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Bugs in Software Testing – What, Where and How

Last updated on Jul 13,2020 5.7K Views

A Data Science Enthusiast with in-hand skills in programming languages such as... A Data Science Enthusiast with in-hand skills in programming languages such as Java & Python.

It is impossible to build a web application which is 100% bug-free. You can minimize the error, flaw, failure or fault in a computer program or system that causes it to produce an incorrect or unexpected result. This article will provide you in-depth knowledge regarding the bugs in software testing in the following sequence:

 

Introduction to Bugs in Software Testing

In the present world, with technology making bigger strides in every walk of like, software development needs to be precise, quick and deliver with optimum quality. A thing that is deal-breaker in the software world is a “bug” in the software being released.

A “Bug” is a most unwelcomed word in the software development process. A bug indicates a fault, error or failure in the software/system being built that produces unexpected results. A bug identified needs to be tracked and fixed to ensure optimum quality in the software/system being developed.

The journey of any error in the code to being recognized as a Bug is explained below

Code-to-Bug-Bugs-in-Software-Development

Bugs and its Source

A bug is actually an error which would have been introduced in the due course of the software development life cycle. The most common sources of Bugs are detailed below

  • Ambiguous Requirements – Unclear requirement is a source of Bugs being introduced. This can be avoided by having strong Static Testing techniques, Reviews, Walkthroughs, etc.
  • Programming Errors – Incorrect coding standards is a source which can be minimized with proper code review and unit testing
  • Unachievable Deadlines – Stringent timelines often lead to bugs which can be avoided if proper planning is done to ensure timelines are driven based on the estimates

Every bug not only breaks the functionality it occurs in but also has probabilities of causing a ripple effect in other areas of the application. This ripple effect needs to be evaluated when fixing any bug. Lack of foresight in anticipating such issues can cause serious problems and an increase in bug count.

 

Bugs in Software Testing and Its Impact

The impact of the Bug is measured based on Severity and Priority. Impact to business is measured in terms of Severity, whereas impact to business execution is measure in terms of Priority.

The table below is a standard definition used across the software industry for the Severities.

SeverityDefinition
Critical
A critical defect would create a major disruption to the business operation. A severe application problem causing considerable downtime, financial penalty or loss of integrity with customers.
HighA major defect would result in loss of business functionality and would require a workaround in production.
MediumA defect which would have a medium impact on business functions, but could be immediately managed or worked around.
LowA cosmetic only defect which would have no business or user impact

Priority determines the impact of business execution, and subsequently, how quickly the defect needs to be fixed to ensure the project plan is on track.

The table below is a standard definition used across the software industry for the Priorities

PriorityDefinition
ImmediateAny problem that is stopping ALL usage of the software by the business, i.e. Nothing else can be executed until this problem has been corrected, tested and re-migrated with No workaround.
HighA major function or feature has been disabled or is incorrect causing a severe degradation in service. A workaround is possible, but additional problems/failures could result in critical failure.
MediumAn issue which signifies one of the multiple streams of testing (other than the critical path) is stopped, but other streams of processing can still continue.
LowBusiness can still proceed with a workaround and the fix can be applied in isolation

 

Bug Lifecycle

Every reported bug follows a lifecycle till closure. A bug life cycle illustrates the journey of a bug from the time it is created to the time it is fixed and closed. A generic bug lifecycle is explained below:

Bug-Life-Cycle

 

The description for each status in the lifecycle mentioned above are mentioned below

StatusDefinition
NewWhen a defect is posted, the default status is ‘New’.
OpenWhen the defect is accepted by developers it is moved to the ‘Open’ status.
RejectedWhen the defect is rejected by developers it is moved to the ‘Rejected’ status.
FixedWhen the defect is fixed by developers it is moved to the ‘Fixed’ status. Testers would pick up all defects for testing that are in the status ‘Fixed’.
ReopenIf the testing has failed, the defect is moved to ‘Reopen’ status.
ClosedIf the testing has passed, the defect is moved to ‘Closed’ status.

 

Bugs in Software Testing and Cost to Fix

There is no set cost one can ascribe to a software bug. However, the cost of a bug goes up based on how far down the Software Development Life Cycle the bug is found. Any bug found in production the code needs to go back to the beginning of the SDLC where the development cycle can restart.

The figure below illustrates the cost of fixing a bug depending on the SDLC phase it is identified:

SDLC- Bugs-in-Software-Testing

With this, we have come to the end of our Bug in Software Testing article. I hope you understood what are bugs, its source, and impact.

Now that you have understood bugs in SoftwareTtesting, check out the Software Testing Fundamentals Course by Edureka. This course is designed to introduce you to the complete software testing life-cycle. You will be learning different levels of testing, test environment setup, test case design technique, test data creation, test execution, bug reporting, CI/CD pipeline in DevOps, and other essential concepts of software testing.

Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section of “Bugs in Software Testing” and we will get back to you.

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