In software testing, an incident refers to any event or issue that deviates from the expected behavior of the software. It could be a bug, defect, failure, or any unexpected result that occurs during testing.

When something goes wrong in the system—whether it’s a crash, an unexpected result, or a function not working as intended—it’s logged as an incident. It’s like when you’re driving and notice something odd with the car, like a strange noise or a dashboard warning light. That triggers an investigation into what’s wrong, how serious it is, and how to fix it.

In testing, handling incidents promptly is crucial to ensuring the software’s quality and functionality before it reaches the end user. The goal is to address the incident, understand its root cause, and ensure it’s fixed or mitigated, ultimately leading to a better, more reliable product.