Defect Tracking and
Management
Best Practices
By
Gabriel Rodriguez
Agenda
Defect Management
Defect Management Process
Q&A
Reference
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
A major test objective is to identify defects. Once identified,
defects need to be recorded, monitored, reported and corrected.
The primary goal is to prevent defects.
The defect management process like the entire software
development process, should be risk driven, i.e., strategies,
priorities and resources should be based on an assessment of the
risk.
Defect measurement should be integrated into the development
process and be used by the project team to improve the
development process
Defect information should be used to improve the process
Imperfect or flawed processes cause most defects.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
A defect can be defined in one of two ways
– From the producer’s viewpoint
A defect is a deviation from specifications, whether
missing, wrong, or extra
– From the Customer’s viewpoint
A defect is anything that causes customer dissatisfaction,
whether in the requirements or not; this is know as ”fit for
use.”
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
The following structure is recommended to report a defect:
– Title:
Type the problem encountered in the application, the title needs to be
understandable
For Example:
You can use the following categories:
Missing
Inaccurate
Incomplete
Inconsistent
Incorrect
Example:
Missing validation in “Project” field
Incorrect spelling in “status” drop down list
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Description
– Type a brief description of the problem
Repro Steps:
– Type all the steps to get to the problem, all steps must be
cleared
For example:
1.- Login to FIDO
2.- Click on Add Invoice
3.- Type !@#$%% in Project field
4.- Click on Save
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Actual Results
– Type the actual results of the action
For example:
The following error message is displayed..
– Comments:
Type any comments or notify to the developers of any screenshots
(attachments)
For Example: This defect is reproducible in Project field. (see
attached file)
Expected Results
– Type the expected results of the action.
For Example:
Data should be saved successfully.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Test Environment
– Include details of the test environment
For Example:
Microsoft Windows 2003 Standard
Office 2003
The following slide shows an example of a complete Defect
Report
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Consider the following caveats
– Most of the organizations have a Defect Tracking Tool to log
the defects found during Test Execution, one of the most
common tools in the market is Test Director of Mercury tools
– The budget in some organizations is limited to afford buying a
commercial tool, thus they prefer to create their own defect
tracking process
– A very simple way to track the defects of the application is
using a spreadsheet of Excel
The following slide shows an example of a complete Defect
Report and a Defect Tracking Sheet in Excel
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Defect Report Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management
Defect Tracking Example
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management Process
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management Process
The steps below describe a simple defect tracking process:
– Execute the test and compare the actual results to the
documented expected results.
– If a discrepancy exists, log the discrepancy with a status of
“open”. Supplementary documentation, such as screen prints
or program traces, should be attached if available.
– The test manager or tester should review the problem log with
the appropriate member of the development team to determine
if the discrepancy is truly a defect.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Defect Management Process
– Assign the defect to a developer for correction.
– Once the defect is corrected, the developer will usually enter a
description of the fix applied and update the defect status to
“Fixed” or “Retest”.
– The defect is routed back to the test team for retesting.
– Additional regression testing is performed as needed based on
the severity and impact of the fix applied.
– If the retest result match the expected result, the defect status
is updated to “closed”. If the test results indicate that the defect
is still not fixed, the status is changed to “open” and sent back
to the developer.
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Q&A
Any questions…
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Reference
CSTE Study Guide 2002 by QAI
CSTE Study Guide 2006 by QAI
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
Thank you…
Copyright 2006-2007. MSQAA Federation Chapter.
