Bug Life Cycle: How does a bug travel from detection to resolution?
Understand the journey of a bug through the system. Learn about issue statuses, common tester mistakes, and how to effectively manage defects in IT.
Bug Life Cycle: From Discovery to Resolution
Imagine a software bug is like a parcel in a courier company. It must pass through the sender (tester), the sorting center (manager), and the courier (developer) to finally reach its destination as a fixed product. The Bug Life Cycle is a set of specific steps that keep the team's work organized.
Bug Life Cycle
How does it look in practice? Reporting Stages
A bug in a professional system (like Jira) doesn't change magically. Each status change informs the team who is currently responsible for the issue.
New
A tester finds a bug and registers it in the system. This is the moment the defect is born.
Open / Assigned
The team leader assigns the bug to a specific developer to analyze and fix it.
Fixed
The developer changed the code and believes the bug is gone. They pass it for verification.
Retest / Testing
The tester checks the exact same area again to ensure the bug is actually gone.
Closed
If the tests pass successfully, the bug is officially considered resolved and archived.
What do other statuses mean?
Not every bug ends with a quick fix. Sometimes the process is more complex.
| Cecha | Status | What it means? |
|---|---|---|
| Rejected | Rejected | It is not a bug; the system works as designed. |
| Duplicate | Duplicate | Someone else already reported the same issue before. |
| Deferred | Deferred | The bug is known but will be fixed later (low priority). |
| Reopened | Reopened | The fix failed; the bug still exists in the system. |
Common Mistakes and Pitfalls
Vague reports
Closing without verification
Pro Tips for Testers
Attach visual evidence
Example: How to write a good bug report?
1. Open the login page
2. Enter email: [email protected]
3. Click 'Login' without entering a passwordPerfect Report Checklist
Check before clicking 'Submit'
0/5Quiz: Check your knowledge
What should a tester do if the bug still exists after being fixed?
Bug Workflow Diagram (Mermaid)
What next?
- Learn to distinguish Severity from Priority.
- Find out what regression tests are and why we do them after fixing bugs.
- Install a free bug-tracking tool like Bugzilla or Mantis to practice defect management.
- Review INF.04 exam tasks regarding the software development lifecycle.
- Read about the tester's role in Agile/Scrum teams.
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