Bug Triage Process

Bug triage determines which bugs to fix and when. Good triage prioritizes based on impact, not who shouted loudest. Bad triage lets critical bugs languish while trivial issues get fixed. This guide covers effective bug triage.

Severity Levels

Triage Process

Handling Bugs

BUG TRIAGE PROCESS
══════════════════

STEP 1: VALIDATE
─────────────────────────────────────
Is it a real bug?
├── Can it be reproduced?
├── Is it expected behavior?
├── Is it a duplicate?
├── Is it still relevant?
├── Enough info to investigate?
└── Filter noise

Actions:
├── Valid → Continue triage
├── Duplicate → Close, link original
├── Not a bug → Close with explanation
├── Needs info → Request details
└── Disposition

STEP 2: ASSESS SEVERITY
─────────────────────────────────────
CRITICAL:
├── System unusable
├── Data loss or corruption
├── Security vulnerability
├── All users affected
└── Drop everything

HIGH:
├── Major feature broken
├── Significant users affected
├── No workaround exists
├── Business impact significant
└── Priority fix

MEDIUM:
├── Feature degraded
├── Workaround exists
├── Some users affected
├── Annoying but manageable
└── Schedule soon

LOW:
├── Cosmetic issue
├── Rare edge case
├── Minor inconvenience
├── Nice to fix someday
└── Backlog

STEP 3: PRIORITIZE
─────────────────────────────────────
Factors:
├── Severity (from above)
├── User impact (how many affected)
├── Business impact (revenue, reputation)
├── Effort to fix (quick win?)
├── Dependencies
└── Balanced assessment

STEP 4: ASSIGN
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Add to appropriate sprint/backlog
├── Assign to developer (optional)
├── Set target timeline
├── Communicate to reporter
└── Tracked and visible

Triage Meeting

Running Triage

TRIAGE MEETING
══════════════

FREQUENCY:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Daily: High bug volume
├── 2-3x/week: Medium volume
├── Weekly: Low volume
├── As needed: Critical bugs
└── Regular rhythm

FORMAT:
─────────────────────────────────────
Time: 15-30 minutes
Participants: PO, Tech Lead, QA Lead

Agenda:
1. Review new bugs (5 min each max)
2. Quick validate/assess/prioritize
3. Assign to sprint or backlog
4. Review any stuck bugs
5. Done

PER BUG:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Read summary
├── Check reproduction
├── Assess severity
├── Discuss priority
├── Decide action
├── Move on
└── Quick decisions

OUTPUT:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── All new bugs triaged
├── Priorities clear
├── Assignments made
├── Nothing in limbo
└── Clean inbox

Bug Reports

Quality Reports

GOOD BUG REPORTS
════════════════

REQUIRED INFORMATION:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Summary (one line)
├── Steps to reproduce
├── Expected behavior
├── Actual behavior
├── Environment (browser, OS)
├── Screenshots/logs if relevant
└── Complete info

TEMPLATE:
─────────────────────────────────────
**Summary:**
[One line description]

**Steps to Reproduce:**
1. Go to...
2. Click...
3. Observe...

**Expected:**
[What should happen]

**Actual:**
[What actually happens]

**Environment:**
- Browser: Chrome 120
- OS: macOS 14.1
- User type: Pro plan

**Additional Context:**
[Screenshots, error logs, etc.]

TRIAGE CRITERIA:
─────────────────────────────────────
Bug triageable when:
├── Reproducible
├── Clear what's wrong
├── Environment known
├── Steps to follow
└── Actionable

GitScrum Setup

Bug Tracking

GITSCRUM FOR BUGS
═════════════════

LABELS:
─────────────────────────────────────
Type:
├── bug (all bugs)

Severity:
├── critical
├── high
├── medium
├── low

Status:
├── needs-triage
├── triaged
├── in-progress
├── fixed
├── wont-fix
└── Clear categorization

WORKFLOW:
─────────────────────────────────────
New bug → needs-triage
    ↓
Triage meeting
    ↓
├── Add severity label
├── Add to sprint or backlog
├── Change to triaged
    ↓
Development
    ↓
Fixed / Won't fix

BUG BACKLOG:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Separate view for bugs
├── Filter by severity
├── Prioritized list
├── Pull into sprints
└── Managed queue

METRICS:
─────────────────────────────────────
├── Bugs by severity
├── Time to triage
├── Time to fix
├── Bug age
├── Trend over time
└── Quality visibility

Best Practices

For Bug Triage

1. Regular cadence — Don't let bugs pile up
2. Quick decisions — 5 min per bug max
3. Clear criteria — Severity definitions
4. Communicate — Update reporters
5. Track trends — Are bugs increasing?

Anti-Patterns

TRIAGE MISTAKES:
✗ No triage process
✗ Bugs pile up untouched
✗ Loudest voice wins
✗ No severity definitions
✗ Never close bugs
✗ No communication to reporter
✗ Triage takes hours
✗ Everything is critical

Related Solutions

• Managing customer feature requests
• Incident response workflow
• Prioritizing backlog items effectively