Bug Severity vs Priority in QA
Bug priority and bug severity are two concepts that go hand in hand. Nevertheless, these are two distinct phrases that refer to slightly dissimilar aspects of a problem. For everyone involved with the development process, it is crucial to differentiate between severity and priority. Finding the best response to the conflicting issue of “What to fix first?” that might arise between QA engineers, developers, and stakeholders is made simpler by having a clear grasp of the differences. This article should help to clarify things and provide the fundamentals. Check our QA training course online to learn more.
What Is Bug Severity?
The degree to which a certain flaw affects the program that is being tested is known as bug severity. The severity level of a fault increases with how much of an impact it has on overall functionality or performance.
Levels Of Bug Severity
Blocker (S1): It is difficult to continue using or testing the software with such a mistake. For example, it terminates an application.
Critical (S2): It is an improper operation of a certain feature or functionality of business-critical software, such as a failed installation or failure of one of its primary features.
Major (S3): Although an error has a big impact on a program, other inputs and system components still work, so you can still utilise it.
Minor (S4): A flaw confuses users or results in unwanted behaviour, but it has little impact on their experience. There are many UI issues here.
Low/Trivial (S5): Functionality is unaffected if a defect is not readily apparent. It can be an issue with unofficial apps, poor grammar or spelling, etc.
What Is Bug Priority?
The sequence in which the faults will be repaired is determined by bug priority. The more urgent the issue, the faster a development team will investigate it. The severity of an issue is frequently used to decide its priority. It makes sense to start resolving blockages rather than little flaws.
Levels of Bug Priority
High (P1): The issue needs to be fixed as soon as possible because it is crucial to the product.
Medium (P2): The issue can be repaired in the regular course of business, such as the following sprint, and does not require an immediate response.
Low (P3): Since the flaw isn’t serious, it can either be rectified once the more important flaws are addressed or left alone.
Based on these, we can also classify fixes per their timing:
1.Hotfix.
It is critical to address defects as soon as possible if they have a significant influence on user and business performance. For instance, a team should address problems right away if an installation fails or a user is unable to register or sign in.
2.Upcoming release.
A team does not have to use a hotfix if errors are bothersome but do not impact fundamental functioning. For instance, while a faulty layout is perplexing, it doesn’t affect functionality. It is OK to include this repair in a list of tasks for the upcoming version.
3.Later Sprints
The defects are added to a queue and fixed at some point in the next sprint if the issues are not urgent and there is no demand from the user or business side. It is a common scenario of dealing with typos and minor compatibility issues.
Do We Need Both Severity and Priority?
In essence, a defect’s level of criticality is described by both its severity and its priority. It would seem that the severity should have no bearing on the priority. It makes sense to prioritise repairing problems in accordance with their criticality. It is, however, more difficult.
The severity of a flaw represents how it might affect a user. As a result, a QA team rates the seriousness of each problem. Since QA experts examine a system to judge it from a user’s perspective, they may determine how seriously it is flawed. The sequence in which developers will repair defects is determined by priority. The decision to complete this order rests on the person in authority, such as the Product Owner, Project Manager, Business Analyst, etc.
Although it isn’t usually the defining factor, defect severity is one of the criteria used to determine the priority. Stakeholders consider the big picture while choosing the priority. They must always take business considerations into account. Therefore, priority and severity are both necessary. These two criteria aren’t necessarily dependent on one another while being closely related. Priority is not always determined by severity. As a result, several teams of experts who work on software development typically utilise these words.
Conclusion Different teams use severity and priority as operating factors. The severity of a fault is one of the most important considerations, though. The person who must weigh the two options and decide is the project manager. Remembering the distinction between bug severity and priority is your best bet. Check out the QA certification training to learn more.
