Defects Product thanks you for (and ones they ignore)

Product ignores defects that sound like taste without consequence. They thank you for defects that name the user impact, the business risk, and a clear next action.

I write the title in user language when I can: what broke for whom. Steps to reproduce stay short. Severity is argued with journey criticality — not personal frustration.

Sometimes the right move is not a defect. It is a story, a question, or a low-priority improvement. Forcing everything into “bug” trains people to mute you.

Hygiene matters: close zombies, merge duplicates, and keep the board trustworthy. A clean backlog makes the good defects visible.

If Engineering returns your tickets often, fix the template and the conversation — not by shouting louder.