Data-Driven QA: Leveraging Analytics for Smarter Quality Assurance

We already know that Quality Assurance aims to ensure established processes are followed to deliver a high-quality application to customers. Software testing verifies and validates the application functionality against requirements, user stories, personas, or use cases. These documents represent an understanding of what customers expect and need from an application. QA testers strive to eliminate defects in the code and within processes from the beginning of development to post-release.

Test Analytics is an extension of the work QA already does. By leveraging analytics, QA testing teams can target or fine-tune testing and make it more efficient and effective. Better testing yields improved development team productivity and higher customer experience. Less time is wasted managing tech debt and more time fixing the bugs that impact customers. This guide describes what metrics to use to gather data and which data analysis techniques to apply to improve testing and product quality.

What is Data-Driven QA?

Data-driven QA is not the same as Data-driven testing. Data-driven QA is a management approach that uses data analytics to maximize the testing value and increase effectiveness. Data-driven testing is used in testing teams to help expand test automation by coding test scripts to use multiple data sets during execution. Data-driven QA includes performing the following tasks:

• Collecting data
• Analyzing data
• Make decisions on how to apply the analysis to improve testing
• Measuring and collecting data
• Analyzing data
• Determining if goals have been met or more improvement is possible

The process above repeats as often as needed or is done continuously to keep testing processes current and running as effectively as possible.

Where and What Data is Collected?

Testing teams collect data for analytics across the testing process. Many teams use test results, customer feedback, product use analytics, deployment, and server logs to gather data for analysis. Data comes from multiple sources depending on if the data can be accessed and collected. Keep in mind when creating a data-driven QA process that data must be high quality and subject to legal privacy protection. When deciding what data to collect, ensure all sensitive data is anonymized and fully secured. Compliance with data protection regulations is essential to maintaining customer and stakeholder trust.

Many teams collect data from activities performed during testing and then analyze it to clean up or optimize the QA testing process. Key metrics for measuring the testing process include:

• Application test coverage

Measures how much of the code base is covered by testing. Identifies areas of an application that lack test coverage. It helps ensure critical code is fully covered.

• Defect density

Defect density measures the number of defects found in each code section. Identifies parts of an application that generate the largest number of defects by priority. Helps testing focus on trouble spots.

• Test execution time

Test execution time is the time it takes for the team to execute testing. For example, a full regression effort or an integration test. This metric Identifies areas of duplicate test coverage or waste in the test execution process.

• Pass/fail rate

Generates a percentage of how many tests pass or fail per execution. Measures code stability and helps teams identify orphaned or out-of-date tests.

• Defect resolution time

Measures how much time passes from when a defect is entered and approved until it is fixed and successfully retested. Helpful in finding specific areas in the defect management process that need to be changed or altered.

• Orphaned test percentage (automated and/or manual)

Measures how many tests could not be executed during testing. Orphaned tests are those test cases that fail because they are outdated or invalid. Useful for identifying issues with test maintenance or problems with automated test strategies.

• Defects reported in production within 30 days after release

Measure the number and priority of defects raised by customers within the first 30 days after a release. Identifies defects that escaped the testing process.

Many organizations shy away from or refuse to report testing metrics and analyze data. Remember, the first time is a baseline from which testing improves. Be careful of judging the individual testers or test management until after the data is analyzed. The truth may hurt at first, but in the long run, knowing the testing process needs improvement is a catalyst towards delivering a higher quality product. Is it a good thing or a necessary evil? Take heart and work through the issues individually. As the testing process improves, it’ll be well worth the effort. Analytics proves that testing provides significant business value, which is critical when receiving funding and stakeholder support.

Benefits of Data-Driven QA

Organizations gain valuable insight into software development and testing with data-driven QA. Insight into how effective the testing process allows teams to identify areas that need improvement based on actual data or data-driven evidence. When QA teams use data analytics to address issues, they continuously improve. Practicing data-driven QA provides benefits immediately and progressively into the future. Solid data analytics plays an important role in ensuring software development projects are successful, delivered on time, and with a high level of quality. All are important to maintaining a competitive edge in an industry dependent on both speed and quality to gain and retain a customer base.

The benefits of practicing data-driven QA include:

• Ability to use predictive analytics to forecast future testing outcomes and spot trends
• Predict potential issues and plan for mitigation
• Use root cause analysis to identify defect patterns and remove defects at the core
• Continuously improve testing processes to optimize and maximize software quality
• Improve testing team efficiency
• Saves on testing time to reduce overall costs
• Consistently enhance the quality of product and customer experience

Actual continuous improvement measures require data to improve on. Removing defects through root cause analysis rather than continuing to address each symptom or defect alone saves significant development and testing time. Using data analysis to target testing into defect-prone areas improves application quality but also identifies areas that development may need to be rewritten to address fully. Reducing duplicate work and wasted time improves testing efficiency and reduces the cost of thorough and effective testing. The better the quality of testing, the more likely the customer never experience a significant application defect. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful thing?

Important Considerations Before Leveraging Data Analytics for Testing

When diving into data analytics, it’s essential to take note of a few crucial considerations. Decisions must be made or planned into a project or added to a business strategy for the following:

• Tool selection

Choose a data analytics tool that integrates into the existing development and testing infrastructure. Make sure tools are compatible, easy to use, and offer effective visuals for effective reporting. Consider tools like LambdaTest Test Intelligence, which seamlessly integrates with your existing systems to provide real-time insights for smarter testing.

• Data quality and accuracy

The critical ingredient for accurate data analytics is quality data. Data quality and accuracy are absolutely required. Consider working closely with a data team to ensure data is correct and can be effectively used to make decisions.

• Data collection

Consider consolidating collected data into a secured centralized repository. Most tools offer standard repository options and provide version control and authentication.

• Privacy and security

Keep in mind data is legally protected. Data privacy and security are a must. Compliance with data regulations is essential. Financial fines and legal decisions for breaching sensitive data are significant. Work with internal IT security and data teams to ensure compliance.

• Investing in QA training

Data-driven QA requires skills in data analysis and analytics. Invest in training testing teams to properly use data analysis and extract valuable data. The more testers understand basic data literacy, predictive modeling, and machine learning technology, the better the results will be.

Data-driven QA is smarter quality assurance

Data-driven QA changes how software testing is done and delivered. Analytics provides organizations with actionable and objective data analysis of current testing processes. Analytics opens up real possibilities for achieving continuous improvement and delivering higher-quality products. It can be overwhelming to get started collecting and measuring data and then bravely identifying issues and tackling them one by one. Using analytics allows QA testing teams to address issues and optimize the testing team’s value proactively. Analytics is power and can provide a significant competitive advantage for businesses in the long run. Continued testing success and application quality depend on leveraging data analytics to improve product testing and, ultimately, the product’s quality.

By integrating a powerful tool like LambdaTest into your data-driven QA strategy, your team will be better equipped to gather valuable insights, improve testing efficiency, and deliver high-quality software that exceeds customer expectations.

Amy E Reichert

Amy E Reichert is a Freelance writer for a variety of topics focused mainly on QA testing, Agile, and technology trends. Amy has 23 years of professional experience as a QA Engineer/Analyst within the ERP, healthcare, and business management sectors. Many years of developing test process, leading diverse and inclusive teams as well as testing on mobile and web applications.

See author's profile