# What's another word for "software bug"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Discussions\ **Tags:** tools, bug-reporting\ **Created:** [26 April 2024 19:18 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107 "2024-04-26T19:18:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tigerb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/tigerb/32/1687_2.png) [@tigerb](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/tigerb)\ **Post date:** [26 April 2024 19:18 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/1 "2024-04-26T19:18:29Z")
I’ll save you from having to read the long background story, but I’m setting up a new bug repository in Jira for one of our company projects. They don’t really want to call it “bugs”, though. I’m trying to come up with something a little more neutral, and since it’s in Jira, I can’t call it Issues. (Everything in Jira is an issue!) So far I have Problems Defects Discrepancies Obstacles Anyone have any other suggestions? I feel I’m missing something obvious. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![shad0wpuppet](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/shad0wpuppet/32/13223_2.png) [@shad0wpuppet](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/shad0wpuppet)\ **Post date:** [26 April 2024 19:32 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/2 "2024-04-26T19:32:34Z")
glitch fault probably you can go with “defect”, this is quite a formal and well-known synonym for “software bug” ---
**Author:** ![larsthomsen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/larsthomsen/32/6526_2.png) [@larsthomsen](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/larsthomsen)\ **Post date:** [26 April 2024 23:53 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/3 "2024-04-26T23:53:54Z")
“Error” Or if you really have the space, “deviation from requirement” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mklein](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/mklein/32/13472_2.png) [@mklein](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/mklein)\ **Post date:** [27 April 2024 18:23 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/4 "2024-04-27T18:23:19Z")
Mistake Gap ………………………. ---
**Author:** ![c32hedge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/c32hedge/32/9126_2.png) [@c32hedge](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/c32hedge)\ **Post date:** [28 April 2024 02:51 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/5 "2024-04-28T02:51:18Z")
Thing Twiddle Quirk Phenomenon Oddity Behavior Sparkle Snowflake HappyTree More seriously, I’ve heard of this kind of dislike for “negative” terminology at companies before and it feels, to me, like trying to use different words _may_ be masking a deeper problem with the team’s culture. If there’s a blame culture or an overly optimistic culture that doesn’t like admitting to mistakes, then whatever word you pick is going to develop the same negative connotation. Something to watch for at least. ---
**Author:** ![steve.green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f4b2a3/32.png) [@steve.green](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/steve.green)\ **Post date:** [28 April 2024 07:39 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/6 "2024-04-28T07:39:53Z")
If I was told I could not use the word that should obviously be used, I would respond with suggestions designed to result in the fool’s errand being given to someone else, such as: Cock-ups Sub-optimal behaviours Badgers Hexapod invertebrates Stuff Gremlins Idiosyncracies Imperfections Peccadillos Malefactions (or personfactions if your organisation insists on gender-free language) ---
**Author:** ![tigerb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/tigerb/32/1687_2.png) [@tigerb](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/tigerb)\ **Post date:** [28 April 2024 18:39 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/7 "2024-04-28T18:39:40Z")
Regardless of what ends up being used, this list of ideas makes me extremely happy. ---
**Author:** ![teststeevo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@teststeevo](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/teststeevo)\ **Post date:** [28 April 2024 19:48 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/8 "2024-04-28T19:48:00Z")
Issue(s)? I used a custom system for bugs called “Software Issues”. ---
**Author:** ![ipstefan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/ipstefan/32/8279_2.png) [@ipstefan](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/ipstefan)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 06:47 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/9 "2024-04-29T06:47:33Z")
When I find a potential issue/problem in the software I call it sometimes: observation It can take the form of: some notes in the test report, a comment in Jira, a debrief with a dev/pm, a ticket with whatever type is closest to it, a subtask in an epic/task, a post-it, or a whiteboard scribble. As I don’t initially know where it might fit in the grand scheme of things, or even if and how much it matters for who matters. The PM/PO then finds a place for it, and a name in the backlog, or we find it together: feature, bug, regression, change, task, won’t fix, tell the dev, low priority/delete. ---
**Author:** ![sebastian\_solidwork](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/sebastian_solidwork/32/11076_2.png) [@sebastian\_solidwork](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/sebastian_solidwork)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 07:56 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/10 "2024-04-29T07:56:53Z")
hiccup _filler characters_ ---
**Author:** ![conrad.braam](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/conrad.braam/32/660_2.png) [@conrad.braam](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/conrad.braam)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 08:13 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/11 "2024-04-29T08:13:09Z")
Paula Vennels (former British Post office Boss) came up with “exception or anomaly”. The Post Office then started to refer to known defects in the system as “exceptions”. > **[Post Office: Husband of ex-boss Paula Vennells advised on Horizon 'bug'](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68883059)** > > A decision to use "less emotive" words for problems with Horizon is called "Orwellian", inquiry hears. ---
