Decision blocked
Core operation unavailable, material control failure, serious data risk, or no viable workaround.
04 · Defects
Defects
Describe impact, calibrate severity, preserve ownership, and make every unresolved exposure visible.
The minimum record
Describe consequence before mechanics.
Business impact
Who cannot do what, how often, and with what operational, financial, or control consequence.
Observed versus expected
The precise difference between the accepted outcome and the evidence from the run.
Reproduction context
Candidate build, environment, role, data state, preconditions, and concise actions.
Evidence
The smallest useful attachment set, redacted where necessary and tied to the run.
Treatment
Fix, defer, workaround, accept, or withdraw—with owner and decision date.
Impact scale
Severity describes harm. Priority describes sequence.
Outcome impaired
Major journey fails or produces unreliable results; workaround is costly, fragile, or narrow.
Work continues with friction
Business outcome remains achievable with a bounded, understood workaround.
Limited consequence
Cosmetic, wording, or minor usability issue without material outcome or control impact.
Triage rhythm
Resolve disagreement in the open.
The defect council should include business impact, delivery feasibility, operational exposure, and release authority. Its job is to produce treatment decisions—not just labels.
01
Validate
Confirm the observed gap and remove duplicates without erasing context.
02
Calibrate
Apply the agreed severity model to business consequence.
03
Treat
Choose fix, workaround, defer, accept, or remove from scope.
04
Own
Name the accountable role and the next decision date.
Closure standard
A defect leaves the release record only when its treatment, verification, and remaining exposure are all explicit.