Severity and priority are two crucial terms in software testing that decide how a tester should address a bug.
This post, Severity vs. Priority, explains the differences between the two. Read on to discover the purpose of the severity and priority in software testing.
What is Bug Severity in Software Testing?
The severity refers to the degree of impact a bug has on software. It indicates the seriousness of the issue and how it will affect end users.
Software testers may categorize severity into the following levels:
- Critical: Software testers categorize bugs as critical if they halt software functionality. If the software stops working, it is a serious issue.
- Major: This situation indicates that some parts of the application are operational. However, the bug has affected a primary function.
- Minor: The minor severity bug has a negligible impact on the software. Nonetheless, it might cause some unexpected behavior in your app.
- Low: This category includes bugs with trivial impact. Generally, these are minor cosmetic issues.
What is Bug Priority in Software Testing?
In software testing, priority indicates the urgency of resolving a bug. A software tester may prioritize bugs depending on user expectations and the manager’s deadline.
Similar to severity, priority also has various levels in software testing.
- P1 (High): All the bugs in this category need an immediate fix. They can impact the software’s functionality. For example, users cannot proceed with the checkout process on an e-commerce website.
- P2 (Medium): In this scenario, you should fix the bug soon. However, it does not require immediate attention. The issue may affect one feature of the application. However, users can still use important functions.
- P3 (Low): Minor issues do not affect the user experience. Therefore, software testers classify them as low priority. The bug can be as minor as an outdated application logo.
Severity vs. Priority: Key Differences
Severity and priority are interconnected, but they highlight distinct aspects of bug management.
Some primary differences you can observe between Severity and Priority include:
Purpose
Severity represents how strongly the bug can affect the functionality of the application or software.
On the contrary, priority represents the urgency of resolving that bug. A bug with low severity that impacts a major marketing event can be assigned a high priority.
Relationship
Severity is associated with maintaining the quality of the app. Severe bugs might compromise essential functionalities and violate the technical aspects of the app.
Priority is more about scheduling and planning. It helps you plan resources and timeliness for resolving defects.
Value
Since severity is based on technical criteria, it has an objective value. It indicates how major the defect is.
On the other hand, priority has a subjective value. It depends on user preferences, business strategies, and time-sensitive requirements.
Driving Factor
The severity depends on how the bug affects the software. A bug that disrupts a primary process is more severe.
Priority is determined by the business value. A bug with high customer visibility is always on the tester’s priority list.
Authority
A testing engineer is responsible for evaluating the severity of the bug. They can measure it based on the technical standard and functionality of the software.
The project manager measures the priority in testing. They determine it based on deadlines and customer requirements.
Severity vs. Priority: Examples
Now that you know the differences between bug severity and priority, let us look at some examples.
- High Severity and Low Priority: A bug causing an app to crash when clicking a particular button is a severe issue. After all, it has a direct impact on user experience. If this bug is not constant or that button is not essential, the bug would be considered low priority.
- High Severity and High Priority: If there is a serious safety issue with the software, hackers can steal important information. This type of bug needs quick fixes to prevent problems. You can put this type of bug in high-severity and high-priority cases.
- Low Severity and High Priority: When an app’s drop-down menu does not work, it disrupts the navigation. Still, this is a low-severity bug as it does not impact the primary functions of your application. However, it is a high-priority issue since it could make users leave your app.
- Low Severity and Low Priority: You can categorize low-quality images, logos, and typos in this category. These are not severe issues and do not require immediate attention.
Conclusion
Understanding severity vs. priority in software testing is essential for efficient bug management. Severity shows the bug’s technical impact, while priority shows how urgent it is.
A tester needs to assess both factors and allocate time and resources accordingly.
We hope this post gives you a better understanding of bug severity and priority.
