Should we be tracking defects in things other than code? [closed]

Question

At various times in my career I have encouraged staff I worked with and/or managed to track defects in artifacts of the development process other than source code (i.e. requirements, tests, design). Each time the request has been met with astonishment, confusion and resistance. It seems so obvious to me that I'm always a little shocked when people resist the idea.

What we get from this exercise is a picture of where bugs are created and where they are found (in what part of the process). If we are building bad requirements then we we'll know it and can work to improve them.

Is anyone else collecting information on defects not in source code?

Answer 1

Yes, track them all.

Documentation, design docs, requirements, etc.

I am also as astonished as you when I hear "arguments" against it.
At the very least the tracking system should be able to identify where the defect was found and what part of the process it was injected.