Defect management is one of the most crucial elements of any procedure or project. The best defect in the world of defect management is the one that never materializes. The adage “prevention is better than treatment” is quite well known.
However, organizations should consider how they can easily manage defects until they reach perfection in their product development teams, tools, and processes. Understanding a defect in the software testing industry is essential to know how to handle and manage one effectively.
What is a Software Testing Defect?
A software defect is a coding mistake that results in inaccurate or unexpected outcomes from a software program that doesn’t adhere to the specifications as intended. A change or deviation of the software application from the end user’s demand or the original business requirements is referred to as a “defect” in software testing.
These two names are similar and sometimes used interchangeably by testing teams because both represent defects that need rectification in the industry.
A Defect Management Process: What is it?
The cornerstone of software testing is the defect management procedure. The most important task for every firm when problems are found is to address them. These are addressed to everyone involved in the process, not just the testing teams.
The defect management process is where most organizations manage defect identification, defect elimination, and process improvement. Nobody can create software without errors; hence, a defect management procedure must always be in place.
Defect prevention, early defect detection, and impact mitigation are the three main objectives of the defect management process.
What is the Significance of Reporting Defects?
Defect reporting facilitates more transparent communication, detailed tracking, and an explanation of defects. To get feedback on the defect management procedure and the status of the shortcomings, software testing managers frequently produce and deliver defect reports to the management team. The management team reviews the problem report and offers as-needed feedback or additional assistance.
All management teams should know the fault status. They must be familiar with the defect management process to help their teams with the project. As a result, to receive feedback from them, a manager must inform them of the current defect situation, which is an additional way to ensure that your team and management are all on the same page.
What are the Objectives of the Defect Management Process (DMP)?
The objectives of any defect management procedure are as follows:
- Eliminate the flaw
- Early recognition
- Reduce the effect
- Correction of the flaw
- Process optimization
Defect Management Life Cycle
One step in tackling the issue is understanding what a flaw is and how the defect cycle operates. The second and most crucial step is ensuring everyone on your team is committed to finding a solution. It cannot be very comforting to manage different people at different levels of work. At that point, keeping everyone informed of what is happening and at what stage becomes crucial.
To establish a sound defect management procedure while maintaining team cohesion, follow these steps:
- Identification of the Flaw
Before it is delivered to the client or end-user, your project team will go through this process to find as many flaws as possible. What would you do as a manager in this situation, where the tester confirms a flaw, but the developer disagrees?
This scenario’s wisest course of action is keeping the command in your hands. This strategy is for managing and resolving a potential dispute among team members. Whether or not an issue or flaw exists should be determined by the team.
- Categorization
When a defect is classified, it makes it easier for the software developer to prioritize tasks, which is essential for addressing any critical or urgent shortcomings. The test manager should always be in charge of this phase. A test manager would be the best candidate to recognize and communicate which defects require immediate and additional attention.
- Correction of Errors with Prioritization
Defect resolution in software testing is the practice of gradually fixing problems. A developer is first assigned a fault, given a priority schedule for rectification and fixing, and sent a resolution report to the test manager. The tracking and resolution of issues are made more accessible by this process.
To avoid misunderstandings, you should pay close attention to each step in this process and label it appropriately. For instance, you should immediately update the defect’s status from assigning to responding after it has been given to the developer. Similarly, change its status to the next level when the following scheduling step is finished.
No one would need to rely on a single person for updates because the status will be changed and updated, ensuring that the entire team knows what and how the defect management process is operating.
- Verification
The testing team would be notified of the issue and asked to re-verify it when the development team, or the developer, has resolved it. If the flaws are fixed in this situation, the process continues to the next phase; otherwise, you might need to repeat the previous procedures.
- Closure
If all goes according to plan and the issue is fixed, the defect will be designated closed. Remember, as a manager, to only mark it resolved after double-checking it; otherwise, it would be much more troublesome if the fault reappeared after the ticket was closed.
Quick Wrap Up
It would be great to evaluate your defect management process and work toward a zero-defect goal during some of your team’s free time.
- The defect management process would increase trust that you ask your employees to check everything before it moves on to the next stage and someone else figures it out.
- The defect management process would keep your employees busy, so they would work together to solve problems more efficiently and effectively.
