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title: "Defect Traceability Report"
canonical: "https://docs.getxray.app/space/XRAYCLOUD/338363920/Defect%20Traceability%20Report"
format: markdown
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# Introduction

![Figure 1 - Defect Traceability report](media://f05c0e4b-68bf-423a-b077-1920ad516af3)

The Defect Traceability report provides a reverse view of the traditional [Traceability Report](https://getxraydocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/XRAYCLOUD/pages/44565208) by starting from Defects and tracing back to the related Requirements and [Test Executions](https://getxraydocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/XRAYCLOUD/pages/44565117). This report helps identify the origin and impact of Defects, offering a defect-first perspective for better root cause analysis and quality assessment.

Possible usage scenarios:

- Make full traceability analysis, from Defects <=> Test Runs <=> Tests <=> Requirements.
- Check which Defects have been reported through testing using the *Connected* or *Not Connected* Filters.
- See the Tests and Test Runs where the Defects have been reported, and analyze how those impact Requirements.
- Analyze the Defects and related executions and Requirements in a [Test Environment](https://getxraydocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/XRAYCLOUD/pages/44565129).
- See which Defects impact the Requirements of a specific version.

# Operations

## Report Access

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> On your Jira Cloud instance, [enter the Reporting Center](https://getxraydocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/XRAYCLOUD/pages/338526916).
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> Scroll down until you find the Defect Traceability Report (Figure 2 - 1) and click it to access it.
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> If you hover over it you can see the report preview.
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> ![Figure 1 - Defect traceability](media://fb26884c-becd-43d0-8735-41165d5d118f)

## Configuring and Using the Report

When the Defect Traceability report is opened, an empty state will be displayed, and you'll have to explicitly generate the report after selecting the initial filters. You will see the screen depicted in Figure 2.

At the top of the report, you have some options that need to be configured:

- *Filters* (Figure 2 - 1): the source data for the report (e.g.: the Defect Issues).
- *Filter Defects *(Figure 2 - 2): *Show All*, *Connected* or *Unconnected Defects*.
- *Show Test Runs* (Figure 2 - 3): toggle the view of the Test Runs column. This impacts the export of the report in a CSV file.
- *Quick Filter* (Figure 2 - 4): choose the quick filter field.

![Figure 2 - Configuration](media://30c42a5e-808b-49cf-af1f-4540695bfdb4)

> ℹ️ - You don't have to change any of the options shown in Figure 2. You can create the report using the options configured by default.
> ℹ️ - Once you generate the report, your settings will be saved. The next time you access the report, it will be populated with the last filters you configured.
> ℹ️ - Once the report is generated, changes to the Filters (Figure 2 - 1), Filter Defects (Figure 2 - 2), and the Test Runs toggle (Figure 2 - 3) will be applied automatically, and the report will be regenerated.

## Understanding the Report

### Filters

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>  The source data for the report can be defined under *Filters *(Figure 3 - 1).
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> ![Figure 3 - Filters](media://5ef7d569-fc39-4c4b-bba9-a89fd6a7a88b)
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> Source defect Issues can be selected using the Basic filters provided:
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> ![Figure 4 - Basic](media://96a8dbd0-f24f-4090-82c6-5b8fc9721dab)
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> - *Basic* (Figure 4 - 1):
>   - *Projects*.
>   - *Assignee*: the Issue's assignee.
>   - *Component:* the component assigned to the Issue.
>   - *Fix Versions*: versions assigned to the Defect Issues (if any).
>   - *Resolution*: the workflow resolution.
>   - *Status*: the workflow status.
>   - *Test Environments*: filter Defects by the Test Environment in which they were created (based on the associated Test Runs).
>   - Test Plan: Filter defects by the Test Plan in which they were created (based on the associated *Test Runs* > *Test Execution* > *Test Plan*).
>   - *Test Run Fix Version*: versions assigned to the Test Run associated with the Defect Issues (if any).
>   - *Contains:* the full Issue key or part of the summary.
>   - To add more fields to the filter, you can click the *More*** **button (Figure 5 - 3): a modal will open for you to select any fields (Figure 5 - 1). Then, click *Set *(Figure 5 - 4).
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> ![Figure 5 - Filters](media://37fae24c-feb6-4bf3-8533-8961b544912d)
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> Once you're done, click *Apply *(Figure 5 - 2).


