RecBeamPart of Bug reporting
Severity is the technical and user impact of a bug. Priority is the order in which the team fixes it. QA usually proposes severity; product or the team lead sets priority.
Definitions
Severity answers: how bad is the problem? Priority answers: how soon should we fix it? One describes impact, the other describes order.
Common levels
| Severity | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blocker / critical | The product or a core flow is unusable, or data is lost. |
| Major | An important feature is broken and there is no good workaround. |
| Minor | Something is wrong but a workaround exists. |
| Cosmetic | Visual or wording issue with no effect on use. |
Examples
| Bug | Severity | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout fails for every customer | Blocker | Fix now |
| Company name misspelled on the homepage | Cosmetic | Fix soon |
| Crash in a legacy feature used by a handful of people | Critical | Later |
| Button misaligned on one rare screen size | Minor | Backlog |
Who decides
The person who finds the bug proposes severity, because they saw the impact. Priority is a business decision made with product or the team lead, who know deadlines, customers and workload.
Tips
- Write the severity in the report and explain why in one sentence.
- Add evidence. A recording of the failure makes severity obvious. See how to record a bug report video.
- Revisit priority when something changes, such as a customer escalation.
The full report structure is in how to write a bug report, and Bug Report mode drafts a suggested severity for you.
Questions
Can a bug be low severity and high priority?
Yes. A typo in the company name on the homepage is low severity but may be fixed immediately.
Can a bug be high severity and low priority?
Yes. A crash in a rarely used legacy feature can be severe and still wait.
Does RecBeam set severity?
RecBeam suggests a severity from what you said in a Bug Report recording, and you can edit it before filing.