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12. Metrics

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Metrics are essential for evaluating both the effectiveness of the QA testing strategy and the performance of the QA team. Metrics may vary by project and are not always mandatory; their selection should be tailored to the specific needs and goals of each project.

12.1 Testing Strategy Metrics

Coverage & Scope

  • Test Coverage: % of test cases covered, partially covered, or not covered.
  • Requirement Coverage: % of requirements covered by tests.
  • Regression Coverage: % of critical scenarios included in regression suites.

Defect Metrics

  • Defect Density: Number of defects per feature or release.
  • Defect Leakage (Escaped Defects): Bugs found after release.
  • Defect Distribution by Severity: % of Critical / High / Medium / Low defects.
  • Number of Fixed Defects: Total defects resolved within a period.

Execution Efficiency

  • Test Cases Created per Sprint: Number of new test cases designed each sprint.
  • Automation Contribution: % of automated tests out of total QA tests.

12.2 Team Performance Metrics

Defect Handling

  • Bug Report Quality: Number of bug reports returned for rework.
  • Defects Reported per QA: Average number of defects reported by each QA engineer.
  • Time to Report Defect: Average time from defect discovery to reporting.
  • Time to Retest Fix: Average time to verify a fix after it is delivered.
  • Cycle Time per Task: Time taken to complete a QA-related task from start to finish.

12.3 Additional/Optional Metrics

  • Test Execution Progress: % of planned test cases executed per sprint/release.
  • Automation Stability: % of automated test runs without failures due to test script issues.
  • Customer-Reported Defects: Number of defects reported by end users post-release.
  • Root Cause Analysis Rate: % of defects with documented root cause analysis.

12.4 Supporting Guides & Templates

Daily QA Status Report Template — Provides a daily summary of QA activities, progress by workflow phase, defects, blockers, risks, and planned actions for the next day.

Feature Lifecycle QA Report Template — Summarizes the current quality status, test coverage, defect summary, risks, and blockers for a feature at any stage, prepared on PM request.

Pre-Release QA Status Report Template — Pre-release summary: test results, defects, risks, and readiness.

Sprint QA Report Template — Sprint summary: tests, coverage, defects, and trends.

QA Metrics Calculation Guidance — Guidance on how to calculate, interpret, and report QA metrics consistently across projects.

Defect Report Template — Standardized template for reporting defects.

Test Case Template — Template for documenting test cases.

Regression Checklist — Checklist for regression testing coverage.

Release Readiness Checklist — Checklist to ensure all release criteria are met.