Defect Priority

Prerequisite – Defect Severity
A defect is the representation of a misunderstanding of specification or syntax error, where representation is mode of expression. Defect Priority is classification of a defect based on its importance or precedence to be fixed. Defects that force software system to become ineffectual are given higher priority over defects that cause a small functionality of software to fail.

The priority of defects is defined by business stakeholders, product owner, project managers, business analysts according to severity of defect and business needs. Priority classification is associated with software scheduling.

Defect Priority –
Following are the different defect priority classes in software development according to end-user perspective:

1. Immediate :
   A defect that needs to be fixed immediately as it affects system and business requirements severely. It restricts system from performing crucial functionalities and blocks execution of testing of the software, forcing software system to become ineffectual.

   Any defect that impacts business requirement, needs immediate consideration and is classified as Immediate. All critical severity defects come under category of Immediate Priority but all immediate priority defects do not necessarily belong to critical severity defect. It is represented by P1.

   Example –
   We have an E-commerce shopping website and company name is misspelled in home page of website, then priority of defect is high but severity is low.
   As misspelling may create a negative perception about company’s website(people may think that website is fake) leading to losses in business, but misspelling does not affect functionality of website.




2. High :
   This defect comes after immediate as it needs less attention but still more than other remaining priority categories. These defects are resolved once critical issues are solved.
   A defect that affects business and major functionality/feature of software due to a program defect or sometimes environmental problem comes under category of High Priority. It is represented by P2.

   Example –
   We have an E-commerce shopping website and it crashes whenever, we add an item to our wishlist section.




3. Medium :
   A defect with minor severity that need not be fixed right away as it does not cause any significant functionality issues or business. These defects are fixed after Immediate and High priority defects are removed. All the Minor severity defects fall into this category. It is represented by P3.
   Sometimes, even trivial errors such as wrong error message in a system can qualify for a medium priority defect.

   Example –
   We have an E-commerce shopping website and we make a purchase. The purchased item is added to Order Section on website but payment portal displays wrong “Payment Unsuccessful” prompt.




4. Low :
   A defect that does not have any major impact on functionality of software and hence does not need any immediate attention. It can be repaired in future or once higher priority defects are fixed. All the Low severity defects fall into this category. It is represented by P4.
   Sometimes, low priority defects are also used to suggest some enhancements in existing software design or to create a small feature to enhance user experience.

   Example –
   We have an E-commerce shopping website and navigation bar on home screen is misaligned.