Bug Life Cycle in Software Testing: Understanding the Journey from Detection to Resolution

n software development, identifying and resolving defects is a structured process known as the Bug Life Cycle. This cycle begins when a tester detects an issue and logs it into a bug tracking system. The bug then progresses through stages such as validation, assignment, fixing, retesting, and closure. Effective bug tracking ensures that defects are properly documented, prioritized, and resolved to maintain software quality. By following best practices like clear reporting, proper categorization, and regular communication between teams, organizations can streamline their defect management process and improve product stability.

1. Bug Life Cycle in Software
Testing: Understanding
the Journey from
Detection to Resolution

2. Table of contents

What is a Bug?

What Is a Bug Life Cycle?

Stages of Bug Life Cycle in Testing

Challenges Faced in the Bug Cycle

Best Practices for Defect Life Cycle Management
1.​Always follow a format
2.​Assign severities and priorities thoughtfully
3.​Use a tracking tool

How to Ensure Continuous Improvement in the Bug Cycle
1.​Have clear taxonomies
2.​Conduct root cause analysis
3.​Leverage CI/CD tools

Take Charge of Your Defect Management Life Cycle

3. Any software product under development will always have bugs. It’s vital to
flag and report them so that the app’s performance or behavior can be fixed
before it’s released for end use. The process by which these bugs are
identified and resolved is known as the bug life cycle.
As you might imagine, fixing a bug is not as simple as sending a memo to the
developers. However, it can be made as seamless as possible with the right
tools and workflows.
One effective approach to catching and addressing bugs early is real device
testing, which ensures that software is tested under real-world conditions
instead of relying solely on emulators. This helps developers identify
device-specific issues and optimize the app's performance across different
platforms.
In this blog post, we’ll examine the bug life cycle in software development.
We’ll discuss each step, avoiding potential pitfalls and using a continuous
improvement approach to addressing software bugs.
But first of all –
What is a Bug?
A bug is any kind of error, flaw, or gap that causes the software to deviate
from its expected behavior. It can arise due to unclear requirements, ill-defined
use cases, or simply a mistake in the coding. A bug is also known as a defect.

4. So you’ll see the words bug life cycle and defect life cycle used
interchangeably in this blog post.
What Is a Bug Life Cycle?
The bug life cycle in software testing is the path traced by the bug from the
moment of identification to its resolution. It’s divided into multiple stages that
help developers track their progress in the debugging process. Every
developer seeks to close the bug cycle as soon as possible to avoid deep
code-level issues.
Stages of Bug Life Cycle in Testing
The exact number of stages in your bug life cycle will depend on the type of
software project you’re working on. Here, we’ll give you an overview of all the
possible options.
1. New​
This is the status of any bug identified and flagged for the first time,
documented in detail, and brought to the development team’s attention.
2. Assigned​
This is the second step in the defect life cycle, where the bug is authorized

5. and assigned to the development team, either to an individual developer or
the lead, who will then pick a developer to assign it to.
3. Open​
This is when the assigned developer runs tests on the bug to determine where
the mistake is and how to repair it. If the defect is perceived as inappropriate,
it’s moved to either the “Deferred” or the “Rejected” state.
4. Fixed​
A bug is marked as “fixed” after the developer has made a code change and
verified it.
5. Test​
Now, the bug is tested to see if the error has been resolved.
6. Verified​
The tester assigns this status to the bug if it can no longer be reproduced
after the developer introduces fixes.
7. Closed​
This is the final stage in the software bug life cycle, where the defect has been
resolved. The goal is to reach this stage as soon as possible.
8. Reopen​
This status is assigned if the bug recurs even after the resolution. If this
happens, all the stages of the bug life cycle need to be repeated until the
problem is solved.

6. 9. Duplicate​
This is when the same bug gets reported twice by mistake.
10. Deferred​
If the bug isn’t of top priority or if there’s a plan to modify it in the next release
of the software, the testing team might “defer” it. However, it’s important to
note that high-priority bugs shouldn’t be deferred.
11. Rejected​
This status is assigned if the bug is found to be a duplicate, not a defect, or
non-reproducible. A non-reproducible bug may occur due to
platform/data/build mismatch.
12. Cannot be fixed​
In some cases, this status is assigned if the development team lacks the skills
or resources or if fixing the bug is expensive.
13. Not a defect​
If the bug doesn’t impact other app functions, this status is assigned.
Ultimately, it’s “Rejected.”
14. Not reproducible​
The development team assigns this state to the bug if it can’t be reproduced
due to a platform/build mismatch, inconsistent defects, or an incomplete
guideline defined by the tester. In the latter case, the development team can
contact the tester for more details.

7. Challenges Faced in the Bug Cycle
Anytime you run a software defect life cycle, there are certain pitfalls to watch
out for. These include:
●​Time constraints – Discovering bugs too close to tight deadlines might
not leave enough time for you to run the complete defect life cycle.
●​Ambiguous reporting – It’s vital to report exactly what the bug looks like
so that the developers can reproduce and solve it.

