Why Project-Related Metrics Matter: A Guide to Results-Driven QA

Artem Golubev

Trying to figure out how your team is progressing with a project at hand with just verbal updates can get frustrating. Being able to measure various aspects of a project like efforts, time remaining, or readiness for production is essential as these metrics act as tangible data points for stakeholders to track aspects of the project. Just like the other aspects of the project, the quality assurance process also requires metrics to help quantify the project’s quality. Let’s take a look at how project-related metrics help, familiarize ourselves with the different types of metrics, and get to know ways to make it work for your team.

What are metrics?

Metrics are quantitative measurements or data points used to assess various processes, systems, or project aspects. Metrics provide objective and measurable information that can be used to track progress, monitor performance, and make data-driven decisions. They are typically specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, ensuring they are meaningful and helpful in achieving desired outcomes. Metrics are often used in various fields and industries, including software development, project management, quality assurance, and performance evaluation.

What are the features of good metrics?

Amidst a plethora of metrics, you need to opt for the ones that are:

• Objective: They leave no room for ambiguity or subjectivity since metrics are meant to quantify.
• Relevant: Good metrics are relevant to the goals, objectives, and success criteria of the project or process being measured. They provide meaningful information that aligns with the desired outcomes and reflects the critical aspects of the project.
• Measurable: They are quantifiable and measurable. They are based on objective data that can be collected and analyzed consistently over time. This ensures that the metrics provide accurate and reliable information for evaluation and decision-making.
• Specific: Good metrics are specific and well-defined, focusing on a particular aspect or attribute that needs to be measured. They are clear and unambiguous, leaving no room for misinterpretation or confusion.
• Up-to-date: They are timely and up-to-date. They provide information in a timely manner to enable proactive decision-making and intervention. Delayed or outdated metrics may not be as useful in addressing issues or opportunities promptly.
• Comparable: Good metrics are comparable over time or across different projects or processes. They allow for benchmarking, trend analysis, and comparison with industry standards or best practices. This enables stakeholders to assess performance, identify gaps, and drive continuous improvement.
• Communicable: They are easily understandable and communicate relevant information to stakeholders. They are presented in a clear, concise, and meaningful manner, allowing stakeholders to comprehend and interpret the metrics effectively.

How does having metrics for the QA process help?

Having metrics to track and assess the QA process has the following benefits:

• Quality Measurement: Metrics provide a quantifiable way to measure the quality of the application by enabling the evaluation of various quality aspects, such as defect density, test coverage, reliability, and customer satisfaction. This data can be used to make informed decisions about actions that might be needed to improve the quality process.
• Performance Evaluation: By tracking metrics like test execution progress, defect discovery rate, and defect resolution time, QA teams can assess their performance, effectiveness of QA activities, and identify areas for improvement. This enables the team to optimize their processes, enhance productivity, and deliver high-quality results.
• Progress Tracking: Metrics provide visibility into the completion of test cases, defect resolution, and overall QA milestones. This helps project stakeholders, including project managers and clients, to monitor progress and make informed decisions based on the status of QA activities.
• Defect Management: Metrics related to defect discovery, resolution, and rework provide insights into the effectiveness of defect management processes. By analyzing these metrics, QA teams can identify patterns, trends, and root causes of defects.
• Resource Allocation: By tracking metrics such as test coverage, test case execution time, and defect density, QA teams can identify areas where resources are underutilized or overburdened. This helps in balancing workload, optimizing resource allocation, and ensuring efficient utilization of QA resources.
• Process Improvement: Metrics provide a basis for continuous process improvement within the QA function. By analyzing metrics, QA teams can identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for enhancement. This enables them to refine their testing methodologies, adopt best practices, and streamline their processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness.
• Communication and Reporting: Metrics provide a common language for communicating QA results and progress to project stakeholders. They offer objective and quantifiable data that can be easily shared and understood by the various stakeholders.
• Risk Management: By tracking metrics such as defect severity, defect aging, and regression test coverage, QA teams can identify potential quality risks and take proactive measures to mitigate them. This ensures that potential issues are addressed before they impact the product’s quality or project timelines.
• Continuous Learning: Metrics support a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the QA function. By analyzing metrics and identifying trends, QA teams can learn from past experiences and make informed adjustments to their present and future testing strategies.

