QA Fundamentals
Severity vs Priority
Severity measures impact on the system. Priority measures urgency of the fix. They don't always align.
Full definition
Severity and priority are two independent dimensions of a bug that are often confused.
Severity (set by QA): How much damage does this bug cause?
- Critical: System crash, data loss
- High: Major feature broken
- Medium: Feature works with issues
- Low: Cosmetic problems
Priority (set by product/business): How urgently should this be fixed?
- P0/Urgent: Fix immediately, block release
- P1/High: Fix in current sprint
- P2/Medium: Fix in next sprint
- P3/Low: Fix when convenient
The classic example: a typo in the company name on the homepage is low severity (cosmetic) but high priority (brand reputation). A crash in an admin panel used once a month is high severity but might be low priority.
Understanding this distinction shows maturity as a QA engineer.
Interview tip
Interviewers love asking for an example of 'high severity, low priority' and 'low severity, high priority.' Have examples ready.