Defect Management Related Interview Questions

This tutorial provides an overview of defect management in software testing, covering various topics such as defect life cycle, defect tracking, root cause analysis, defect trend analysis, defect density, defect removal efficiency, defect acceptance rate, defect triage, and defect triage board. It aims to help prepare for interview questions related to defect management and provide a better understanding of how to effectively manage defects in software testing.

What is a defect in software testing?

A defect is a problem in the software that causes it to behave in an unintended or incorrect way. It can also be referred to as a fault, flaw, or issue

What is the defect life cycle?

Defect life cycle, also known as bug life cycle, is a process that describes how a software defect or bug is identified, reported, analyzed, fixed, and verified.

To learn more about defect life cycle click here

What is defect triage?

Defect triage is a process of evaluating and prioritizing defects or bugs based on their severity, impact, and likelihood of occurrence. It involves a team of stakeholders, including developers, testers, project managers, and other relevant personnel, who come together to review, analyze and prioritize defects.

The goal of defect triage is to ensure that critical defects are addressed promptly, while less severe defects are resolved in a timely manner, and resources are allocated effectively.

What is defect prioritization?

Defect prioritization is the process of ranking or categorizing software defects or bugs based on their impact and severity. It is an essential step in defect management, as it helps the development team to identify the most critical issues that need to be resolved first.

What is defect tracking?

Defect tracking is the process of identifying, documenting, and managing software defects or bugs throughout the software development lifecycle. It involves tracking the defects from the time they are reported until they are resolved and verified.

In defect tracking, each defect is assigned a unique identifier and is entered into a tracking system, such as a defect tracking tool. The system is used to capture and manage information related to the defect, including its severity, priority, steps to reproduce, and the status of its resolution.

What is a defect report?

A defect report is a document that describes a software defect or bug that has been identified during the testing or development phase of a software project. It is typically created by a tester or QA engineer and is used to report the details of the defect to the development team for further investigation and resolution.

What is defect leakage?

Defect leakage, also known as "escape defects," refers to the situation where a software defect that was previously identified and reported is not completely fixed and is released into the production environment. It means that a defect has escaped from the testing process and has been released into the live environment where end-users can encounter it.

What is a defect report template and the purpose of a defect report template?

• A defect report template is a pre-designed format used to document and report software defects.
• It includes details such as defect ID, summary, description, severity, priority, status, assignee, reporter, and dates reported and fixed.
• The purpose is to provide a standardized format for tracking defects, ensuring all necessary information is captured, and facilitating effective communication among different teams.

What is a root cause analysis?

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a systematic approach to identifying the fundamental causes of a problem to prevent it from recurring. It involves investigating and analyzing the problem, identifying the factors that contributed to it, and determining the root cause or causes. The ultimate goal is to address the root cause and implement corrective actions to prevent similar issues from happening again.

What is a defect trend analysis and the purpose of defect trend analysis?

• Defect trend analysis is the process of analyzing data on defects over time to identify patterns or trends and make data-driven decisions to improve the software development process.
• The purpose of defect trend analysis is to identify the frequency, severity, and types of defects that are occurring, as well as their root causes, so that corrective actions can be taken to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. By analyzing data on defects over time, teams can identify areas where improvements are needed and take proactive steps to address issues before they become larger problems.

What is defect density?

Defect density is a software metric that measures the number of defects per unit of size, such as lines of code. It is used to measure software quality and identify areas for improvement. High defect density indicates more defects and lower quality, while low defect density indicates fewer defects and higher quality.

What is defect removal efficiency?

Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE) is a metric used to measure the effectiveness of the testing process in detecting and removing defects or bugs from software. DRE is calculated as the percentage of defects that were found and fixed during the testing process, compared to the total number of defects in the software.

The formula for calculating DRE is:

DRE = (Total defects - Defects found during testing) / Total defects x 100%

For example, if there were a total of 100 defects in the software, and 80 were found and fixed during testing, the DRE would be:

DRE = (100 - 80) / 100 x 100% = 20%

This means that the testing process was able to find and fix 80% of the defects in the software, resulting in a DRE of 20%.

What is the defect acceptance rate?

Defect acceptance rate is the percentage of defects found during testing that are accepted by the development team as valid issues. It measures the effectiveness of the testing process in identifying and reporting real issues, and is calculated by dividing the number of accepted defects by the total number of defects found during testing. A higher defect acceptance rate indicates better communication and collaboration between the testing and development teams, while a lower defect acceptance rate may indicate poor testing or development practices.

What is defect triage board and the purpose of a defect triage board?

A defect triage board is a visual tool used by testing and development teams to prioritize and manage defects throughout the life cycle. Its purpose is to provide a central location where all defects are tracked and visible to the team, allowing for collaboration and communication. It helps prioritize defects based on their impact on the system and allocate resources efficiently to address critical defects promptly.

Some examples of digital defect triage boards include Trello, JIRA, and Asana.