The invention relates generally to a severity ranking, and more specifically, to a method executed on a computer system for an automatic ranking of a technical software defect of a software service being executed in a software-as-a-service environment. The invention relates further to a related severity ranking system, and a computer program product.
Cloud computing and SaaS (software-as-a-service) deeply changed software consumption, software development, and in particular support processes. This is due to the fact that in a SaaS model the software applications are hosted by a service provider and/or a vendor and may not be deployed on customer's premises. This specific delivery model may be considered as an enabler for a different approach to software development and support of users. During normal development and test cycles, defects of the software are ranked by severity and the severity value is assigned based on the “perceived” impact estimated by the person being the tester.
Generally, the tester has just a generic idea about the business field of operation of a customer and thus, the severity value is not mapped through a quantitative approach to the real impacts that the defect may have on a customer's environment that is already in place.
SaaS delivery paradigms change the operating background because customers' environments are hosted by a service provider and/or software vendor which has direct and continuous access to all the clients' installations. Consequently, the service provider has access to log files and usage patterns and error situations of all users of a customer.