A Defect is a product anomaly or flaw. Defects include such things as omissions and imperfections found during testing phases. Symptoms (flaws) of faults contained in software that is sufficiently mature for production will be considered as defects. Deviations from expectation that is to be tracked and resolved is also termed a defect.
Types of Defects
Defects that are detected by the tester are classified into categories by the nature of the defect. The following are the classification
Showstopper (X): The impact of the defect is severe and the system cannot go into the production environment without resolving the defect since an interim solution may not be available.
Critical (C): The impact of the defect is severe, however an interim solution is available. The defect should not hinder the test process in any way.
Non critical (N): All defects that are not in the X or C category are deemed to be in the N category. These are also the defects that could potentially be resolved via documentation and user training. These can be Graphic User Interface (GUI) defects are some minor field level observations.
Defect Reporting By Tester
Defects or Bugs when detected in the application by the tester must be duly reported through an automated tool. Particulars that have to be filled by a tester are
Defect Id: Number associated with a particular defect, and henceforth referred by its ID
Date of execution: The date on which the test case which resulted in a defect was executed
Defect Category: These are explained in the next section, ideally decided by the test leader
Severity: As explained, it can be Critical, Non-Critical and Showstopper
Module ID: Module in which the defect occurred
Status: Raised, Authorised, Deferred, Fixed, Re-raised, Closed and Duplicate.
Defect description: Description as to how the defect was found, the exact steps that should be taken to simulate the defect, other notes and attachments if any.
Test Case Reference No: The number of the test case and script in combination which resulted in the defect
Owner: The name of the tester who executed the test case
Test case description: The instructions in the test cases for the step in which the error occurred
Expected Result: The expected result after the execution of the instructions in the test case descriptions
History of the defect: Normally taken care of the automated tool used for defect tracking and reporting.
Attachments: The screen shot showing the defect should be captured and attached
Responsibility: Identified team member of the development team for fixing the defect.
