#Tracking Defects Overview - Bug Lifecycle Guide

Tracking defects involves managing their lifecycle, updating status, assigning team members, filtering and organizing, and collaborating through comments and history. This guide covers all aspects of tracking defects effectively.

#Defect Lifecycle

#Status Workflow

Defects progress through a defined workflow:

New → In Progress → Resolved → In Test → Verified → Closed
  ↓         ↓           ↓          ↓
On Hold  Reopened   Deferred   Duplicate
  ↓                              ↓
Rejected                        Closed

#Status Descriptions

New:

• Defect has been reported
• Awaits triage or assignment
• Initial state for new defects

In Progress:

• Defect is actively being worked on
• Assigned to a developer
• Development work is in progress

Resolved:

• Developer marked as fixed
• Awaiting QA verification
• Ready for testing

In Test:

• Fix is under validation by QA
• Being tested to verify resolution
• Awaiting test results

Verified:

• QA validated the fix
• Issue confirmed as resolved
• Ready to be closed

Closed:

• Defect is officially closed
• No further action required
• Final state

On Hold:

• Work paused due to dependency
• Waiting for external factors
• Can be resumed later

Deferred:

• Not addressed in current release
• Planned for future release
• Lower priority

Duplicate:

• Duplicate of another defect
• Links to original defect
• Can be closed

Reopened:

• Previously resolved defect reopened
• Issue not fully fixed
• Returns to workflow

Rejected:

• Issue not valid
• Will not be fixed
• Can be closed

#Status Transitions

Valid Transitions:

• New → In Progress, On Hold, Deferred, Rejected, Duplicate
• In Progress → Resolved, On Hold, Reopened
• Resolved → In Test, Reopened
• In Test → Verified, Reopened
• Verified → Closed
• On Hold → In Progress, Closed
• Reopened → In Progress, Resolved
• Any → Closed (if appropriate)

Best Practices:

• Update status as work progresses
• Don’t skip statuses unnecessarily
• Use appropriate status for current state
• Close defects only when truly resolved

#Next Steps

• Learn about Status Management to update defect status
• Explore Assignments to assign and manage defect ownership
• Check out Collaboration for comments and traceability
• Review Bulk Operations for managing multiple defects