Defects get lost when reports lack steps, when severity follows complaint volume and when nobody owns the fix. This guide sets out how a defect is rated, prioritised and assigned: severity by impact, priority by the product owner, a weekly triage meeting with a fixed order, named owners and service levels for each level. It is written for the people who triage, fix and approve a release, not for the reporter alone.

The sample is for the fictional Fallowfield Systems, with 14 open defects, two of them P1, a release that is blocked by any open S1, and service levels of one hour to acknowledge an S1. Replace the levels, owners, targets and figures with your own, and agree the rules with your leads before the first triage meeting.