Defect Management Process

The Defect Management Process is a systematic approach to identify, track, and resolve defects in software development. It typically includes the following steps:

1. Defect identification – Defects are identified through various testing activities, such as unit testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing.
2. Defect logging – Defects are logged in a defect tracking system, along with details such as description, severity, and priority.
3. Defect triage – The triage process involves evaluating the defects to determine their priority and the resources required to resolve them.
4. Defect assignment – Defects are assigned to developers or testers for resolution, based on their expertise and availability.
5. Defect resolution – The assigned personnel work on resolving the defects by fixing the code, updating the documentation, or performing other necessary actions.
6. Defect verification – Once the defect is resolved, it is verified by the tester to ensure that it has been fixed correctly and does not introduce any new defects.
7. Defect closure – Once the defect has been verified, it is closed and the status is updated in the defect tracking system.
8. Defect reporting – Regular reports on the status of defects, including the number of open defects, the number of defects resolved, and the average time to resolve defects, are generated to provide visibility into the defect management process.

The Defect Management Process is an iterative process that continues throughout the software development life cycle, and helps to ensure that defects are identified, tracked, and resolved in a timely and efficient manner, leading to higher software quality and reliability.

Defects are basically considered as destructive in all software development stages. Any unexpected things that occur in software stages are defective in that particular software. To establish a defect management process is the most attractive and best way to increase and improve the quality of software. There is no such software that is present without any defect. Defects are present in whole life of software because software is developed by humans and “to err is human” i.e. it is natural for human beings to make mistakes. Number of defects can be reduced by resolving or fixing but it is impossible to make a software error or defect-free. Defect Management Process (DMP), as name suggests, is a process of managing defects by simply identifying and resolving or fixing defects. If defect management process is done in more efficient manner with full focus, then less buggy software will be available more in the market. Goals of Defect Management Process (DMP) :

• Prevent the defect
• Detection at an early stage
• Reduce the impact or effects of defect on software
• Resolving or fixing defects
• Improving process and performance of software

The main purpose of DMP for different projects or organization is given below :

• Operational support for simply resolving and retesting defects being found.
• To give input for status and progress report regarding defect.
• To give input for advice regarding release of defect.
• To identify the main reason that the defect occurred and how to handle it.

Advantages of DMP :

1. Availability of automation tools : Defect tracking is one of the most important processes of defect management process. There are several automation tools available for defect tracking. Different tools are available nowadays to track different types of defects such as software tools to detect or track non-technical problems, user-facing tools to detect defects that are related to production or use of internal automated tools to detect defects by development team.
2. Ensure Resolution : This defect management process also helps to ensure that whether or not all defects that were found or were tracked are resolved or fixed or not. In simple words, it helps us to ensure the resolution of defects being tracked.
3. Provide Valuable Metrics : DMP also provides valuable defect metrics along with automation tools. These defect metrics help in reporting and continuous improvements.
4. Improved software quality – By identifying and resolving defects, the software will perform as intended and be of higher quality.
5. Increased efficiency – The Defect Management Process provides a systematic approach to managing defects, leading to a more efficient use of resources and faster resolution of defects.
6. Better collaboration – The Defect Management Process facilitates communication and collaboration among different teams, such as development, testing, and management, leading to a more cohesive and effective development process.
7. Improved visibility – The Defect Management Process provides regular reports on the status of defects, giving stakeholders visibility into the development process and helping to ensure that defects are being resolved in a timely manner.
8. Better tracking – The Defect Management Process provides a centralized system for tracking and managing defects, making it easier to track the progress of defect resolution and ensure that defects are not forgotten.

Disadvantages of DMP :

1. If DMP is not handled properly, then there will a huge increased cost in a creeping i.e. increase in price of product.
2. If errors or defects are not managed properly at early stage, then afterwards, defect might cause greater damage, and costs to fix or resolve the defect will also get increased.
3. There will be other disadvantages also like loss of revenue, loss of customers, damaged brand reputations if DMP is not done properly.
4. Overhead – The Defect Management Process requires a significant amount of overhead, including time spent logging and triaging defects, and managing the defect tracking system.
5. Resource constraints – The Defect Management Process may require a significant amount of resources, including personnel, hardware, and software, which may be challenging for smaller organizations.
6. Resistance to change – Some stakeholders may resist the Defect Management Process, particularly if they are used to a more informal approach to managing defects.
7. Dependence on technology – The Defect Management Process relies on technology, such as a defect tracking system, to manage defects. If the technology fails, the process may be disrupted, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
8. Lack of standardization – Without a standard approach to Defect Management, different organizations may have different processes, leading to confusion and inefficiencies when working together on software development projects.