What factors influence the grading of the severity level of an error?

The gradation of the severity level of an error depends on several key factors:

• Impact on functionality: How much the error disrupts the core functionality of the application.
• Impact on business: The potential damage the error can cause to the business (financial losses, reputational risks).
• Impact on the user: How much the error hinders or blocks user actions, or causes inconvenience.
• Reproduction frequency: How easily and often the error occurs during application use.
• Scope of coverage: How many users or modules are affected by the error.
• Alternative solution: Whether there is a simple workaround for the problem.
• Relation to key operations: Whether the affected functionality is critically important for the main business or user processes.

Typical severity levels:

• Blocker: Completely blocks the execution of a key function or even the entire application. No workaround. Further testing is impossible.
• Critical: Disrupts core functionality, leads to data loss or serious issues for the user/business. The impact is significant, but other functions may be partially accessible.
• Major: Affects important but not critical functionality. Causes noticeable inconvenience for the user, but there is a workaround or it does not affect the main function.
• Minor: Does not affect core functionality. Minor inconveniences, cosmetic issues, typos. Does not require immediate fixing.
• Trivial: Very minor issues that do not affect functionality or user experience (e.g., small padding issues).