What is the difference between defect severity and defect priority

Severity parameter is assessed by the tester whereas the priority parameter is assessed by the product manager or by the triage team. For prioritizing the defect, it is imperative for a tester to choose the right severity to avoid confusion with the development team. Skip to content. Bug Severity Bug Severity or Defect Severity in testing is a degree of impact a bug or a Defect has on the software application under test. Priority is categorized into three types : low, medium and high whereas Severity is categorized into five types : critical.

Priority is associated with scheduling while Severity is associated with functionality or standards. Priority indicates how soon the bug should be fixed whereas Severity indicates the seriousness of the defect on the product functionality. Priority is driven by business value while Severity is driven by functionality. Priority value is subjective and can change over a period of time depending on the change in the project situation whereas Severity value is objective and less likely to change.

High Priority and low severity status indicates, defect have to be fixed on immediate bases but does not affect the application while High Severity and low priority status indicates defect have to be fixed but not on immediate bases.

For example, Due to a bug in one module, we cannot test the other modules because that blocker bug has blocked the other modules. Bugs which affects the customers business are considered as critical. A major severity issue is an issue where a large piece of functionality or major system component is completely broken and there is a workaround to move further. Defect priority can be defined as an impact of the bug on the customers business. Main focus on how soon the defect should be fixed.

It gives the order in which a defect should be resolved. Developers decide which defect they should take up next based on the priority. It can be High, Medium or Low. A high priority issue is an issue which has a high impact on the customers business or an issue which affects the system severely and the system cannot be used until the issue was fixed.

These kinds of issues must be fixed immediately. Most of the cases as per the user perspective, the priority of the issue is set to high priority even though the severity of the issue is minor.

Issues which can be released in the next build comes under medium priority. Such issues can be resolved along with other development activities. A critical issue where a large piece of functionality or major system component is completely broken. The combination of these two bug attributes can be different. So what actually causes tension and conflicts? In some cases, each party is sure they have more reasons to advise on the priority of a certain issue. However, it is only for stakeholders to decide.

If a QA engineer or a developer believes the priority should be different, they should address an issue calmly. It would be great if a person in charge of the decision should share their reasons for assigning a particular priority. So the conflict comes from a human factor. When a team works towards a common goal, which is releasing the best product possible, everyone can become a little too excited.

Transparent communication is what helps to avoid suchlike situations. Still, each specialist should understand the hierarchy of the development process and read the situation. In other words, just do your job well and know when it is reasonable to ask for clarifications.

Severity and priority are parameters operated by different teams. However, severity is one of the key factors for prioritizing a defect. A project leader is the one to consider both and make a decision. Another piece of advice would be to pay attention to the roles and responsibilities each member of the team has.

QA engineers should back up the development with their expertise in product quality research, while analysts and managers make sure that each decision is based on business goals and with a bigger picture in mind. What Is Bug Severity? Levels of Bug Severity Blocker S1.

Such an error makes it impossible to proceed with using or testing the software. For instance, it shuts an application down. Critical S2. It is an incorrect functioning of a particular area of business-critical software functionality, like unsuccessful installation or failure of its main features. Developers cannot fix so many defects simultaneously, so it is important to prioritize the order of the defects they will fix. Usually, High Severity defects are of High Priority as they demand quick fixing.

The priority of defects is categorized as:. The wrong assignment of Priority can cause a delay in resolving a defect that needs prior attention and hence can hamper the product requirements and financial loss.

As a tester, while logging a defect, it is important to drill down and understand the impact of that defect on the end-user, then assign the right Severity and Priority to a defect. This has been a guide to the difference between Severity vs Priority. Here we also discussed the key differences with infographics and through example. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more —.