Describe the Bug/Defect Life Cycle

The Bug Life Cycle (also called Defect Life Cycle) is the journey of a defect from discovery to closure. It defines various states a bug goes through during its lifetime.

Common Bug States

New: Bug is logged and posted for the first time
Assigned: Bug is assigned to a developer for fixing
Open: Developer starts working on the bug
Fixed: Developer has fixed the bug and marked it as fixed
Pending Retest: Bug is fixed and waiting for tester to verify
Retest: Tester is retesting the bug fix
Verified: Tester confirms the bug is fixed
Closed: Bug is closed after verification
Reopened: Bug still exists after fix, sent back to developer
Rejected: Bug is not valid or not reproducible
Deferred: Bug fix is postponed to future release
Duplicate: Bug is already reported

Typical Flow

New → Assigned → Open → Fixed → Pending Retest → Retest → Verified → Closed

Alternative Paths:

If bug persists: Retest → Reopened → Assigned
If invalid: New → Rejected → Closed
If duplicate: New → Duplicate → Closed
If postponed: New → Deferred