Quick answer: A bug lifecycle is the sequence of states a bug passes through during its existence, typically from reported (new) through triaged, in progress, fixed, and verified, to closed. The bug's status field tracks its current stage, giving everyone a shared, at-a-glance understanding of where each bug stands.
Every bug has a journey: it is discovered, evaluated, worked on, fixed, and eventually closed, or sometimes declined. The bug lifecycle is the model of that journey, the defined stages a bug moves through and the transitions between them. Tracking where each bug sits in its lifecycle, via its status, is what lets you manage many bugs at once and answer at a glance what is new, what is being worked on, and what is done.
The Stages of a Bug's Life
A typical bug lifecycle has a handful of stages. It begins as new (just reported, not yet reviewed). Triage moves it to a triaged or open state (confirmed as a real bug, prioritized, perhaps assigned). When someone starts working on it, it becomes in progress. Once a fix is made, it is fixed (or resolved), and after the fix is confirmed to work, verified. Finally it is closed. Some bugs also branch to resolutions like duplicate or won't fix instead of being fixed.
The exact stages vary by team and tool, some use more granular states, some fewer, but the shape is consistent: a bug flows from discovery, through evaluation and work, to confirmation and closure. The status field names where in this flow a given bug currently sits.
Why Tracking the Lifecycle Matters
The lifecycle, made visible through status, is what makes a bug tracker more than a list. It lets you answer essential questions instantly: how many bugs are new and need triage, which are actively being worked on, which are fixed but not yet verified, what has been closed. Without status, every bug looks the same and you cannot see the shape of your work or the progress being made.
Status transitions also coordinate people. A bug moving to 'in progress' tells the team it is handled; moving to 'fixed' signals it is ready to verify; moving to 'verified' confirms the fix works. Especially with more than one person, the lifecycle status is how everyone stays in sync on where each bug stands without constant conversation.
Lifecycle, Verification, and Communication
Two stages deserve emphasis. Verification, confirming a fix actually works before fully closing, is what prevents 'fixed' bugs from bouncing back; a fix is a hypothesis until verified against reality. And closure is a communication moment: when a bug reaches closed, the players who reported it should learn the outcome.
Bugnet tracks issues through their lifecycle with status, and ties it to reporters: as a bug moves from new to fixed, the reporters stay attached, so closing it can notify everyone who reported it. Version-tagged occurrence data also supports verification, you can confirm a fixed bug actually stopped occurring on the new version before considering it truly closed. The lifecycle becomes not just an internal tracking model but the backbone connecting your workflow to the players waiting on the outcome.
A bug lifecycle is the journey from reported to closed. Status tracks where each bug is on that path, so you can see your work at a glance.