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# Work with defects in ALM

This task describes how to track and manage application defects during the development process.

Higher-level task: This task is part of a higher-level task. For details, see ALM lifecycle.

To learn more about defects, see Defects Overview.

In this topic:

## Create defects

In the Defects module, click New Defect in the Defects grid toolbar to open the New Defect dialog box. Fill in the fields. For user interface details, see New Defect Dialog Box.

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## Import defects

In addition to creating defects directly in ALM, you can also import defects to your ALM project from Microsoft Excel. To import defects, you must first install the appropriate add-in. For details, see Microsoft Excel add-in and Microsoft Word add-in.

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## Link defects to other ALM entities

You can link defects to requirements, tests, test sets, test instances, runs, run steps, business process tests, flows, and other defects.

To link new or existing defect: From the module of the entity to which you want to link a defect, select the Linked Defects or Linked Entities page. For user interface details, see the Linked Defects/Entities Page.

To view linked entities: You can view the linked entity from the corresponding defect, and you can view the linked defect from the corresponding entity.

In a grid view, when an entity is linked to a defect, ALM adds the Linked Defects icon to the entity.

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## Search for defects

You can search for defects from the Defects grid, for example, to find defects related to a specific issue, or to modify a specific defect.

When creating a new defect, you can search for similar defects, for example, to avoid creating duplicate defects.

To search, do one of the following:

- Select a defect from the Defects grid.
- While creating a new defect in the New Defect dialog box, enter descriptive information in the Summary and Description fields.

- Click the Find Similar Defects button. Select either Find Similar Defects or Find Similar Text. For user interface details, see Similar Defects Dialog Box/Pane.

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## Assign, repair, and update defects

Periodically review defects in the project, decide which ones to fix, and modify defect statuses, target releases, target cycles, and other fields accordingly.

In the Defects module, select a defect in the Defects grid and click the Defect Details button. Fill in the fields. For user interface details, see the Defect Details Dialog Box.

Among other tasks, you can:

- Change the status of defects that are candidates to be fixed to Open, and assign the defects to members of the development team.

- In the Target Release and Target Cycle fields, assign the open defects to the releases and cycles in which they are targeted to be fixed.

- Fix the open defects. This involves identifying the cause of the defects, modifying and rebuilding the application, and rerunning your tests. For example, if a defect does not recur, you can assign to the defect the status Closed. If a defect is detected again, you can reassign to the defect the status Open. When a defect is repaired, you can assign it the status Fixed.

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## Analyze defects

Analyze defect data by generating reports and graphs.

Use one of the following:

- View defect data in a graph. On the Defects module menu, select Analysis > Graphs. For task details on generating graphs, see the Generate an entity graph.

- Create a report of defect data. On the Defects module menu, select Analysis > Project Report. For task details on creating reports, see Project reports.

For task details on additional analysis tools in ALM, see the Analysis.

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See also:

- Defects Overview
- New Defect Dialog Box
- Linked Defects/Entities Page
- Similar Defects Dialog Box/Pane

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