8. ●​Tool limitations – Without the right defect life cycle management
tools, you run the risk of slower processes, excessive manual
intervention, and poor documentation.
●​Reopened bugs – As a consequence of the above challenges, you might
find that bugs you thought were closed get reopened later, which
extends the bug cycle unexpectedly and causes extra frustration.
Best Practices for Defect Life Cycle
Management
As you can see, the bug life cycle can be as simple as running a test and fixing
the code, as complicated as multiple cycles of testing, or even unable to
manage the defect owing to resource constraints.
Here are our top tips for implementing a bug life cycle as smoothly as
possible.
1. Always follow a format
A clear format for your bug report – where you note all the information about
a bug – is critical for easy communication between your testers and the
development team.

9. Ensure all necessary details about the bug are provided in an order, format,
and syntax that all parties have approved. This makes it much easier to
organize your reports and pull up relevant ones afterward for reference while
avoiding delays due to misunderstandings.
2. Assign severities and priorities thoughtfully
Bug severity refers to the degree of damage that the bug can potentially
cause. Bug priority denotes how important it is that the bug be fixed quickly.
How you assign these will determine how your teams allocate resources
toward each bug, so make sure there are clear hierarchies of severity and
priority that the testers stick to.
Critical Bug Criteria to Keep in Mind
1. Severity – Measures the impact of the bug on the system
– Critical​
– High​
– Medium​
– Low
2. Priority (Urgency) – Indicates how soon the bug needs to be fixed
– High​
– Medium​
– Low

10. 3. Reproducibility – Describes how consistently the bug can be reproduced
– Always Reproducible​
– Intermittent​
– Non-Reproducible​
– Cannot Reproduce
4. Root Cause – Identifies the underlying reason for the bug
– Coding Error​
– Design Flaw​
– Configur ation Issue​
– User Error​
– Third-Party Dependency​
– Other 5. Bug Type – Categorizes the nature of the issue
– Functional Bug​
– Performance Issue​
– Usability Problem​
– Security Vulnerability​
– Compatibility Error​
– UI/UX Defect​
– Data Integrity Issue​
– Other

11. 6. Affected Areas (Impact Scope) – Specifies which features, modules, or
components are impacted
7. Frequency of Occurrence – Indicates how often the bug appears
– Every Time​
– Frequently​
– Occasionally​
– Rarely
Remember – the most severe bugs aren’t necessarily the most high-priority
bugs! Sometimes, addressing less severe bugs and closing the defect life
cycle makes more sense, leaving the more severe ones for resolution in later
product iterations.
3. Use a tracking tool
A bug tracking tool has multiple features, such as metrics, dashboards, and
notifications, to help you track each bug as it moves along the defect life
cycle. It also keeps all teams in the loop about status changes and provides
bug report templates that make documentation and reporting much easier.
The best part? This bug-tracking tool doesn’t have to be overly fancy or
complicated. Popular project management software like Trello, Jira, and
Redmine can help you have more visibility and transparency in your bug
management process.

12. How to Ensure Continuous
Improvement in the Bug Cycle
Now that you know how to explain the defect life cycle, it’s time to talk about
continuous improvement. This is a popular approach in software development
that involves – as the term suggests – continuous efforts to refine defect life
cycle management for faster resolution. Here are some best practices we
recommend.
1. Have clear taxonomies
As we mentioned earlier, it’s important to have clear hierarchies of bug
severity and priority so that the testing team and the development team can
agree on which bugs to work on first.
Similarly, you should have taxonomies about other aspects of the bug life
cycle, such as bug reproducibility, impact area, frequency of occurrence, or
bug type.

13. 2. Conduct root cause analysis
Ideally, you’d want to keep bug occurrence (and reoccurrence) to a minimum.
Root cause analysis involves studying the data on test runs and bug reports to
see whether there is any underlying issue leading to the bugs. This approach
makes for more permanent improvements, treating the condition rather than
the symptoms.

14. 3. Leverage CI/CD tools
This ensures that your bug life cycle becomes a seamless part of your broader
software development pipeline, emphasizing fast problem resolution while
maintaining product quality. For instance, continuous Integration (CI) helps
catch regressions quickly, while Continuous Deployment (CD) ensures only
stable, bug-free code reaches production.
Take Charge of Your Defect
Management Life Cycle
A structured bug life cycle management system is key to delivering
high-quality software your users will enjoy. Some bugs will take longer than
others to fix or even prove impossible to fix, and that’s natural.
Your goal should be to learn from each defect life cycle and make systemic
changes that improve the foundation of your software product and minimize
the scope for bugs to occur. Document carefully, communicate constantly,
and invest in appropriate tools – you’ll soon be on your way to fuss-free
testing.
Source: This article was originally published at TestGrid.