7.3 - Severity vs Priority

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Introduction to Severity and Priority

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Teacher
Teacher

Today, we will cover the concepts of severity and priority in defect management. Understanding these terms is crucial for bug tracking. Can anyone tell me what you think 'severity' means?

Student 1
Student 1

Is severity about how bad the bug is?

Teacher
Teacher

Yes, that’s correct! Severity measures the technical impact of a bug. It shows how serious the defect is in terms of system functionality. Can someone provide an example of a 'Critical' severity bug?

Student 2
Student 2

An app crash when users try to log in would be critical.

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! Now, what about 'priority'? How is it different from severity?

Student 3
Student 3

Priority is about how urgent it is to fix the bug, right?

Teacher
Teacher

Spot on! Priority indicates the urgency to fix a defect, which might not necessarily align with its severity. Let’s remember that with the mnemonic 'SPU': Severity's 'S' stands for 'System impact', Priority's 'P' for 'Prompt action', and 'U' for urgency.

Teacher
Teacher

In summary, severity measures how badly a bug affects the system, while priority indicates how quickly it should be addressed.

Distinguishing Examples of Severity and Priority

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Teacher
Teacher

Let's dive deeper with some examples. Can someone give me a label and a short explanation for what 'Major' severity means?

Student 4
Student 4

Major would be a bug that causes incorrect results, like wrong calculations in an invoice.

Teacher
Teacher

Nice! Now, how would you classify a UI alignment issue? What severity and priority level might that have?

Student 1
Student 1

That seems like a Minor severity bug with a Low priority unless it affects user experience significantly.

Teacher
Teacher

Good analysis! Remember, the same defect might have different prioritizations based on project deadlines. It's useful to think about how the business impacts defect prioritization. For example, a Critical bug might require an immediate fix, while a Low severity issue can be scheduled for later.

Real-World Application of Severity and Priority

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Teacher
Teacher

Imagine you’re a QA Tester. You find a crash bug that only happens when a user plays the game for over an hour. How would you classify that?

Student 2
Student 2

That sounds like a Major severity since it affects gameplay.

Teacher
Teacher

Great! And what might its priority be?

Student 3
Student 3

If the release is coming soon, it would be High priority.

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! Now what if we found a typo in the help section of the app? How would that look?

Student 4
Student 4

Typo would be Trivial severity and probably Low priority unless it confuses users.

Teacher
Teacher

Perfect! You all are getting the hang of this. Remember to weigh both factors in your reports and analyses.

Introduction & Overview

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Quick Overview

Understanding severity and priority is essential in effective defect management as they determine how defects are classified and addressed.

Standard

This section discusses the key definitions of severity and priority in the context of bug tracking, highlighting how each term impacts defect resolution. Severity refers to the technical impact of the bug, while priority indicates the urgency to fix it. Examples and definitions clarify these concepts, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between the two.

Detailed

In software development, defects are evaluated based on two main attributes: severity and priority. Severity measures the technical impact of a defect on the software system, with classifications such as Critical, Major, Minor, and Trivial. Priority, on the other hand, reflects the urgency of addressing the defect, rated as High, Medium, or Low. A defect can have a high severity but low priority, or vice versa, depending on business needs and context.

Severity Examples include:
- Critical: Application crashes on login
- Major: Wrong calculation in an invoice total
- Minor: UI alignment issue on help page
- Trivial: Typo in footer text

Priority Examples include:
- High: Fix required before release
- Medium: Can be scheduled in next sprint
- Low: Cosmetic issue to fix in future release

This section is crucial as understanding severity versus priority aids in effective bug reporting and helps QA teams allocate resources and focus effectively.

Audio Book

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Understanding Severity and Priority

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Two key attributes are used to evaluate the impact and urgency of a defect:

Factor Severity Priority
What it means Technical impact of the bug on the system Business urgency to fix it
Decided by QA/Testers Product Owner/Managers

Detailed Explanation

In software testing, severity and priority are two important factors used to assess defects. Severity refers to the technical impact that a bug has on the software system. This measure indicates how severely the defect disrupts the software's functionality. On the other hand, priority indicates the urgency of resolving the defect from a business perspective. It is determined by how quickly a defect needs to be fixed based on business operations or user needs. QA testers typically assess severity, while product owners or managers assign priority.

Examples & Analogies

Imagine you're running a restaurant. If a critical issue arises in your kitchen where the ovens break down completely, this is high severity because it stops food from being cooked — a major operational failure. However, if the restaurant has a minor issue like one missing menu item, it is low severity. However, if a famous food critic is dining that night and has requested that item, the urgency to address it becomes high priority despite it being low severity.

