Bug life cycles are similar to software development life cycles

During the life cycles of software development errors are often made which gives rise to a bug. The life cycle of bug begins with a mistake made unintentionally by software developer or a programmer. The life cycle ends with the fixing of the error so that it does not exist anymore. After finding errors, the fact should be communicated and developers are assigned to them for fixing. After resolving of the problem, it should again be re-tested.

The bug life cycles can be divided into various stages or steps.

New- This is the state given when for the very first time some defect has been logged and posted.

Assigned- After the bug has been posted by the tester, the genuineness of the error is approved by the head and then the corresponding developer team and developer are assigned the bug, with the state becoming assigned.

Open- This is the state where a developer starts working on analysis and fixing of the defect.

Resolved or Fixed- This stage is where some necessary code changes are made by developer. The changes are then verified and then the status of the defect is kept as “Fixed”. The testing team gets the error passed on to them.

Pending retest- When the defect is fixed by developer, the tester is given the specific code for testing again. Since the evaluation has a pending status at the tester's end, the status remains this.

Retest- This is the stage where the changed code given by the developer is retested by the tester to find out whether the defect has been taken care of or not.

Verified- The bug is tested again by tester after the fixing by developer. If it no longer remains in software then the approval of error fixing is given and status becomes verified.

Could not reproduce- In case the defect cannot be reproduced by developer by following the steps mentioned in the bug report then it is marked as CNR. In such a case, specific action is need for checking of reproduction of defect and developer is assigned with elaborate reproducing steps.

More information needed- There are times when developer cannot be too sure or clear about reproduce steps given by QA for the error reproduction. This is then marked as 'More information needed' or 'Need more information.' For such a scenario elaborate reproducing steps must be added and defect is assigned back to developers for fixing.

Reopen- In case of unsatisfactory results and bug still existing despite the fixing, the status is changed to reopened. The life cycle is undergone by the defect again.

Closed- After the fixing of defect, testers test it again. If the software does not contain any defects anymore then the status is changed to closed.

Rejected/invalid- In case the error does not feel to be genuine enough for the developer, it is rejected, with status becoming rejected.

Duplicate- For a case in which there is repetition of error or the bug's concept is shared by two bugs, then status of one defect becomes duplicate.

Deferred- This state means that the error will be shortly fixed during the next releases. There are many factors that work behind this change like low priority of defect or minor effect of it on software, etc.

Not a bug- This state is given in case there are no changes in the application's functionality. This is for changes related to field and look of application, change of text color, etc.

Software development and bug life cycles are quite similar to each other. In fact, from the above steps it can even be concluded that a bug life cycle is like a miniature software development life cycle.

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