What is the difference between severity and priority?
BugsJunior
In shortSeverity is how badly a bug hurts the product; priority is how soon it should be fixed. They are independent of each other.
Model answer
- Severity = the impact of the bug on the system or user. Usually proposed by the tester and confirmed in triage. Levels like blocker/critical, major, minor, trivial.
- Priority = the urgency of fixing it. Usually set by the product owner or lead, based on business needs. Levels like P1 (highest) to P4 (low).
They are independent, which gives four combinations:
| High priority | Low priority | |
|---|---|---|
| High severity | Banking app crashes when tapping “Transfer” for all users. Fix now. | App crashes when exporting a statement as CSV on a legacy Android version used by 0.1% of users. Serious, but can wait. |
| Low severity | Company name is misspelled on the home screen or app store screenshot. Nothing breaks, but everyone sees it. | A slightly misaligned icon on a rarely used settings screen. |
A good answer also mentions that priority can change: a low-priority bug can become high priority before a big marketing launch, or if a key customer complains.
Learn more: Severity vs Priority
What they're looking for
That the two are independent, who usually sets each one, and an example for each of the four combinations.
Common mistakes
- Saying they are the same thing.
- Giving definitions without an example.
- Claiming high severity always means high priority.