A bug/defect life cycle is a process in which a bug/defect goes through different stages throughout its life. This cycle starts when a bug is reported and ends when the testers ensure that the issue is fixed forever. With a story, today we will understand this entire life cycle easily. First look at the diagram below. Now let's understand the diagram :

• Whenever we find a bug/defect we mark it as "NEW". Then the developer team decides whether it's a bug or not. If they find that it's not a bug then they "REJECT" it.

• If the bug/defect is accepted then the developer team "OPEN" it. After opening the bug they try to fix it as soon as possible.

• If they found that it is "Deferred" then they ignore it only for this time but will fix it in the future.

Now you may don't know about the deferred bug. Let me explain then.

If the developers found the defect isn't very harmful to the system and isn't a prime priority and it can be fixed in the next release then the status of the bug is assigned as Deferred.

• After fixing the bug, it comes again to the tester for "RETESTING". If the bug still remains in the system then it testers "REOPEN" it and the bug comes to the developer team again to be fixed. If the retesting passes then testers close the bug.

Actually, the cycle runs this way

In this article, I have tried to explain the bug/defect life cycle in the easiest way. I hope you all enjoyed it. Any kind of suggestion is highly appreciable. Keep learning.