Severity Examples

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🎯 Severity Examples:
- Critical: App crashes on login
- Major: Wrong calculation in an invoice total
- Minor: UI alignment issue on help page
- Trivial: Typo in footer text

Detailed Explanation

This section outlines examples of severity levels assigned to defects. A 'Critical' severity indicates issues that cause significant disruption, like an app crash that prevents users from logging in. A 'Major' severity defect may not completely halt operations but can significantly affect important functions, such as miscalculating invoice totals. 'Minor' defects are less severe, such as minor UI alignment issues that do not hinder functionality, while 'Trivial' defects are cosmetic problems—like typos—that do not affect the software's usability.

Examples & Analogies

Think of severity as a medical emergency scale. A critical condition that requires immediate attention (like a heart attack) is analogous to a critical software defect. A major condition (like a broken arm) needs prompt care but isn’t as life-threatening, similar to a major software bug. Minor issues (like a cold) might not require urgent care, akin to minor UI issues. Trivial problems (like a scratch) are like minor cosmetic issues that don’t impact the overall health.

Priority Examples

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🎯 Priority Examples:
- High: Fix required before release
- Medium: Can be scheduled in next sprint
- Low: Cosmetic issue, fix in future release

Detailed Explanation

In this section, we explore different levels of priority assigned to defects. A 'High' priority means that the defect must be addressed immediately, often before a product release. For example, if a critical feature does not work, this would be high priority. 'Medium' priority indicates that while the defect needs to be fixed, it can wait until the next development phase or sprint. 'Low' priority refers to defects that can be postponed indefinitely, usually those that do not affect user experience significantly, like minor visual issues.

Examples & Analogies

Think of prioritizing tasks at home. If your roof is leaking (high priority), it needs to be fixed right away. If your garden needs weeding (medium priority), you can schedule that for next weekend. Finally, if your fence needs painting (low priority), that can wait until you have extra time — it’s not urgent.

The Relationship Between Severity and Priority

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🔄 A defect can be High Severity + Low Priority, or Low Severity + High Priority, depending on business needs.

Detailed Explanation

This statement highlights that severity and priority do not always align. A defect can have high severity, meaning it significantly impacts the system technically, but its priority can be low if the business does not need it fixed immediately. Conversely, a defect with low severity may be marked as high priority if it needs a quick fix due to business needs, like keeping a client happy. This flexibility allows teams to respond effectively based on context and resources.

Examples & Analogies

Consider a smartphone app that crashes when a user logs in — this is high severity. However, if the application is in the late stages of its lifecycle and a new, improved version is about to launch, fixing the crash might be lower in priority. On the flip side, imagine a minor bug that causes an application to not display correctly, but it affects a high-profile client's project — this could be considered high priority despite being low severity.

Definitions & Key Concepts

Learn essential terms and foundational ideas that form the basis of the topic.

Key Concepts

  • Defect: A bug that deviates from expected behavior.

  • Severity: The impact a bug has on system functionality.

  • Priority: The urgency to resolve a defect.

Examples & Real-Life Applications

See how the concepts apply in real-world scenarios to understand their practical implications.

Examples

  • Critical severity: App crashes on login.

  • Major severity: Inaccurate calculation in an invoice.

  • Minor severity: A misaligned button on a webpage.

  • Trivial severity: A typo in footer text.

  • High priority: Fix required immediately before launch.

  • Low priority: Cosmetic issues fixed in future releases.

Memory Aids

Use mnemonics, acronyms, or visual cues to help remember key information more easily.

🎵 Rhymes Time

  • Severity means how bad, Priority shows how bad; together they help fix the sad.

📖 Fascinating Stories

  • Imagine a doctor diagnosing a patient: a heart attack (Critical severity) needs immediate attention (High priority), while a small headache (Minor severity) can wait for an appointment (Low priority).

🧠 Other Memory Gems

  • Remember SPU: 'S' for Severity (System impact), 'P' for Priority (Prompt action), 'U' for Urgency.

🎯 Super Acronyms

S-P

  • Severity-Priority
  • Classifying bugs to fix with high commonality.

Flash Cards

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Glossary of Terms

Review the Definitions for terms.

  • Term: Severity

    Definition:

    The technical impact of a defect on the functionality of a software system, categorized as Critical, Major, Minor, or Trivial.

  • Term: Priority

    Definition:

    The urgency with which a defect should be resolved, classified as High, Medium, or Low.

  • Term: Defect

    Definition:

    A deviation from the expected behavior of a software application.