Software Testing - Defect Management Process

1. Definition

The Defect Management Process is a structured approach for identifying, recording, tracking, and resolving defects found during the software development lifecycle.

  • It ensures that bugs are fixed systematically and efficiently.

  • It’s a key part of Quality Assurance.

2. Objectives

  • Ensure defects are detected early and resolved quickly.

  • Maintain clear communication between testers, developers, and stakeholders.

  • Track defects for process improvement in future projects.

3. Stages in Defect Management Process

1. Defect Detection

  • Defects are found during testing, code review, or user feedback.

  • Testers document them with details like steps to reproduce, screenshots, severity, and priority.

2. Defect Logging

  • Defects are logged into a defect tracking tool (e.g., Jira, Bugzilla, Mantis).

  • Essential details include:

    • Defect ID

    • Description

    • Severity & Priority

    • Status (New, Open, Fixed, etc.)

    • Attachments (screenshots, logs).

3. Defect Triage

  • The QA lead, developers, and product owner review defects.

  • Decide which defects to fix immediately, defer, or reject.

  • Assign ownership to a developer.

4. Defect Assignment

  • The defect is assigned to the responsible developer for fixing.

5. Defect Resolution

  • Developer fixes the defect.

  • Updates status to Resolved or Fixed in the tracking tool.

6. Defect Verification

  • Testers re-test the fixed defect.

  • If the fix works → status changes to Closed.

  • If not fixed → status changes to Reopened.

7. Defect Closure

  • Once verified and approved, the defect is marked as Closed.

8. Defect Reporting & Metrics

  • Reports are generated to track defect trends, resolution time, and quality improvements.

4. Defect Status Flow

New → Open → Assigned → Fixed → Retested → Closed (or Reopened)

5. Best Practices

  • Use a centralized defect tracking tool.

  • Clearly define severity (impact) and priority (urgency) levels.

  • Maintain good communication between testers and developers.

  • Track defect metrics like Defect Density, Mean Time to Fix (MTTF).

  • Review defect patterns to prevent similar issues in future releases.

6. Example Tools for Defect Management

  • Jira

  • Bugzilla

  • MantisBT

  • Redmine

  • HP ALM (Application Lifecycle Management)