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KPI For Software Testing

KPI For Software Testing (QA)

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With many moving parts of a testing project, you may find yourself swamped with work and yet answering for delays and slipped defects. As a tester (both beginner and professional), measuring software quality is often a huge challenge. 

To thrive in the competitive QA market, testers must define Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to gauge the progress of software testing in terms of test coverage, speed of execution, and defect status.

Nowadays, testers are more concerned with quality than quantity. The main objective is to have a great end-user experience, not to find bugs.

What are the KPIs in Software Testing?

  1. Active Defects:

One of the straightforward and practical KPIs for evaluating process performance is the number of active or live defects. In this context, active defects are defined as those on which corrective action is being taken or has not yet been taken, i.e., defects with the status of “New” and “Open.” Additionally, since they need to be re-evaluated, it also includes flaws with the status of fixed.

  1. Authored Tests:

One of the KPIs that measures the effectiveness of the testing phase is the tests that the test engineers design and develop with the assistance of the business analyst team. The tests are created and prepared in accordance with the detailed requirements, so one or more tests will satisfy a given requirement. In order to identify and gauge the requirement coverage through tests for each iteration/sprint, these tests may function as a KPI to reflect the coverage requirement, and its threshold limit may be set.

  1. Automated Tests:

During the testing process, some tests are intended to be carried out manually, while others are prepared for the purpose of being carried out by an automated system. Although automating the tests is a very complex and hectic job, and requires a good amount of time and money for its operation and maintenance, its usefulness may be seen in catching the severe and the critical defects in a short period of time. This is because the tests are run much more quickly. Therefore, automated tests could be considered as one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the testing efficiency. This would entail determining which tests should be automated and then measuring them against the threshold limit that has been established.

  1. Requirement Coverage:

It is one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that is most commonly used and preferred by quality assurance managers when the performance is measured in terms of the requirements. Depending on the circumstances, a single examination or multiple examinations could be used to satisfy each requirement. There should not be any tests that have been designed or that already exist that do not adhere to one or more of the requirements, nor should there be any tests that do not fulfil any of the requirements. In addition, there should not be any requirements that are unable to be satisfied by any of the tests. This key performance indicator (KPI) might prove useful in locating any unused or abandoned requirements or tests (s).

  1. No. of Defects fixed/day:

The level of seriousness and attentiveness with which the development team considers and corrects the defects that have been reported can be gleaned from the number of defects that are fixed by the development team on a daily basis; this provides insight into the degree to which the defects have been reported. In addition to that, it provides daily updates on the progress that has been made in either the construction of the module or in the module itself. This information is communicated through the module’s internal communication system.

  1. Tests Passed:

The gap that exists between the number of tests carried out and the number of tests that were successful is another indicator of the effectiveness and quality of the testing procedure. It is generally accepted that the higher the number of tests successfully completed by a software product, the higher the quality of both the testing process and the product itself. However, there are times when poorly designed tests are also allowed to pass through a software application with poor quality. As a result, this key performance indicator may turn out to be risky if the quality of the tests that are being passed is not adequately evaluated.

  1. Rejected Defects:

The development team has the ability to disregard the defects that were reported by the testing team on the grounds that the reported defect does not pertain to an actual defect but rather to a feature of the application’s design or structure or any other aspect of the application. It demonstrates both a lack of efficiency and an inability to study and analyse the design, requirements, and functionalities of the product, as well as any other significant aspects of it. As a result, rejected defects could be considered a key performance indicator (KPI), in which case a higher value would indicate that the process had low productivity and vice versa.

  1. Reviewed Requirements:

It is possible for the requirements to be misunderstood or misinterpreted, which can result in flawed designing and development, which in turn results in flaws and deviations in the final product. Therefore, by reviewing and analysing the requirements, the majority of the flaws and deviations can be located and traced back to their source. Therefore, reviewing the requirements by the business and the testing team together with the assistance of the requirement domain expert could be considered a key performance indicator (KPI) for measuring the testing efficiency.

  1. Severe Defects:

It’s possible that one of the key performance indicators (KPIs) you use is the severity of the problem, as well as the immediate fix that the customer needs for it. This key performance indicator (KPI) has the potential to be utilised in the process of bringing about changes and improvements.

  1. Test Executed:

The quantity of tests run, whether manually or automatically, may also be used as a KPI to gauge how quickly the testing process is moving.

A tester may also review the following performance indicator in addition to the KPIs mentioned above:

  • Budget Expense.
  • Time Schedule and Constraint.
  • Efforts Applied.
  • Defects Closure Rate.

When are the KPIs for software testing useless?

