What is the proper priority and severity rating for a defect that causes a system to crash only after making and voiding 10 purchases in a row?

For a defect that leads to a system crash after a specific series of actions, the severity is considered high because it results in a critical failure of the system. The system crashing is a significant issue since it impacts the application's usability and functionality, indicating a serious flaw that needs immediate attention.

In this case, the priority rating is low, as the defect only occurs after a specific sequence of actions—making and voiding 10 purchases in a row. This suggests that the defect may not affect all users, as it requires particular conditions to be replicated. Therefore, while the defect is severe in terms of its impact when it occurs, it doesn’t need an immediate fix since the occurrence may not happen often in normal usage scenarios.

Understanding the distinction between severity and priority is key. Severity relates to the impact of the defect on the system, while priority indicates how soon the defect needs to be addressed. In this situation, the system's ability to continue functioning during typical operations is not hindered, thus justifying the low priority rating despite the high severity due to the crash.