A deviation from the specified or expected behaviour that is visible to end-users is called:

a) an error
b) a fault
c) a failure
d) a defect

__________________
Brijesh Jain
brijesh.tester@yahoo.co.in
http://softwaretestingexpertise.blogspot.com

If an application has an error it would show an unexpected output for a specific input the user gives.

Hi Brijesh,

Though all of your answers looks to be correct but in this case the correct answer will be c) FAILURE.

If it is a error then it would be caught by the developer itself since mostly error is generated out of the coding, and it will caught in the unit testing stage itself. Also it cannot be a fault since fault is some thing a mistake done by the development team or testing team but correct before the release. A defect is the term which states anomoly between the expected and actual result.

The answer is Failure since after the software is released and in Live to the end-users with the deviation from the specification. Hence both the development and the testing team have not done the work properly and Quality lacks in the software. If the deviation is caught before the application goes live then it will be a error or defect or fault. But the deviation exists in the system after its release to the end-user hence the application is a failure.

I totally agree.In the scenario you are describing, it can be definitely categorised as a failure.