Although evaluating a process’ effectiveness is crucial to knowing if it is being carried out correctly, evaluating the testing process using quality KPIs is not appropriate in the following situations:

  1. If testing for your product has just begun:If you are about to release your product to the public for the very first time and testing has only just begun, there won’t be much to measure. Instead of focusing on determining how successful the testing process is, it will be essential to put together a testing procedure during this time.
  2. If your testing cycle won’t be particularly lengthy: If you are developing a product that will not be altered for an extended period of time after its launch and testing will be a one-time process, measuring the efficiency of the process would not be beneficial because you will not have any new testing cycles on which to improve.
  3. If your budget is constrained: Measuring testing KPIs requires time and effort, just like any other activity, and as a result, costs money. When the budget for testing is limited, the primary focus should not be on measuring the key performance indicators (KPIs), but rather on applying a testing process that is cost-effective.

Have you ever assessed the success of QA?

The process of developing software includes a significant component known as software quality assurance. It ensures that the organization’s software products are up to the quality standards that have been established. However, despite the fact that ensuring the quality of software is unquestionably desirable, the cost of doing so can be quite high. In the following paragraphs, you will learn how to evaluate your quality assurance in a way that will give you a good return on your investment. But before we get into that, let’s look at how quality assurance affects software releases and why you might need to evaluate QA’s level of success..

QA’s Impact on Software Release Cycles

A release cycle is comprised of multiple stages, including development, testing, deployment, and tracking of the released product. In markets with a lot of competition, having a long release cycle can be detrimental. As a result, companies frequently try to shorten the length of their release cycles. However, putting more of an emphasis on speed may result in a drop in the overall quality of the products. You can, however, reduce the length of your release cycles without compromising the quality of your product by putting into practise the best practises in software release management. Here are some approaches to taking that action:

Establish Regular Release Cycles

After conducting an audit of the current state of your release process, you should establish a consistent release schedule. Taking these steps will help establish a routine system that your teams can become accustomed to and feel comfortable using. End users will also be aware of when to anticipate updates and will have a greater likelihood of interacting with the most recent releases. Rather than having a lengthy release cycle, it is preferable to have a short one that is comprised of numerous, incremental changes. If you have a target release plan, your teams will be able to work toward the release dates while still achieving the goals they have set for themselves at this point in the release cycle.

Document Your Release Plans

The documentation of release plans is an excellent way to guarantee that all parties are operating from the same playbook. Your goals, your quality expectations, and the roles that participants will play should all be included in the release plan. After you have documented your release plans, you should make sure that every member of the team can easily access them, refer to them, and update them as necessary.

Automate Processes

Increasing the speed of your release cycle while preserving its quality can be accomplished in a number of ways, one of which is by automating manual and repetitive tasks. Automation of quality assurance frees up valuable human resources, which can then be redirected to work on other activities with a higher priority. Automated security checks, code quality checks, and regression testing are a few examples of the many possibilities.

Develop and Improve Your Release Infrastructure

It’s possible that the deployment process is being slowed down by hidden bottlenecks in your release infrastructure. Because of this, you need to optimise your delivery infrastructure and put practises like continuous testing and testing automation into place.

Conduct Release Retrospectives

A release retrospective is when you look back at previous releases and analyse the processes that were used so that you can gain insights that will help you improve those processes in future releases. Release retrospectives offer teams an open forum in which they can discuss issues that have arisen in the past and formulate solutions to help them be avoided in the future. You may, however, find that conducting an analysis of the efficacy of the QA in your software development is necessary in order to guarantee that your release cycles are reliable and that they proceed without hiccups.

Why You Should Consider Evaluating the Success of Software Quality Assurance

It is absolutely necessary for increasing the effectiveness of your testing procedures in terms of both time and money savings. Using metrics to conduct an analysis of your existing system can help you determine which aspects of the system currently require enhancement. Because of this, you will be able to proceed with the process by making decisions that are appropriate for the next stage. It would be very difficult to measure the quality of software if quality assurance metrics were not used. What’s more, if you don’t measure it, there’s no way to tell whether or not your strategy for quality assurance is successful.

Why Do You Need Software Test Metrics and What Are They?

Metrics for software testing are standards of measurement that quality assurance teams employ in order to evaluate the level of software development project quality. Monitoring them offers immediate insights into the testing process and contributes to an accurate assessment of the performance of a QA team. You cannot improve upon something that you are unable to measure. That is exactly what quality metrics in software testing make possible: improved quality assurance processes. In exchange for this, optimising quality assurance processes helps budget for testing needs in a more effective manner. As a consequence of this, they are able to make well-informed decisions regarding upcoming projects, comprehend what aspects need to be enhanced, and effect the necessary adjustments. The question now is, what kinds of metrics can you use to assist you in making these decisions?

