What do you call a type of software bug that has been seen more than once?

This image is a meme featuring a character from the TV show The Office, specifically Jim Halpert, who is shown giving a presentation in two frames. In the top frame, he points to a whiteboard that says, "When a type of bug is seen more than once." In the bottom frame, he reveals the full whiteboard message: "Call it a syndrome," with Jim looking at the camera with a satisfied expression.

This meme humorously suggests that recurring issues, like software bugs, should be classified as "syndromes" after they've been observed more than once, poking fun at how some problems are frequently reoccurring.

A certain type of bug kept appearing in various places on our website. It was related to text size appearing too big. Rather than trying to explain it each time I saw it, I called it 'Big Text Syndrome'.

Maybe giving a re-occuring software bug a name can help us better communicate the issue to people within the team.

Rosie Sherry

CEO & Founder at Ministry of Testing

She/Her

I've been working in the software testing and quality engineering space since the year 2000 whilst also combining it with my love for education and community building. 🎓 MoT-STEC qualified