TestingBudget

Run

Write up one defect

The time to reproduce a confirmed defect, log it with steps and evidence, and hand it to development.

Also called: bug reporting · defect logging · defect validation (the reporting step)

Unit
minutes per defect
Where you enter it
Run tab, Detailed mode, per vendor.

What it means

Once triage has confirmed a real defect, someone writes it up: reproduction steps, expected versus actual, screenshots or logs, and the environment details a developer needs. Multiplied by defects found per run, it is the part of run effort that automation cannot remove — the bugs still need reporting.

It is per vendor because some tools generate much of the report automatically from the failed run; others leave it entirely to the tester.

Why it matters to the cost

The quality of a bug report decides whether a fix takes thirty minutes or sits in a backlog as "cannot reproduce". Twenty minutes per defect on five defects a run is 100 minutes; it is the same for every vendor unless the tool changes how much of the report it writes for you.

Typical values

Fifteen to thirty minutes per confirmed defect.

Typical values describe a category of tool — AI-native, codeless, script-based, homegrown, manual — never a named product. Why we do not price named products.

Where it appears in the model

Run — every release

tests broken per run
Total test cases × Test breakage rate ÷ Runs per year — found here, repaired under Maintain
flaky per run
Total test cases × Flaky failures per run
Failures per run
Defects found per run + tests broken per run + flaky per run — derived, never asked
Run effort
Prepare and start a run + Failures per run × Triage one failure + Defects found per run × Write up one defect + Report and sign off — an automation tool
Run effort
Prepare and start a run + Total test cases × Execution time per case + Defects found per run × Write up one defect + Report and sign off — a manual approach — the tester is the run
Machine time per run
Total test cases × Execution time per case — automation only; duration, not labour
Run cost per year
Run effort per run × Runs per year × Effective hourly rate + Token cost

Every name is a link to its definition. See the whole model.

Try it with your numbers

Write up one defect is a row in the calculator. Change it and every total on the page moves with it — free, in your browser, nothing to install.

See how write up one defect impacts the calculation of test automation costs

Related terms

  • Defect validation The human work of proving that a failed test is a real product defect and getting it in front of a developer — priced as triage per failure plus write-up per defect.
  • Defects found per run How many real bugs a regression cycle typically finds — a property of your product, entered once, and the only "failures" figure you are asked for.
  • Triage one failure The time to look at one failing test and decide what it is: a real defect, a broken test, an environment problem, or a flake.
  • Run effort The person-hours a run costs — preparation, triage, defect write-up and sign-off for a tool; execution itself for manual testing — and the same figure over a year.

Last reviewed 2026-09-15. All terms.