4 Metrics Every QA Manager Needs to Boost QA Efficiency for Faster Delivery

Software testing has never been more important—or more challenging. With growing expectations for faster releases and uncompromising quality, QA teams are under constant pressure to deliver high-quality software faster. Measuring QA success today is much more complicated than just counting the bugs we discovered; it’s about ensuring our software consistently meets our end-users expectations.

To achieve this, QA teams must be as efficient as possible, from planning to execution, while staying aligned with business objectives and supporting confident, timely releases. That’s exactly what the ebook "13 KPIs to Impress Leadership & Drive Business Value" is all about. It’s a guide to help QA managers focus on metrics that matter and will assist in streamlining workflows, uncovering bottlenecks, and demonstrating to leadership how vital QA is in delivering great software.

In this article, we’ll focus on one of the ebook’s key objectives: Enhancing QA Efficiency for Faster Delivery and Higher Quality, and explore some of the KPIs that help make it possible.

The Goal of Enhancing QA Efficiency?

When talking about enhancing QA efficiency, we are actually talking about optimizing the QA process to enable both faster and higher-quality delivery. As a result, we aim to assess whether our current efforts are effective, make better use of resources, and ultimately, complete testing cycles faster.?

KPI #1: Planned vs. Executed Testing Progress

This KPI measures how well your team aligns planned tests with executed tests during a cycle or sprint. It provides valuable insights into the team’s efficiency and highlights any gaps between what was intended and what was accomplished. When planned tests aren’t executed, it can signal resource bottlenecks, unrealistic scheduling, or unexpected challenges during the testing process. Tracking this metric allows QA managers to identify and address these issues early, improving resource allocation and future planning.

Formula: Planned vs Executed Tests = (Number of Executed Tests / Number of Planned Tests) * 100%

Example: If your team planned 100 tests but only executed 80, it’s a clear sign to evaluate why 20 tests were left undone. Was it due to a lack of time, unforeseen bugs, or inefficient test planning?

Actionable Tip: Aim for a high percentage of executed tests relative to planned tests—ideally 90% or above. To achieve this, ensure test cases are prioritized effectively, and strategically distribute the tests among your testers based on skills, importance, and workload.?

KPI #2: Rejected Defects Percentage

This metric measures the percentage of defects reported by QA that are rejected by the development team. Rejections often occur when defects are not reproducible, misalignment between the QA and the Development team, or the reported defects are simply not real bugs. By tracking this metric, QA managers can identify areas for improvement in the defect reporting process, ensuring that bugs are documented in a way that’s easy for developers to understand and act upon.

Formula: Rejected Defects Percentage = (Number of Rejected Defects / Total Reported Defects) * 100%

Example: If your team reported 50 defects in a sprint and 10 of them were rejected, the rejection rate is 20%. This could indicate a need to review the criteria for logging defects or improve defect documentation standards.

Actionable Tip: Aim to keep the rejected defects percentage as low as possible. Focus on providing clear, detailed defect descriptions and screenshots or videos where applicable. Regularly align with the development team to define what constitutes a valid defect.

KPI #3: Automated Test Coverage

Automated test coverage measures the percentage of test cases that are automated compared to the total number of test cases. It provides insights into how effectively your team is leveraging automation to reduce manual efforts and improve testing efficiency. It’s important to note that while automation can significantly enhance productivity, it’s essential to focus on automating the right test cases—those that are stable, frequently executed, and critical to the application.

Formula: Automated Test Coverage = (Number of Automated Test Cases / Total Number of Test Cases) * 100%

Example: If your team has 200 test cases and 120 of them are automated, your automated test coverage is 60%.?

Actionable Tip: Aim for automation coverage that balances efficiency with practicality, and it varies from one project/company to another. Keep in mind that 100% of automation is NOT an achievable goal. Analyze tests that are currently manual and assess their stability for automation. Also, regularly review and update your existing test scripts to keep them aligned with your evolving application functionality.

KPI #4: Test Effectiveness

This KPI evaluates how well your test cases identify defects during a testing cycle. A high test effectiveness rate indicates that your testing efforts are well-targeted, focusing on areas of the application that are most prone to issues. A lower effectiveness rate could signal the need to reassess your test case design, prioritize high-risk areas, or incorporate more exploratory testing.

Formula: Test Effectiveness = (Number of Defects Detected / Total Number of Executed Test Cases) * 100%

Example: If your team executed 150 test cases and detected 30 defects, your test effectiveness rate would be 20%.?

Actionable Tip: Regularly review and refine your test cases to ensure they cover a wide range of scenarios. In addition, incorporate exploratory testing in your testing efforts to complement structured test cases and identify unexpected defects.

Conclusion

The KPIs we’ve discussed—Planned vs. Executed Testing Progress, Rejected Defects Percentage, Automated Test Coverage, and Test Effectiveness—illustrate how QA teams can optimize their efficiency to deliver faster and higher-quality releases. By focusing on these metrics, QA managers can identify bottlenecks, improve collaboration, and showcase the critical role their teams play in driving business success.

But enhancing QA efficiency is just one piece of the puzzle. To truly unlock the full potential of your QA efforts, it’s essential to address other objectives, like increasing cross-team collaboration and maximizing the business impact of QA, as detailed in our ebook “13 KPIs to Impress Leadership & Drive Business Value”. Download the full ebook here to explore all 13 KPIs and learn how they can transform your QA strategy.