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Bug Prioritization Creates Team Conflicts
Bug prioritization creates conflicts when it's subjective and political. GitScrum provides objective criteria through label-based severity levels, transparent board visibility, and defined workflows that route bugs appropriately—removing emotion from prioritization and creating team alignment.
Why Bug Prioritization Causes Conflict
Common Friction Points
BUG PRIORITIZATION CONFLICTS:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SOURCES OF TEAM FRICTION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ❌ SUBJECTIVE SEVERITY: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Developer: "This is edge case, low priority" ││
│ │ Support: "Customers are complaining, it's critical!" ││
│ │ PM: "It affects our biggest client, fix it now" ││
│ │ → Everyone has different criteria ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ❌ LOUDEST VOICE WINS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Whoever escalates gets their bug fixed ││
│ │ • Senior stakeholders override team decisions ││
│ │ • Recent reporters get attention, old bugs forgotten ││
│ │ • Squeaky wheel syndrome ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ ❌ BUGS VS FEATURES: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ • Features always win over bug fixes ││
│ │ • Technical debt accumulates ││
│ │ • Developers frustrated by shipping broken software ││
│ │ • Quality degrades over time ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Objective Prioritization System
Severity Label Framework
| Label | Criteria | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| P0-Critical | Production down, data loss, security | Immediate |
| P1-High | Feature broken, no workaround | This sprint |
| P2-Medium | Feature broken, workaround exists | Next sprint |
| P3-Low | Minor issue, cosmetic | Backlog |
GitScrum Bug Workflow
Setting Up Bug Triage
BUG MANAGEMENT WORKFLOW:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ FROM REPORT TO RESOLUTION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ COLUMNS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Bug Inbox → Triaged → In Progress → Verified → Done ││
│ │ (no WIP) (label) (WIP: 2) ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ TRIAGE PROCESS: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 1. New bug lands in "Bug Inbox" ││
│ │ 2. Tech lead reviews within 24 hours ││
│ │ 3. Apply severity label (P0-P3) ││
│ │ 4. Move to "Triaged" column ││
│ │ 5. Route based on severity: ││
│ │ - P0/P1: Move to sprint immediately ││
│ │ - P2: Add to next sprint planning ││
│ │ - P3: Leave in backlog ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
│ AUTOMATION: │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Column: "In Progress" ││
│ │ → Auto-assign: Bug-fix specialist ││
│ │ → Add label: "in-progress" ││
│ │ → Notify subscribers: QA team ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Conflict Resolution
When Priorities Clash
- Reference the criteria - "Based on our P0-P3 framework, this is P2"
- Show the data - "X users affected, Y workaround available"
- Make tradeoffs explicit - "To fix this now, we remove task Z"
- Document decisions - Add reasoning in task comments
- Review criteria quarterly - Adjust framework if it's not working