When an application provides a different outcome other than what the actual business requirement, then it is known as a defect. While testing a software application, testers execute test cases and there are instances where the actual test result is different from the expected result. This difference is known as a defect/issue. Basically, a software defect in a condition where the outcome does not meet the desired software requirement. This defect causes an error or flaw that causes unexpected behavior in the system. Thus, to handle all software development projects, it is important to deal with the development and release and also handle the defects efficiently. 

Have you ever imagined what will happen if a testing team reports defects verbally and communicates the status of the defect verbally? The defect tracking process will become more complicated than it actually is, as these defects are actually fixed and working as expected, fixed but still not working, rejected, and the list goes on. As the number of defects increases and the communication is performed verbally, there will be situations with the worst outcomes. Thus, in order to control this, there needs to be a proper defect life cycle and issue tracking tools should be used to cover this cycle. 

All the defects in a defect life cycle are uniform and standardized. A defect can form different states throughout this lifecycle. Once an issue is identified, it goes through various stages during its lifetime and is known as the defect lifecycle. Typically, it starts from the stage when a defect is found, or raised by the testers and ends when a defect is closed either by ensuring that is rejected by a team or it’s not reproducible.

Effective Ways for Software Issue Tracking 

As testers report issues through a defect management system, the product manager must consider the costs, risks, and benefits related to each report to decide whether the defect should be fixed or left unattended. Issues should be assessed for the following:

Severity (Critical, high, medium, low) – Issues always have an impact on system operations and user perceptions related to the finished product. 

Priority – Issues should be prioritized and measured against other development processes, and align resources to fix the issues.

Detailed Steps – These should be included with the screenshots that can reproduce the defects 

Process Implications – While issue tracking tools, the process implications should be prepared for development groups to prevent the issues from occurring in the future. 

The primary aim of Agile development is to ensure a high rate of system releases. In order to maintain this rate, QA teams may often decide not to track identified defects for some areas or of the entire SDLC. organizations majorly do this for improving efficiency and reducing overheads. As the risk of damage caused by defects is huge when they are detected in the later stages of a product development life cycle. The above tips can be helpful in effective bug tracking when performed with the right issue tracking tools.