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Software Testing - Bug

A software bug in the application indicates a deviation, fault, error, mistake, or flaw there. This results in the software not working as expected. The deviations observed can vary from a simple feature not working to unexpected crash while it is being used.

What is a Software Bug?

A bug is an unofficial name given to defects when the software requirements are not satisfied. This mainly happens when there is coding error from the developers, ambiguous requirements, strict deadlines, very complex application, testing process not as per standards etc. A bug comes into picture only while test cases are executed or while simply verifying the software.

In the entire process of testing, there is enormous focus on determining, communicating, examining, and fixing bugs. So while it is created by the tester, it is expected that it is described nicely with adequate evidence on the summary, expected outcomes, actual outcomes, steps to reproduce it, screenshots of failure, logs, environment details, severity, and priority etc. This helps the developer to find the root cause of the bug, and to fix it quickly.

Various Terminologies Used for Software Bugs

There are various types of terminologies used for software bugs. They are listed below −

Defect − A defect is logged by a test engineer whenever the functionalities of the software are not working as per the requirements.
Bug − A bug is an unofficial name given to a defect, and it is logged by test engineers.
Error − An error points to a coding error in the software. It can be created by both the developers and testers.
Issue − An issue is a concern from the customer side when the software is not adhering to the business requirements.
Failure − When a large number of defects come up in a software, they lead to its failure.
Mistake − Inconsistency observed in a project document is called a mistake.

Why is a Software Bug Encountered?

A software bug is encountered because of the reasons listed below −

Code Missed

Sometimes it is seen that a particular feature of a software is missed or not yet developed. For example, suppose in an e-commerce application, the add to cart functionality is missed by the developer, because of that the test case to verify that feature would fail. This is due to the missing code around a particular feature in the software.

Code Improper

Sometimes it is seen that a specific feature of a software is not working as per requirements. For example, suppose in an e-commerce application, the product search functionality is unable to fetch the searched product, the test cases to verify product search functionality have failed. This is due to the improper code around the search feature.

Code Supplemental

Sometimes it is seen that an additional feature of a software has been implemented which may not be required by the customers as per the requirements in the current release. For example, suppose in an e-commerce application, an extra functionality of product return has been implemented. This resulted in unnecessary wastage of time and effort.

How is a Software Bug Identified?

To identify a software bug, the testers verifying it have a thorough understanding of its features and functionalities. They also have an overview of the outline of the code. Finally, they have the understanding of any undesired results, or failures in the software. Some steps to identify bugs are listed below −

Sighting

When testing a software, the tester should always have a mindset to look for a bug. One of the ways of doing this is being very attentive to every detail in the software. This helps in sighting discrepancies in data, code, identifying broken lines on the web page etc.

Testing

Once a probable bug is discovered, it is very important to confirm that by either running some mandatory tests on the software or by updating the code on our own to reach a conclusion.

Inspection

It is seen that it is not always possible to find bugs without external help. Assistance from other team mates while inspecting the code to find anomalies there or while detecting errors in the software help a lot in identifying bugs.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Bug. We’ve started with describing what is a software bug, various terminologies used for software bugs, why is a software bug encountered, how is a software bug identified, how to create a test scenario, and best practices to write a test scenario. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Bug. It is wise to keep practicing what you’ve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.