Types of QA Metrics

There is a wide variety of quality assurance metrics, each of which may or may not be useful for your current scenario, which refers to the current status of your project. The value of a metric can be determined by how actionable it is, or whether or not the measurement can lead to an improvement, as well as whether or not it can be continuously updated.

Here are some metrics examples that might apply to your project at this time:

  • Mean time to repair – how long a problem is typically fixed, on average. This period of time includes any downtime during which your product or service isn’t functioning, costing you money and possibly endangering your reputation.
  • Mean time to detect – how long, on average, it takes your internal or contracted QA team to find issues. The cost of fixing a problem decreases with the time since discovery.
  • Escaped defects found – how many errors were discovered after release that the QA team had missed during production.
  • Test reliability – How useful the test results are. In essence, a reliable test is repeatable and has consistent measurement.

How do you determine which metrics are appropriate for the project you are working on? Again, this entirely depends on which ones are the most objective and relevant for the state that your project is in at the moment. Be aware, however, that there is a difference between metrics that assess the efficiency of your quality assurance team and those that assist in assessing the quality of your product or organisation. Bug reports and ratings are examples of metrics that aid in assessing the quality of your product or organisation. To be more specific, using KPIs is one way to ascertain the latter.

How to Use KPIs to Assess Quality Assurance

KPIs, which stands for key performance indicators, are predetermined measurements of efficiency; in this case, the efficiency of quality assurance in software testing. KPIs are helpful in evaluating the overall effectiveness of quality assurance in general. However, there are some circumstances in which they are not the best option. The following are some examples of situations in which it is most beneficial to measure KPIs:

  • You’ve been carrying out a testing procedure for a while. When testing is still in its early stages, KPIs are not helpful and should be avoided. However, if you have been implementing a testing process for some time, measuring the key performance indicators (KPIs) will help you determine which aspects of the process require enhancement.
  • You intend to implement new testing procedures. The key performance indicators (KPIs) of your existing processes can help you determine which goals the new procedures should concentrate on achieving.
  • You have a large testing team. Working with a large QA team necessitates the assignment and management of various testing responsibilities. You can ensure that the process is effective and that team members are staying on track by measuring key performance indicators (KPIs).

Tips for Choosing a QA Outsourcing Company

Outsourcing software QA services can be a wonderful approach to save time and money while focusing on your primary responsibilities. The ROI of outsourcing quality assurance will, however, directly depend on the calibre of the vendor you choose. When comparing software quality assurance companies, take into account the following factors.

  • Customer Relationship. Look for businesses that approach their work with a focus on creating and maintaining partnerships. These kinds of businesses put in significant effort to develop and sustain fruitful relationships with their patrons and customers. As a consequence of this, you will have a better chance of having a positive experience and developing a long-term relationship with the kind of vendors described above.
  • Scalability and flexibility. Make sure that the company’s business model is adaptable and that it can deal with changes in the requirements for testing. As your testing requirements shift, having such adaptability at your disposal will prove useful.
  • Security. As potential suppliers, only companies that provide a network security, ad hoc security, database security, and intellectual property protection environment should be considered.
  • Portfolio. Spend some time looking over the portfolio that the vendor has to offer. Examine its history, the clients it already has, the mission it serves, and its reputation critically. You should look for businesses that have been around for a long time and have a solid name in their industry.
  • Documentation Standards. Make sure that the quality assurance documentation standards that are necessary are met by the vendor. For instance, they should adequately document test results, reports, plans, scripts, and scenarios, and they should make those documents easy for you to access.
  • Testing Infrastructure. Make sure that the company that provides quality assurance services has a testing infrastructure that is appropriate for your product. This infrastructure should include the required software, operating systems, hardware devices, testing tools, and certified test procedures.

References

How To Evaluate Software Quality Assurance Success: KPIs, SLAs, Release Cycles, and Costs – DZone. (n.d.). dzone.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://testfort.com/blog/how-to-evaluate-software-quality-assurance-success-kpis-slas-release-cycles-and-costs

Key Performance Indicator(KPI’s): Software Testing |Professionalqa.com. (2020, December 7). Key Performance Indicator(KPI’s): Software Testing |Professionalqa.com. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://www.professionalqa.com/key-performance-indicator-in-testing

What are the KPIs of Software Testing and QA Metrics? (2019, September 3). Testsigma Blog. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://testsigma.com/blog/what-are-the-kpis-of-software-testing-and-qa-testsigma/

Shafiq, H., & H. (2021, September 1). 6 KPIs for QA Testers to Unlock Their Full Potential. Kualitee. Retrieved December 22, 2022, from https://www.kualitee.com/quality-assurance/7-kpis-for-qa-testers-to-unlock-their-full-potential/