### Connected/Unconnected Defect Filter

When you click *Filter Defects* (Figure 6 - 1), you can choose to display (Figure 6 - 2):

1. **All the defects.**
2. **Connected Defects**: displays only Defect Issues that were reported when executing Tests (directly associated with Test Runs).
3. **Not Connected Defects**: displays only Defect Issues that were found outside testing (not associated with Test Runs).

> 📝 **Incompatible Fields**
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> 📝 If you select a filter such as Test Environments, Fix Versions, or Test Plans, only connected Defects will appear in the search results, as these filters apply indirectly to Defect Issues from Test Runs. Therefore, if you select to show *Not Connected Defects* and one of these filters (Figure 6 - 2), the report will not show any results.

![Figure 6 - Connected Unconnected Defects](media://710a0f3d-fcac-4782-ab8f-33b9481f38b2)


### Toggle Test Runs

You can show/hide the Test Runs column from the report (Figure 6 - 3). If you hide the Test Runs in the report, the Defect Issues will be connected to Tests indirectly through Test Runs, although this information is not visible in the report.

> ℹ️ The Show Test Runs Toggle impacts the export of the report to CSV (Figure 6 - 4). Test Runs will only appear in the exported CSV file if they are not hidden in the report.

### **Quick Filters**

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> You can further filter the report by clicking the gear icon (Figure 7 - 1) and using the configured Quick Filters (Figure 7 - 2). The default quick filter is the *Priority* field (Figure 7 - 2). 
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> ![Figure 7 - Quick Filters](media://bd32e2c7-0a10-4bf8-adaf-824aa3445e99)
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> The available fields to configure as a quick filter (Figure 7 - 2) are:
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> - Priority *(*default*).*
> - Issue Type.
> - Project.
> - Resolution.
> - Status category.
> - Any other Custom Field that is a select field, which has fewer than 10 options configured.
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> Once you're ready, click *Generate Report* (Figure 7 - 3).
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> Once the report is generated, you can apply a quick filter by selecting one or more options (Figure 8 - 1). The report data will filter accordingly.
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> ![Figure 8 - Quick Filters](media://41503efd-160c-49ca-8ab5-76cd50625934)

### Sharing the Report

Once the report is generated (Figure 9), you can share the report in Jira by clicking the *Share* button (Figure 9 - 1). This action generates a URL that you can copy (Figure 9 - 2) and share with others. The URL will expire if it is not accessed for six months.

![Figure 9 - Share](media://a2db07e7-28fe-4525-b97c-03f8d7494654)

### Exporting to CSV

Once the report is generated (Figure 10), you can export the report into a CSV file by clicking *Export* (Figure 10 - 1) and then selecting *To csv*. You will get the file instantaneously on your machine. Exporting to CSV considers if the *Show Test Runs* option (Figure 10 - 2) is disabled/enabled.

![Figure 10 - Export to CSV](media://c11e2eac-1c91-4531-a439-b55b2f8f15a2)

# Understanding the Report

The Issues and values that are shown in the report (Figure 11) consider the options selected for analysis, namely, the relevant Test Executions and corresponding Test Runs, and Defects.

![Figure 11 - Generated report](media://a90c3f4a-090a-412c-93a0-17b160a67304)


The report not only shows the traceability between entities but also presents some calculated values for the selected options. For example, the Requirement status and the Test status are shown in the Requirements (Figure 11 - 4) and Tests columns (Figure 11 - 3), respectively.

| **Column** | **Description** |
| --- | --- |
| Defects (Figure 11 - 1) | Defects directly associated with the Test Runs |
| Test Runs (Figure 11 - 2) | Test Runs and their status from all related Test Executions (only three are shown, but an action allows you to see all of them) |
| Tests (Figure 11 - 3) | Tests and the calculated status, considering the options selected for analysis |
| Requirements (Figure 11  - 4) | Coverable Issues (e.g.: Requirements) and the calculated coverage status, considering the options selected for analysis |

# Report Performance and Limitations

In Continuous Integration scenarios, with thousands of runs, showing all those Test Runs at the same time in this report may take some time and overload your browser, and it will be hard for you to analyze the report with all that information.

Therefore, we advise you to hide the Test Runs column in the report using the toggle (Figure 10 - 2) if the number of runs is considerably high (e.g. > 1000).

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> If you have questions or technical issues, please [contact the Support team via the Customer Portal (Jira service management)](https://jira.getxray.app/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/user/login?destination=portal%2F2%2Fcreate%2F28) or [send us a message using the in-app chat](https://getxraydocs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/XRAYCLOUD/pages/44577312).