Test Severity and Priority

In game or software development, Quality Assurance (QA) is an essential process to ensure the product is free from bugs and provides the best possible experience for users. One of the key aspects of QA testing is categorizing issues based on their Severity and Priority. These categories help development teams address problems systematically and effectively. Here's an overview of how these factors are defined and used:

‍

Severity

Severity is related to the impact an issue has on the user's experience. It’s crucial to evaluate bugs based on how they affect functionality, usability, and overall satisfaction:

• Critical Issue — This is a system-breaking problem that makes the product unusable for the user.
• Major Issue — This significantly disrupts the user’s experience but doesn’t make the product entirely unusable.
• Medium Issue — This lowers the user’s experience without completely hindering functionality.
• Minor Issue — This is a minor flaw that is barely noticeable from the user’s perspective.

‍

Priority

Priority is determined by a combination of severity and the reproducibility of the issue. It helps teams decide the order in which bugs should be fixed:

• Blocker — A critical issue that needs to be fixed immediately.
• Very High — An issue that cannot be shipped with the product.
• High — An issue that is not recommended to ship with.
• Medium/Default — The base state for all bugs. While fixing these is required for the milestone, the product could technically ship without them if necessary.
• Low — Bugs that can be postponed to a later stage.

‍

By categorizing bugs through these lenses, developers can prioritize fixes and ensure a polished, user-friendly final product. QA testing isn’t just about finding flaws—it’s about making the experience as seamless and effective as possible for the end-user.

‍