Bug life cycle
Also called: Defect life cycle
The statuses a bug goes through, from New to Closed.
Definition
The bug life cycle (or defect life cycle) is the set of statuses a bug moves through, such as New, Open, Assigned, In Progress, Fixed / Ready for test and Verified / Closed, with side paths like Reopened, Duplicate, Not a bug, Cannot reproduce and Deferred. The exact statuses depend on the team and tool.
In practice
You report a bug (New), triage confirms it (Open), a developer takes it (Assigned, In Progress) and fixes it (Fixed), the fix reaches a test build (Ready for test), you retest it and it works, so you close it (Verified / Closed).
Learn it in context
Lessons that use this term.