Software Testing - Defect Management

The defects occur if there are deviations from the actual and expected results in the software. When defects are encountered, the software does not work as per the user requirements. To ensure quality, the chances of defects should come down, and customer satisfaction should be acheived.

What is the Defect Management Process?

Defect Management Process (DMP) is an iterative process that is followed in the entire software development life cycle to detect, manage, follow, and fix defects at the right time. This results in enhancing the quality, and confidence in the product.

Defect Management Process is adopted by organizations to supervise defect identification, elimination, and test procedure improvement. It is practically impossible to deliver a software totally defect free, but a considerable number of defects can be reduced, prevented, or detected at the early stages to minimize implications of defects.

Aims of Defect Management Process

The aims of the Defect Management Process are listed below −

Stops, and detects defects at the early stages of software development life cycle.
DMP is used to elevate the processes, and procedures of software development.
DMP brings down the effects of defects on the software by early identification of defects.
DMP is adopted to find the root cause of all defects in the software.
DMP provides all details about the defect releases.

Why is the Defect Management Process Used?

DMP provides operational aids for fixing defects, retesting them, and finding their root causes. The status, and progress of each defect are available with the help of the DMP. It also gives the right suggestions about the defect releases.

Stages of Defect Management Process

The various stages of Defect Management Process are listed below −

Defect Detection

The defects in the software are detected at all the levels of software testing namely the unit testing, system testing, system integration testing and acceptance testing.

Defect Log

The defects are logged in defect tracking systems having information about the defect summary, expected and actual results, priority, severity, and so on.

Defect Triaging

The defects raised are triaged to confirm if the logged ones are valid, their priorities, and resources required to fix them.

Defect Assignment & Fixing

The defects which are valid are assigned to the correct developers for fixing and resolving the defects.

Defect Revalidation

After the defects have been fixed, they are assigned to the testers to revalidate if they have been resolved and no new issues have been introduced due to the new code changes.

Defect Closing

Once the defects have been revalidated, they are closed and the same status is updated in the defect tracking system.

Defect Report

The status report of all the defects − open, new, rejected, fixed, average resolution time, and other details are shared to the project stakeholders.

Advantages of Defect Management Process

The advantages of Defect Management Process are listed below −

DMP is helpful in managing all the defects that have been detected and tracked in the defect tracking system and have been fixed with proper resolutions.
Defect tracking is a mandatory process in DMP. There are multiple automation tools available for defect tracking. Also, various types of tools are available to track different types of the defects like the non-functional or usability issues, production errors or defects detected by the development team.
DMP gives important defect metrics which are shared with the project stakeholders, and often help to achieve regular improvements.
DMP gives a methodical approach to manage and control defects which result in optimal use of resources, and quicker defect fixes.
DMP creates effective interactions, and cooperation between the team members leading to coherent and fruitful software development.
DMP gives regular reports and status of defects, by providing clarity to project stakeholders on the progress of software development, and giving them precision on how quickly the defects are fixed.
DMP has a centralized defect tracking and management system, that helps to keep an eye on every defect fixes, and verifying that none of the defects are missed.

Disadvantages of Defect Management Process

The disadvantages of Defect Management Process are listed below −

If DMP is not utilized to its full potential, the overall cost of the product shoots up.
If defects are not correctly tracked, and managed, then there may be chaos and confusion in the project at the later phases of the software development, when the number of defects rises in number. Also, if DMP is not used correctly it may impact the overall quality of software leading to loss of customers, and revenue.
DMP takes up a lot of time to log, update, manage, and triage defects in the defect tracking system.
The setting up of DMP requires a considerable amount of hardware, software, and resources.
The teams habitual to more informal ways of defect management, find it difficult to switch to DMP.
DMP is heavily dependent on technology, for example usage of the defect tracking system. If this technology is obsolete, then DMP ceases to work effectively.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Testing - Defect Management. We’ve started with describing what the defect management process is, the aims of the defect management process, why the defect management process is used, and the advantages and disadvantages of the defect management process.

This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Testing - Defect Management . It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.