---
Title: "How Do You Prioritize Bugs vs Feature Requests?"
Url: "https://computer.io/answers/how-to-prioritize-bugs-vs-feature-requests"
Topic: "Product and engineering"
Description: "Prioritize bugs vs features by scoring customer impact, revenue at risk, severity, effort and strategy. Fix severe bugs first; weigh the rest together."
---

# How do you prioritize bugs vs. feature requests?

Prioritize bugs and feature requests in one backlog using the same criteria: how many customers are affected, revenue at risk or gained, severity, effort, and fit with strategy. Fix critical bugs and security issues first, then rank the rest together, because a minor bug can matter less than a feature many customers are asking for.

## Scoring model

| Factor | Bug example | Feature example |
|---|---|---|
| Customers affected | 40 accounts | 120 requests |
| Revenue | $500K ARR at risk | $300K pipeline |
| Severity or value | Data loss vs cosmetic | Unblocks a segment |
| Effort | 2 days | 3 weeks |
| Strategic fit | Core reliability | New market |

## Rules of thumb

1. Security, data loss and outages first.
2. Link every bug and request to customer accounts for real impact data.
3. Reserve capacity each sprint for quality work.

## FAQ

### Should bugs always come before features?

Critical bugs should. Minor bugs should compete with features on impact.

### What is the difference between priority and severity?

Severity is how bad the problem is technically; priority is how soon to fix it given business impact.

### How do you measure customer impact of a bug?

Count linked tickets and affected accounts, and weigh by revenue and plan.

## Related terms

- [Bug tracking](https://computer.io/glossary/bug-tracking)
- [Product backlog](https://computer.io/glossary/product-backlog)

## How Computer helps

- [Enterprise search and answers](https://devrev.ai/enterprise-search-and-answers)

## Compare

- [Devrev vs jira](https://devrev.ai/compare/devrev-vs-jira)
- [Devrev vs linear](https://devrev.ai/compare/devrev-vs-linear)

## Further reading

- [Bug vs feature request a distinction without a difference](https://devrev.ai/blog/bug-vs-feature-request-a-distinction-without-a-difference)
- [Priority vs severity](https://devrev.ai/blog/priority-vs-severity)
- [Epics vs enhancements](https://devrev.ai/blog/epics-vs-enhancements)