Severity
Severity indicates the impact of a defect on the application’s functionality or business operations. It answers how serious the defect is.
Severity answers: “How badly does this defect affect the system?”
1. Definition
Severity indicates the impact of a defect on the application’s functionality or business operations. It answers how serious the defect is.
Severity answers: “How badly does this defect affect the system?”
2. Purpose of Severity
- Measure the impact of a defect
- Help prioritize defect fixing indirectly
- Assess risk to business and users
- Support release decisions
3. Who Assigns Severity
- Assigned by testers
- Based on functional impact, not urgency
4. Common Severity Levels
4.1 Critical
- Application crash
- Data loss
- Complete system failure
4.2 High
- Major functionality broken
- No workaround available
4.3 Medium
- Partial functionality issue
- Workaround exists
4.4 Low
- Minor UI or cosmetic issues
- No functional impact
5. Severity vs Priority
| Aspect | Severity | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Impact | Urgency |
| Decided by | Tester | Business/Product |
| Changes | Rare | Often |
| Focus | Quality risk | Release planning |
6. Real-Time Examples
| Defect | Severity |
|---|---|
| Login crash | Critical |
| Payment fails | High |
| Alignment issue | Low |
| Wrong tooltip text | Low |
7. Common Mistakes
- Confusing severity with priority
- Assigning high severity to cosmetic issues
- Inconsistent severity standards
8. Interview-Ready Answers
Short answer:
Severity indicates the impact of a defect on the system.
Detailed answer:
Severity defines how critical a defect is based on the level of impact it has on application functionality or business operations.
9. Key Takeaway
Severity reflects how damaging a defect is, not how fast it should be fixed.