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Priority and Severity

The document explains the concepts of severity and priority in bug tracking, highlighting how severity measures the impact of a defect on system functionality while priority indicates the urgency of fixing it. It outlines different severity levels from blocker to minor, as well as priority levels from blocker to low priority, providing examples for each. The relationship between severity and priority is clarified, showing that a defect can have high severity but low priority or vice versa.

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Arun Vastrad
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23 views13 pages

Priority and Severity

The document explains the concepts of severity and priority in bug tracking, highlighting how severity measures the impact of a defect on system functionality while priority indicates the urgency of fixing it. It outlines different severity levels from blocker to minor, as well as priority levels from blocker to low priority, providing examples for each. The relationship between severity and priority is clarified, showing that a defect can have high severity but low priority or vice versa.

Uploaded by

Arun Vastrad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Manual Testing

Tutorial 47 : Priority vs Severity of bug


What is Severity of Bug ?
● Severity refers to the impact of the defect on the system's
functionality and business workflow
● It measures the seriousness of the defect in terms of system
behavior, functionality, or data integrity.
● Severity is usually defined by testers and depends on how much
of the system is affected by the defect.
Severity Levels :
Blocker/Critical Severity: The defect causes the system or major part of the system to stop
functioning completely. The application is unusable until the issue is fixed. We can not test
further unless blocker severity issues are fixed. Its “Show Stopper” for further QA
Example:
● System crash: The application crashes when a user tries to log in.
● Database failure: The database is not accessible, causing all functions to fail.
● Login Not working
Major/High Severity: The defect severely affects the functionality but does not completely halt
the system. Major features may not work properly, but the application is still usable with
significant limitations.
Example:
● Broken payment gateway: Users can browse products but cannot complete purchases.
● Incorrect calculations: An e-commerce site miscalculates the total cost of items in the cart.
Severity Levels :
Moderate/Medium Severity: The defect affects a specific feature or function but has a workaround. The
system can still function, but the defect may degrade user experience.

Example:

● Button unresponsive: The ‘Save’ button in a settings menu does not work, but the settings can still
be saved through a different screen.
● UI misalignment: Some form elements are misaligned but still functional.
● After booking there is no confirmation message

Minor/Low Severity: The defect has little or no impact on the system's functionality. It is typically related
to cosmetic or minor usability issues.

Example:

● Typographical error: A misspelled word in the help section.


● UI color issues: A button has a wrong color, but it functions as expected.
What is Priority of Bug ? :
● Priority indicates how quickly the defect should be fixed.
● It is assigned based on business needs and the urgency of resolving the
defect.
● Priority can be determined by the project manager or stakeholders as well,
who consider deadlines, customer expectations, and market demands.
● Priority defines the order in which bugs should be fixed
Priority levels ?
P0 (Blocker) Priority: The defect must be fixed immediately because it is blocking the functionality and affecting critical
business operations.

Example:

● Checkout failure: The checkout process in an e-commerce site is failing, stopping all transactions.
● Login Failure, installation not working

P1 (High) Priority: The defect should be fixed soon but is not immediately blocking the detailed testing for release. Issues
related to main requirements under testing.

It should be resolved before release. After P0 issues are fixed, P1 issues should be picked for fixing

Example:

● Broken image: The company logo does not appear on the homepage but does not affect user functionality.
● Slow response time: The user profile page takes longer than expected to load.
P2 and P3 Priority:

The defect can be fixed at a later time and is not urgent.

These are typically minor or cosmetic issues that do not affect critical
functionality or the user experience significantly.

Example:

● UI padding issue: The spacing between some elements on a settings page is


inconsistent.
● Outdated information: The help section contains old screenshots, but the
instructions are still valid.
Severity vs. Priority
● While severity and priority are related, they are not the same. Here's how
they differ:
● Severity is about the impact of the defect on the system.
● Priority is about the urgency of fixing the defect based on business needs.
It is possible for a defect to have high severity but low
priority or vice versa.

Let’s look at some examples:


High Severity + High Priority :
1. A banking application crashes whenever a user tries to transfer money.
Severity: High — The core function of the application (money transfer) is
affected.
Priority: High — It needs immediate fixing as it directly impacts users and
business operations.

2. The payment gateway is not working on the production server, preventing


users from completing purchases. This affects revenue and must be fixed
immediately.
3. Login taking to blank page
High Severity + Low Priority :
Critical functionality is broken, but it doesn’t need to be fixed immediately.
Example 1: A reporting tool crashes when generating quarterly reports, but the next
report is not due for several weeks.

Severity: High — The reporting feature is unusable.

Priority: Low — The defect can be fixed later, as there is time before the reports
are needed.

2. FAQ section is taking to blank page.

3. A system crashes during a rarely used admin operation that’s only performed
monthly.
Low Severity + High Priority :
Non-critical functionality is affected, but the issue is urgent for business or visibility
reasons.
Example 1 : The company’s tagline on the website is incorrect just before a major product
launch.
Severity: Low — The issue doesn’t affect functionality.
Priority: High — It needs to be fixed immediately to avoid harming the company’s branding
during a high-visibility event.

2. A social media share button is missing on a high-traffic blog post just before a marketing
campaign launch.
Severity: Low — It does not affect the core site functions.
Priority: High — It must be fixed before the campaign goes live to ensure users can share
the content.
Low Severity + Low Priority :
Minor cosmetic or usability issue that doesn’t need to be fixed urgently.

Example 1:

A minor alignment issue in the settings page of an internal application.

Severity: Low — The issue is purely cosmetic.

Priority: Low — It can be fixed in a future update as it doesn’t hinder usability.

Example 2:

A tooltip contains outdated information but doesn’t affect user actions.

Severity: Low — It’s a non-functional issue.

Priority: Low — Fixing it is not urgent and can be deferred to a later release.

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