Different types of metrics

Metrics can be categorized into various types based on the aspects they measure. Here are three major types of metrics commonly used in different domains:

• Process Metrics: These metrics focus on evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of a specific process within an organization. Examples include cycle time, throughput, productivity, defect injection rate, defect removal efficiency, and rework percentage.
• Product Metrics: These metrics provide insights into the quality, usability, reliability, and effectiveness of the product. Product metrics are typically used by development teams, quality assurance teams, and stakeholders to assess the product’s performance and make informed decisions.
• Performance Metrics: Performance metrics measure the performance and efficiency of a system, process, or team. They can include metrics like response time, throughput, resource utilization, system availability, and transaction success rate.

Some popularly used QA metrics

The metrics that are used to measure the quality of a project can be broadly categorized as base or absolute metrics and derived metrics. These absolute metrics are whole numbers and facilitate generating numbers for derived metrics. Let’s take a look at both.

Base or absolute metrics

Base metrics serve as foundational measurements in QA, providing valuable insights into the testing process, test coverage, defect management, and overall product quality. They form the basis for more advanced metrics and analysis to drive continuous improvement and optimize QA practices. Here are a few examples.

• Test Case Count: This metric measures the total number of test cases developed for a project. It provides an indication of the testing effort and coverage.
• Test Execution Status: This metric tracks the status of test cases executed, indicating the number of tests passed, failed, blocked, or not executed. It helps assess the progress and coverage of testing.
• Defect Count: This metric measures the number of defects or issues identified during testing or in the production environment. It helps gauge the quality of the product and the effectiveness of defect management.
• Defect Severity: This metric categorizes defects based on their impact and severity. It helps prioritize defect resolution based on the severity level, ensuring critical issues are addressed promptly.
• Defect Age: This metric measures the duration between defect discovery and its resolution. It helps assess the efficiency of defect resolution processes and identifies bottlenecks in defect management.
• Test Coverage: Test coverage metrics assess the extent to which the product or system is tested. It includes metrics like requirements coverage, code coverage, and functional coverage. Test coverage metrics help evaluate the thoroughness of testing efforts.
• Test Completion: This metric indicates the progress of test execution and measures the percentage of planned tests executed. It helps track the completion of testing activities against the defined test plan or schedule.
• Test Cycle Time: Test cycle time measures the time taken to complete a testing cycle, from test planning to test closure. It helps assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the testing process and identify areas for improvement.
• Test Pass/Fail Rate: This metric measures the percentage of test cases that pass or fail during execution. It provides insights into the stability and readiness of the product and helps evaluate the effectiveness of testing.

Derived metrics

Derived metrics in QA are measurements that are derived or calculated from the base metrics or other data points collected during the testing and quality assurance process. These metrics provide additional insights and analysis beyond the raw data and help evaluate the performance, effectiveness, and efficiency of QA activities. Here are some examples of derived metrics in QA:

• Defect Density: This metric calculates the number of defects per unit of size, such as defects per thousand lines of code (Defects/KLOC). It helps normalize defect counts based on the size of the system or product, enabling comparison across different projects or releases.
• Test Effectiveness: This metric measures the percentage of defects found by testing compared to the total defects identified. It provides an indication of the efficiency and effectiveness of the testing efforts in identifying and catching defects.
• Test Efficiency: Test efficiency metric calculates the ratio of the number of executed test cases to the number of defects found. It helps assess how efficient the testing process is at identifying defects with a minimum number of test cases.
• Test Productivity: This metric measures the amount of testing performed within a given timeframe or effort. It could be calculated as the number of test cases executed per tester per day or the number of defects detected per tester per day. It helps evaluate productivity and resource utilization in testing.
• Test Automation Coverage: This metric calculates the percentage of test cases automated out of the total number of test cases. It helps evaluate the extent to which testing is automated and provides insights into the efficiency and repeatability of the testing process.
• Test Stability: This metric calculates the stability of the product or system by measuring the percentage of test cases that remain unchanged across multiple test runs. It helps identify areas of instability and potential risks in the system.
• Test Effort: This metric measures the total effort expended on testing activities, including test case creation, execution, defect management, and other related tasks. It helps evaluate resource allocation and the overall investment in testing.

