I am confused about whether the severity of the defect is set based on its impact on business (getting the desired result) or on testing (its impact on continuing the testing of a feature).
Example: Say the system contains two tools Quick Search and Search by Attribute. I used quick search to search for landmark but an error message is displayed. So as a workaround (to get the desired result) I used the search by attribute tool and get my result properly.
Now from the business point of view, the defect has a minor impact on the user since he is able to get expected result using an easy workaround.But from a testing point of view, it is critical (work stoppage) since as a tester I am not able to continue testing the tool.
So what is the severity of such defect: Critical or Minor?