Defect Discovery Process
Once discovered, defects must be brought to the developers' attention. Defects discovered by a technique specifically designed to find them can be reported by a simple written or electronic report. However, some defects, are discovered more by accident -- i.e., people who are not trying to find defects. These may be development personnel or users. In these cases, techniques that facilitate the reporting of the defect may significantly shorten the defect discovery time. As software becomes more complex and more widely used, these techniques become more valuable. These techniques include computer forums, email, help desks, etc.
It should also be noted that there are some human factors/cultural issues involved with the defect discovery process. When a defect is initially uncovered, it may be very unclear whether it is a defect, a change, user error, or a misunderstanding. Developers may resist calling something a defect because that implies "bad work" and may not reflect well on the development team. Users may resist calling something a "change" because that implies that the developers can charge them more money. Some organizations have skirted this issue by initially labeling everything by a different name -- e.g., "incidents" or "issues." From a defect management perspective, what they are called is not an important issue. What is important is that the defect be quickly brought to the developers' attention and formally controlled.
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