**Author:** ![AdyStokes](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/adystokes/32/14440_2.png) [@AdyStokes](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/AdyStokes)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 09:39 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/12 "2024-04-29T09:39:07Z")
Query or Opportunities (to improve) ---
**Author:** ![mahatheed](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/mahatheed/32/10871_2.png) [@mahatheed](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/mahatheed)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 09:47 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/13 "2024-04-29T09:47:41Z")
i can think of these - Glitches - Errors - Faults - Flaws - Anomalies - Inconsistencies - Malfunctions - Irregularities - Issues - Hiccups - Misbehaviors - Breakdowns - Abnormalities - Failures ---
**Author:** ![whitenoise](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/whitenoise/32/10785_2.png) [@whitenoise](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/whitenoise)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 10:21 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/14 "2024-04-29T10:21:02Z")
Just from sheer curiosity, why do they not want to use the term ‘bugs’ ---
**Author:** ![conrad.braam](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/conrad.braam/32/660_2.png) [@conrad.braam](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/conrad.braam)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 12:24 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/16 "2024-04-29T12:24:31Z")
If you read the other linked news snippets related to The Post Office Scandal, and read the book, you will know that someone took steps early-on to cover up how a high the number of “bugs” being reported by Fujitsu testers was. And so I’m sure (you have to watch the interviews too) that legal advice was to find a less emotive word. Users were saying the system had bugs, and lawyers suspected lawsuits with that word were coming. Lawyers knew that using a different word would break any correlations a Judge might make between the high reported defect rates often brought up as an evidence item in software trials and the common parlance term “bug” that 90% of adults use. We won’t go into the horror of what happened to the testers. ---
**Author:** ![whitenoise](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/whitenoise/32/10785_2.png) [@whitenoise](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/whitenoise)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 14:29 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/17 "2024-04-29T14:29:16Z")
Yeah, lets start calling them _‘unexpected features’_ instead 😅 To answer OP’s post I use the word _‘glip’_ but its not that professional - _‘there is a bit of a glip here’_ or _‘when I do this, it starts glipping out’_ - more professionally I’ll use the word **Observations** , there can be negative and positive observations during a exploration test session, for example, or when I’m doing a writeup on a ticket I’ll note any observations down. If there is a more blatant issue I will just use bug though. No point calling it anything else in my opinion, unless as you said people want to make things sound better than they are. ---
**Author:** ![c32hedge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/c32hedge/32/9126_2.png) [@c32hedge](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/c32hedge)\ **Post date:** [29 April 2024 23:41 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/18 "2024-04-29T23:41:39Z")
@conrad.braam great example, and exactly the kind of organizational dysfunction I was concerned about with my reply. ---
**Author:** ![alexschnapper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/alexschnapper/32/10739_2.png) [@alexschnapper](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/alexschnapper)\ **Post date:** [30 April 2024 07:35 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/19 "2024-04-30T07:35:59Z")
All above written, but then I thought again 😉 And I created this Bob Ross meme 😃 - why not “Happy Accidents”? ![8ohn1i](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/ministryoftesting/original/2X/c/cd85326214e1a67c736e7b089e9a9e73cfa7948e.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![c32hedge](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/c32hedge/32/9126_2.png) [@c32hedge](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/c32hedge)\ **Post date:** [7 May 2024 12:36 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/20 "2024-05-07T12:36:39Z")
@alexschnapper I was thinking of Bob Ross with my “HappyTree” one, too 🤣 > **[Caleb Crandall on LinkedIn: #criticalthinking #happytrees #happyaccidents...](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/caleb-crandall-a02478bb_criticalthinking-happytrees-happyaccidents-activity-7190318841250381825-9tFZ)** > > None of our software ever has any bugs! It also doesn't have any problems, defects, or issues. Want to know our secret? > > > Those terms are far too negative and… ---
**Author:** ![rosie](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/club.ministryoftesting.com/rosie/32/7719_2.png) [@rosie](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/u/rosie)\ **Post date:** [7 May 2024 21:31 UTC](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107/21 "2024-05-07T21:31:49Z")
“technical issue” > **['Technical issue' causing airport queues across the UK](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68972065)** > > Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester are among major airports impacted by a Border Force issue. [Next page](https://club.ministryoftesting.com/t/whats-another-word-for-software-bug/76107.md?page=2)