The defect life cycle is the set of states a defect passes through from discovery to closure: typically New → Assigned → Open → Fixed → Retest → Verified → Closed, with branches like Reopened, Deferred, Rejected, and Duplicate.
When a tester finds a defect they log it as NEW; a lead/triager ASSIGNS it to a developer; the developer works it (OPEN) and marks it FIXED; the tester RETESTS and either VERIFIES + CLOSES it or REOPENS it if still failing. Non-happy paths: REJECTED (not a valid defect), DUPLICATE (already reported), DEFERRED (valid but postponed), and CANNOT REPRODUCE (needs more info). Tools like Jira model these states in a workflow. Understanding the life cycle — and who owns each transition — is fundamental to defect management and a guaranteed interview topic.
A tester logs a checkout bug (New), the lead assigns it, the dev fixes it, the tester retests — it still fails, so it's Reopened; after a second fix it's Verified and Closed.
Walk through the defect life cycle, including what happens if a 'fixed' defect still fails on retest.