{"id":109,"date":"2025-07-01T04:06:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/?p=109"},"modified":"2025-07-01T04:06:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T04:06:29","slug":"defect-life-cycle-each-stage-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/01\/defect-life-cycle-each-stage-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Defect Life Cycle: Each Stage Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Every bug has a story\u2014from the moment it&#8217;s discovered to the moment it&#8217;s fixed and closed. This journey is known as the <strong>Defect Life Cycle<\/strong> (or Bug Life Cycle).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the defect life cycle is critical for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Testers who log and manage bugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developers who fix them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Managers who track quality progress<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, we\u2019ll walk through <strong>each stage of the defect life cycle<\/strong>, what happens at each step, and who is involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 What Is the Defect Life Cycle?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Defect Life Cycle<\/strong> defines the <strong>stages a defect goes through<\/strong> during its lifetime in the software development process\u2014from detection to closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It ensures bugs are handled in a <strong>systematic, trackable<\/strong>, and <strong>transparent<\/strong> way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\uddfe Stages in the Defect Life Cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd0d 1. <strong>New<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A tester finds a defect and logs it using a defect tracking tool like Jira, Bugzilla, or qTest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bug is assigned a unique ID<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Details like steps to reproduce, environment, severity, and attachments are added<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Status is set to <strong>New<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> QA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 2. <strong>Assigned<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bug is reviewed by the QA lead or project manager and <strong>assigned to a developer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> QA Lead \u2192 Developer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd2c 3. <strong>Open<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The developer acknowledges the bug and begins investigation. This stage means the issue is now being <strong>actively worked on<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> Developer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udee0 4. <strong>In Progress<\/strong> (Optional)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some teams add this stage to show that the developer is currently fixing the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> Developer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\uddea 5. <strong>Fixed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The developer applies the fix, builds the code, and marks the bug as <strong>Fixed<\/strong>. The issue is now ready for retesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> Developer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd01 6. <strong>Retest<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The QA tester <strong>retests the defect<\/strong> in the updated build using the original steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> QA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 7. <strong>Verified \/ Ready for Closure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the fix works as expected and the bug no longer exists, the tester marks it as <strong>Verified<\/strong> or <strong>Ready to Close<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> QA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd12 8. <strong>Closed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once verified, the QA or lead marks the defect as <strong>Closed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udccc <em>Owner:<\/em> QA Lead \/ QA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd04 Alternate or Conditional Stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udeab <strong>Rejected \/ Not a Bug<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If the developer or product owner determines it\u2019s not a bug (e.g. working as designed), the status may be marked as <strong>Rejected<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udeab <strong>Duplicate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bug is already logged. QA updates the new ticket as <strong>Duplicate<\/strong> and links to the existing one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udeab <strong>Deferred \/ Postponed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The bug is acknowledged but won\u2019t be fixed in the current release due to low impact or priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udeab <strong>Cannot Reproduce<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The developer or tester cannot reproduce the issue with the given steps\/data. More info may be requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 Visual Flow: Defect Life Cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">plaintextCopyEdit<code>New \u2192 Assigned \u2192 Open \u2192 In Progress \u2192 Fixed \u2192 Retest \u2192 Verified \u2192 Closed\n        \u2198 Rejected \/ Duplicate \/ Deferred \/ Cannot Reproduce \u2199\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udee0 Tools That Support Defect Life Cycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Jira<\/strong> (most popular)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bugzilla<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>qTest<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>TestRail<\/strong> (linked with Jira)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Azure DevOps<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Redmine<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udccb Best Practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provide clear, reproducible steps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attach screenshots or recordings<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Include environment and build version<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Track linked test cases<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use consistent severity and priority definitions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Communicate status changes with relevant team members<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Defect Life Cycle<\/strong> helps QA and dev teams stay organized, efficient, and accountable. It ensures every bug is tracked, investigated, fixed, and verified before a product goes live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By understanding this flow, you\u2019ll be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improve your bug reporting and follow-up<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Coordinate better with developers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain high-quality testing documentation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every bug has a story\u2014from the moment it&#8217;s discovered to the moment it&#8217;s fixed and closed. This journey is known as the Defect Life Cycle (or Bug Life Cycle). Understanding the defect life cycle is critical for: In this post, we\u2019ll walk through each stage of the defect life cycle, what happens at each step, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-management","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qaplaybook.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}