How to get a results-driven QA approach?

When it comes to making your QA process results-driven, you need to focus on achieving specific measurable results rather than solely on process adherence or activities. The emphasis is on delivering tangible business value, ensuring customer satisfaction, and driving continuous improvement, all of this in a way that aligns with the goals and objectives of the project or organization. Here are some tips on how you can ensure this for your project.

• Set Clear and Measurable Goals: Define specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for your QA process. These goals should align with the overall project objectives and focus on measurable outcomes related to quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
• Define Key Metrics: Identify the relevant metrics that align with your goals and objectives. Select metrics that provide meaningful insights into the quality of the software, the effectiveness of testing efforts, and customer satisfaction. Ensure that these metrics are measurable, objective, and aligned with the project requirements.
• Establish Baselines: Establish baseline measurements for the identified metrics at the beginning of the project. This will serve as a reference point for comparison and allow you to track progress and improvements over time. Baselines provide a benchmark against which you can measure the success and impact of your QA efforts.
• Define QA Processes and Standards: Develop standardized QA processes, methodologies, and best practices that align with industry standards and project requirements. Clear processes and standards help ensure consistency, efficiency, and reliability in your QA efforts.
• Implement Test Automation: Leverage test automation tools and frameworks to improve efficiency and effectiveness in your testing efforts. Automating repetitive and critical test cases can help increase test coverage, reduce manual errors, and accelerate the testing process.
• Continuous Monitoring and Analysis: Regularly monitor and analyze the selected metrics throughout the project lifecycle. This will provide ongoing insights into the quality and progress of the software development process. Analyze the data to identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement, and take proactive measures based on the analysis.
• Collaborate and Communicate: Foster effective collaboration and communication between QA teams, development teams, and stakeholders. Regularly share QA results, progress, and insights with relevant stakeholders to maintain transparency and facilitate data-driven decision-making.
• Continuous Improvement: Embrace a culture of continuous improvement in your QA process. Use the insights gained from metrics analysis to identify areas for improvement, address bottlenecks, and implement corrective actions. Encourage feedback, learn from mistakes, and adapt your QA practices to enhance efficiency and quality.
• Training and Skill Development: Invest in training and skill development programs for your QA team. Stay updated with the latest industry trends, tools, and techniques to ensure your team has the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver results-driven QA.
• Regular Evaluation and Review: Conduct regular evaluations and reviews of your QA process and its outcomes. Assess the effectiveness of your QA efforts, review the achieved metrics, and identify areas where further improvements can be made. Use this feedback loop to refine your QA strategy and approach for future projects.

Considerations to keep in mind when working with metrics

When using metrics for a project, several considerations should be kept in mind to ensure their effectiveness and meaningful use. Here are some key considerations:

