Defect life cycle in API testing ⚙️

While creating an app or an API, any developer or tester faces some bugs or errors that need to be fixed in order to provide better software performance. Each defect or bug that you find has several stages of development, starting from finding the bug and ending with fixing it. In today’s post, I will describe what the defect life cycle is, what we need to know about it, and how it relates to API testing.

What exactly is the defect life cycle? The defect life cycle, also known as the bug life cycle, is a cycle of defects that covers all stages of its life. This begins when a tester discovers a new defect and ends when a tester closes that defect, ensuring that it will not be reproduced again.

Why is it important? Understanding the stages of bug development in software is crucial because a developer or tester can understand where a bug came from and fix it in such a way that it is unlikely that this bug will appear again. It is obvious that it is almost impossible to completely clear software of bugs, but if a developer or tester has a clear understanding of how a bug develops, the process of improving software becomes more productive.

I've listed the main stages of the defect life cycle below, along with a brief description:

1. New: when any bug or defect is detected in software.

2. Assigned: when a bug with the status "New" is checked to see if it is valid or not, and then, after approval, it is assigned to the developers' team.

3. Open: a developer begins the process of analysing the defect and, if necessary, working on its fix.

At this stage, several additional statuses may appear if a developer has some doubts about the bug.
- Duplicate: if the bug is repeated twice or the two bugs refer to the same bug concept;
- Dropped (rejected): if the developer does not consider the defect to be genuine;
- Deferred: if a bug has low priority and can be fixed in next releases;
- Not a bug: if the defect has no effect on the application's functionality.

4. Fixed: if the developer makes the necessary changes to the code and verifies them.

5. Pending retest: the developer gives the tester that specific code to retest after fixing the bug.

6. Retest: in order to determine if the bug was fixed or not, the tester is now retesting the modified code that the developer has provided him.

7. Reopen: if any issue persists in the defect, then it will be assigned to the developer again for testing.

8. Verified: if no defect is found in the software after retesting the bug fixed by the developer, the bug is said to be fixed.

9. Closed: if the defect does not exist any longer.

Why is it important to understand the defect life cycle, and what role does it play in API testing? After reading the information listed above, you may think that this is extremely obvious and that there is no sense in describing it in detail or even following it. Furthermore, in real life, most developers and testers do not divine the entire bug-fixing process into such concrete stages. Most of the time, the process is either simpler or more complex (in specific cases).

Despite that, understanding and implementing the defect life cycle is extremely important for several reasons. Firstly, this cycle represents a clear structure. This means that each step is understandable and has a special person who is responsible for it, which helps to avoid confusion. Secondly, the stages of the defect life cycle are just the tip of the iceberg. In different companies, this process is documented and requires certain behaviors from all team members. Finally, implementing the defect life cycle helps to improve software quality. With a clear structure and an understanding of the actions one needs to perform, bugs are fixed much faster and with higher quality.

As with any app or software, APIs also have bugs, so this concept is used there too. Developing a comprehensive and stable API that can perform any required action is a tough task, so testing and finding bugs is crucial there. Moreover, sometimes developers use APIs to find solutions for different bugs in their own apps or software.

It is worth noting that detecting bugs is not as simple as it may appear at first.That’s why developers and testers must have good testing tools for this. I suggest you try API Tester; you’ll love it!

Thanks for reading this post! In the comments, please share your thoughts or experiences with the defect life cycle:)

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