Using Test Metrics to Improve Test Planning and Design

Often, we think of software testing metrics as tools for assessing the performance of quality assurance team members or in-development applications. However, test metrics can extend to every facet of software development, including test planning and design. By applying test metrics to their test planning efforts, QA teams can get a better sense of what aspects of their test management strategy are working, and what needs to be improved for both current and future projects.

Without effective test metrics, QA teams will largely be working in the dark. These tools provide some much-needed insight into the efficiency of individual testers and the entire team. As Software Testing Help explained, metrics can show team leaders how much progress has been made as well as how much work has yet to be done, giving them a better sense of where a particular project stands. This information doesn't just pertain to any single development cycle, however. By gathering data on how long it takes team members to complete certain tasks, QA leaders can better lay out test plans down the road. This will prevent delays in the future since production lifecycles can be meticulously outlined from the very beginning.

Determine List of Priorities

QA teams often find themselves needing to shift their testing priorities as they near the end of the production lifecycle. With the ever-increasing popularity of agile methodologies, changes during the development and QA process have become a fact of life for software testers. While user feedback will certainly dictate some of these priority shifts, test metrics can help provide teams with an overview of what critical functions still need to be accounted for. Finding a balance between nailing down user interface and experience demands while giving core functionality its due diligence is far easier when testers have metrics guiding their efforts.

Test metrics won't do much good if teams lack a way to easily access, manage and share them. By implementing test management software, QA members can upload and disseminate critical metrics and other documents. Other testers can then view these resources by simply going to the platform's testing dashboard. This will help ensure that every project stakeholder, from C-level executives to software testers, have access to metrics detailing how much progress has been made and what software features still require attention. When used effectively and in tandem with the best test management software, software testing metrics provide deep insights into a team's test management strategy, putting them on the path to success.