79 per agent monthly): With the enterprise plan, you get everything in the Pro plan plus unlimited products, sandbox, easily manage agent shifts across time zones, custom objects, assist bot, email bot, audit log, skill base routing, IP range restrictions, auto triage, the article suggested, canned response suggester, AL-powered social signals.
#6. Jira
Jira offers a wide range of project, issue, and task management features. Jira helps teams plan, assign, and manage customer issues seamlessly.
This software aims to build better teams using the Agile methodology.
What is the difference between agile and Jira?
In the short term, Jira runs with the Agile methodology. Thus, Agile is a guide for Jira. In addition, it provides customizable Kanban boards.
Jira supports agile boards, roadmaps, workflows, reports, and backlogs and offers many integrations.
Why do we love Jira as an issue management software?
It offers so much more than issue management or issue tracking. It collects many work management solutions to help you get the best out of projects and tasks.
This Atlassian tool offers an issue navigator that you can access in many ways.
Key features of Jira
- Issue management and issue tracking
- Activity dashboard
- Agile methodologies
- Backlog management
- Bar chart
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Bug tracking
- Issue capture
- Campaign management
- Communication management
- Configuration management and workflows
- Debugging
- Employee management
- Integration management
Pros of Jira
- There is no shortage of ways to keep your brand in the loop
- Offers updates via email, chat, and mobile device
- You can track and organize your team’s issues
- With Jira, collaboration is effortless
- You can easily plan and schedule tasks using the Agile methodology
- Scrum and Kanban boards make Jira even better than most issue management systems
- Jira user interface is great and easy to use
- Available on Windows and Linux installers
- Seamless integration with over 600 plugins and add ons
- Perfect for freelancers and businesses of all sizes
- Support options are available in email, chat, knowledge base, 24/7 live rep, FAQs, and phone
- Offers a free plan
Cons of Jira
- Limited number of app integrations
- Little bugs that need repairing
- Steep learning curve
- Help desk is not available with Jira
- No knowledge base management
- Multi-channel communication is not available
Jira Pricing
Free ($0): You get up to 10 users, unlimited project boards, backlog, basic roadmaps, reporting and insights, 2GB of storage, and community support.
Standard ($7.75 per user monthly): You get everything in the free plan plus up to 35,000 users, user roles and permissions, audit logs, data residency, 250 GB of storage, and business hours support.
Premium ($15.25 per user monthly): With this plan, you get everything in the standard plan plus advanced roadmaps, sandbox, release tracks, project archiving, guaranteed uptime SLA, unlimited storage, and 24/7 premium support.
Enterprise (contact sales): Everything included in the previous plan plus unlimited sites, centralized security controls, centralized user subscriptions, and 24/7 enterprise support.
#7. monday.com
Does monday.com have an issue tracking system?
One common question we have come across while putting together this review guide is that quite a number of people wonder if project management tools also offer issue tracking.
What is an issue tracking in project management?
Every project has issues; thus, most powerful project management tools offer this feature, but some offer this in detail while others do not.
Therefore, monday.com is a project management platform that offers issue tracking features that help teams easily manage and address issues. Also, monday.com offer great issue management features.
Why do we love monday.com as an issue management software?
monday.com offers a visual bug-tracking solution that allows teams to take control of your project’s bugs or issues to keep your users or customers happy. In addition, you can track all bugs in one place.
This visual bug-tracking solution allows you to visualize the big picture and figure out where issues are. This way, your team will have a more precise overview of various issue statuses and help teams efficiently manage these.
Also, monday.com allows you to filter and prioritize bugs by any parameter. For example, you can see how many bugs or issues are open, closed, or marked as done.
This way, you can use this tool’s drag and drop feature to arrange your tasks by prioritizing them.
Key Features of monday.com
- Issue tracking
- Centralized issue tracking
- Tags, filters, and prioritize bugs
- Performance management
- Third-party integrations
- Time off management
- Workflow management
- Employee management and database
- Assignment management
- Backlog management
- Batch processing
- Benefits management
- Bug tracking and management
- Campaign management
Pros of monday.com
- You can easily customize your workflows
- Dashboards that provide valuable insights on bugs and issues
- You can do more than issue management – you can manage projects, lists, clients, tasks, and processes on a dashboard
- You can manage your time and prioritize your tasks visually
- You can communicate seamlessly between teams
- monday.com connects to numerous applications brands use
- You can access this software anywhere – web, mobile, or desktop versions
Cons of monday.com
- No interaction tracking
- Issue auditing
- No workflow management
- Is not suitable for huge corporations
monday.com Pricing
Individual (free forever for up to two seats): Up to three boards, unlimited docs, 200+ templates, over 20 column types, up to two (2) team members, and iOS and Android apps.
Basic plan ($8/Seat/Month): Includes everything in the individual plan plus unlimited free viewers, unlimited items, 5 GB file storage, prioritized support, and a dashboard based on 1 board.
Standard plan ($10/Seat/Month) – Most Popular: This plan includes everything in the Basic plan plus Timeline and GANTT charts, calendar view, guest access, up to 250 automation per month, 250 actions per month, a dashboard that combines up to 5 boards.
Pro plan ($16/Seat/Month): You get everything included in the Standard plan plus Private boards and docs, chart view, time tracking, formula column, dependency column, up to 250,000 actions per month, 250,000 actions (integrations), a dashboard that combines up to 10 boards.
Enterprise (contact for pricing): Includes everything in the Pro plan plus enterprise-scale automation and integrations, enterprise-grade security and governance, advanced reporting and analytics, multi-level permissions, tailored onboarding, premium support, create a dashboard that combines up to 50 boards.
Click here to visit monday.com
What are our Top Recommendations for the Best Issue Tracking Software?
Issue management is a huge concern for every project team. Unfortunately, you can have the best team, approach, and methodology yet fail at issue tracking and management.
Thus, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to issue management tools that are best for you. But a couple of tools are popular among project management teams.
But first, you must figure out what is best for your project. After that, you can carefully go through this detailed review guide to find which software offers the best issue tracking solution.
So, what are the major features you should look for?
What are the top ten issue tracking software features to check?
- Issue routing and tracking
- Issue management
- Help desk management
- Issue scheduling and auditing
- Categorizations
- Automation
- Reporting and analytics
- App Integrations
- Self-service options
- Knowledge base management
Now, what are our recommendations for the top issue management software?
- Zendesk
- Freshdesk
- Jira
FAQ on Issue Management Software:
Which is better, Zendesk or Freshdesk?
Are Zendesk and Freshdesk the same?
Zendesk is a service-first CRM platform that offers a complete customer service solution for businesses of all sizes.
Zendesk’s issue tracker finds and compiles all customer tickets or queries on a single dashboard. This problem tracker offers an easy solution to help teams with tickets and customer inquiries.
What is the Freshdesk issue tracker?
Freshdesk is also a customer support service provider that lets teams communicate with clients via numerous channels, like live chat, phone, email, and social media.
Like Zendesk, Freshdesk is a cloud-based CRM platform that offers Omni channel management for customers.
Now, what is the difference between Zendesk and Freshdesk?
Majorly the plans. With Freshdesk, you can create numerous knowledge bases even with its free plan. But Zendesk does not offer a free plan.
Summary
You need issue management for every project, and most medium to large-sized projects use issue tracking software with their project.
You can also use the software regardless of our project size, as it will surely help minimize and solve issues on your project.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
