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Bug Life Cycle

Overview

The bug life cycle describes the journey of a defect from the moment it is identified until it is fully resolved and closed. Understanding and following a well-defined bug life cycle is essential for maintaining transparency, accountability, and efficiency across QA, development, and product teams.

From a QA perspective, the bug life cycle ensures that defects are not only found, but also properly tracked, validated, and verified before being considered resolved.

This document explains the typical stages of a bug life cycle and the role of QA at each stage.

What Is a Bug?

A bug is any behavior in the software that deviates from the expected result, requirements, or acceptance criteria. Bugs may affect functionality, performance, usability, security, or compatibility.

QA engineers are responsible for identifying bugs through testing activities and ensuring they are communicated clearly and tracked until resolution.

Typical Bug Life Cycle Stages

Although workflows may differ across teams, a typical bug life cycle includes the following stages:

New

This is the initial stage when a bug is first identified and reported by the QA team.

At this stage:

  • The bug is documented in the tracking tool
  • Reproduction steps, environment details, and evidence are provided
  • The bug has not yet been reviewed by the development team

QA responsibility:

  • Ensure the bug description is clear and complete
  • Verify that the issue is reproducible
  • Attach screenshots, videos, or logs when available

Open

Once the bug is reviewed and accepted, it moves to the Open state.

At this stage:

  • The issue is acknowledged as valid
  • It becomes ready for prioritization and assignment

QA responsibility:

  • Clarify details if additional information is requested
  • Support prioritization discussions when needed

In Progress

The bug enters this state when a developer starts working on the fix.

At this stage:

  • Code changes are being implemented
  • The issue is actively addressed

QA responsibility:

  • Stay available for clarification
  • Avoid retesting until the fix is marked as completed

Fixed

This status indicates that the developer has completed the fix and believes the issue has been resolved.

At this stage:

  • The fix is deployed to a testable environment
  • The bug is ready for QA verification

QA responsibility:

  • Prepare for retesting
  • Validate the fix in the appropriate environment

Retest / Ready for Test

In this stage, the bug is handed back to QA for verification.

At this stage:

  • QA re-executes the original reproduction steps
  • Regression impact may be evaluated

QA responsibility:

  • Confirm whether the issue is fully resolved
  • Check for any side effects or regressions

Closed

The bug is closed once QA confirms that the issue has been successfully resolved.

At this stage:

  • Actual behavior matches expected behavior
  • No regression is detected

QA responsibility:

  • Close the bug
  • Add final verification notes if necessary

Reopened

If the issue persists or reappears after being marked as fixed, the bug is reopened.

At this stage:

  • The issue returns to the development workflow
  • Further investigation is required

QA responsibility:

  • Clearly explain why the bug is reopened
  • Provide updated evidence if applicable

Why the Bug Life Cycle Is Important

A clearly defined bug life cycle provides several benefits:

  • Prevents defects from being overlooked
  • Improves communication between QA and development teams
  • Clarifies ownership and responsibilities
  • Enables accurate reporting and metrics
  • Supports continuous quality improvement

Without a structured bug life cycle, defect management becomes inconsistent and unreliable.

QA Perspective on Bug Life Cycle Management

For QA engineers, managing the bug life cycle goes beyond opening and closing tickets. It involves:

  • Reporting defects objectively and consistently
  • Verifying fixes thoroughly
  • Protecting the product from regressions
  • Maintaining trust between teams

A disciplined approach to bug life cycle management reflects the overall maturity of the QA process.

Conclusion

The bug life cycle is a fundamental component of effective defect management. When QA teams actively own and follow this process, defects are resolved faster, collaboration improves, and software quality increases.

Understanding each stage and the QA responsibilities within it helps teams build predictable and reliable quality practices.