• Alignment with Project Goals: Metrics should be aligned with the project’s goals, objectives, and success criteria. They should measure aspects that directly contribute to the project’s intended outcomes. Ensure that the selected metrics are relevant and meaningful in the context of the project.
• Selectivity and Focus: It’s important to be selective and focus on a reasonable number of metrics. Too many metrics can lead to information overload and make it challenging to focus on the most critical aspects. Choose metrics that provide the most relevant and actionable information for decision-making.
• Clear Definition and Measurement: Metrics should have clear definitions and well-defined measurement methods. Ensure that there is a common understanding of what the metric represents and how it will be measured. Clearly define the numerator and denominator for ratio-based metrics to avoid ambiguity.
• Data Availability and Accuracy: Consider the availability and accuracy of data required to calculate the metrics. Ensure that data sources are reliable and accessible. If data collection requires manual effort, consider the feasibility and reliability of collecting the data consistently.
• Appropriate Frequency: Determine the appropriate frequency for collecting and reporting the metrics. Some metrics may require real-time or frequent updates, while others can be measured periodically. Consider the time and effort required to collect and analyze the data and ensure it aligns with the project’s reporting and decision-making cadence.
• Context and Interpretation: Metrics should be interpreted in the proper context. Understand the factors that may influence the metric values and consider the broader project environment, constraints, and dependencies. Avoid making hasty judgments based solely on the metrics without considering the underlying factors.
• Benchmarking and Comparison: Consider benchmarking the metrics against relevant industry standards, best practices, or previous projects within the organization. This provides a reference point for evaluating performance and identifying areas for improvement.
• Use Metrics as a Guide: Metrics should be used as a guide for decision-making, not as the sole basis for decisions. Supplement metrics with qualitative information and expert judgment to gain a comprehensive understanding of the project’s performance. Metrics should inform decisions, but not replace critical thinking and experience.
• Evolve and Adapt: Regularly review and reassess the metrics to ensure their ongoing relevance and effectiveness. Projects evolve over time, and the metrics should evolve accordingly. Be open to modifying or adding metrics as the project progresses and new information becomes available.
• Communicate and Explain: Clearly communicate the purpose, significance, and interpretation of the metrics to stakeholders. Provide context and explanations to help stakeholders understand the metrics and their implications. Effective communication of metrics fosters better understanding and acceptance among stakeholders.

Which tools to use for incorporating metrics

Many of these metrics can be derived from your existing workflow, without needing any specialized tools. For instance, your test case storage system like TestRail, or an issue tracking system such as Jira, can be utilized. Jira already has many configurable business metrics and add-ons like eazyBI, which allows for nearly any type of reporting customization.

When it comes to test automation, a robust AI-driven system, such as testRigor, can be particularly helpful. This end-to-end testing tool not only simplifies the test creation process but also ensures stable test execution and provides comprehensive reports. Its use can enable companies to build more robust testing coverage swiftly, while minimizing time spent on test maintenance.

testRigor is a cloud-based, codeless tool that offers a rich set of capabilities for test automation. Its engine enables you to write tests in plain English, eliminating the need for programming skills. Moreover, you don’t need an in-depth understanding of the Document Object Model (DOM) to identify UI elements – you simply specify where the tool should look for the element, and testRigor does the rest. Users refer to elements as an actual person would, using commands like ‘click “Add to Cart” button’, or ‘select “Washington” from the dropdown’. testRigor’s engine also manages test maintenance, ensuring that minor issues such as changes in UI element Xpath values do not disrupt your test runs. Your tests will even survive a complete framework change, as long as the UI remains the same.

testRigor provides basic metrics such as the number of test cases passed, failed, not started, in progress, and canceled, offering a snapshot of the test suite’s progress. For more complex metrics, you can integrate testRigor with tools like JIRA or TestRail that support comprehensive test case management. As a cloud-based platform with an intuitive UI, testRigor facilitates team collaboration, primarily by eliminating the need to code test cases in a programming language.

Beyond supporting cross-platform testing across web, mobile, and desktop, testRigor offers several other features. These include visual testing, audio and video testing, email and SMS testing, accessibility testing, and specific commands for interaction with different platforms, such as ‘pinch’ and ‘long press’ for mobile devices. The tool also facilitates easy interactions with table data, and much more.

To sum it up

Using metrics to ensure that QA efforts in your project are structured and yielding results is a great way to ensure that the full team is on the same page. With the various metrics available, you need to figure out which ones work for you. However, a word of caution here is that though it is great to quantify efforts into these metrics, let it not govern your operations and instead, just be another tool that assists you and your team to achieve remarkable results out of the project or application at hand. You can make use of automation tools like testRigor to assist you with.