In 2012, Knight Capital Group lost $440 million in 30 minutes when a “large bug” in their software triggered series of unexpected automatic stock trades. As a result, company business continuity required a nearly $400 million emergency investment and an effective change in management control.[i] This example demonstrates a clear correlation between a QA lapse and a subsequent impact on business strategy. So why do corporate boardrooms so often cast quality assurance as a cost center, rather than a strategic priority? Where’s the disconnect that causes QA’s critical role to go unnoticed?
In part, this reflects the corporate reward and recognition systems. For example, CEOs may receive bonuses and accolades when the stock price rockets, but improvements to quality testing don’t always generate the same fanfare. This reality may manifest when funding requests for new QA personnel or technology get rejected. It may surface when development is asked to provide better solutions, faster, without any corresponding improvements – or even reductions – in the supporting quality infrastructure.
相比之下，QA團隊和管理人員通常關注缺陷計數和嚴重性、數據庫和性能錯誤以及客戶體驗等問題。雖然這些是開發團隊中的適當指標，但如果沒有背景，他們可能無法與高層管理人員進行銷售。然而，這主要是語義上的——雖然QA指標聽起來可能不同於C套件指標，但它們是不可分割的。
To be clear, this doesn’t reflect apathy in the executive suite or on the QA team. The disconnect happens when QA management and business executives don’t speak the same language. This leads to confusion and obscures the deep connection between QA metrics, such as test effectiveness or bug severity trends — and metrics the C-suite cares about, such as stockholder value, market share and profitability.
As a result, it’s unclear to executive decision-makers how a quality initiative will deliver acceptable returns and strategic value. They may recognize the QA initiative solves a problem, but they may not see how it addresses their most important problems. But that perception can change.
通過主動將QA結果和報告與更大的業務戰略保持一致，QA管理層可以有效地向上溝通，並確保對其計劃做出更好的響應。
To start, QA must understand strategic business priorities and how they are served or threatened. There’s also a need to identify dependencies these goals have in descending levels of the org chart.
高管們專注於保護、維持和增長業務和股東價值。該層次結構中的每個步驟都封裝了組件目標。例如，保護業務可能依賴於實現風險管理、法律合規和安全目標。維持業務的下一層目標可能取決於運營效率、市場份額和公眾信譽等因素。最後，頂級增長目標可能由收入、品牌價值、股價和創新的改善推動。
每個優先級都可以進一步細分為組織下屬級別的任務。戰略收入和品牌目標取決於具體的銷售和營銷策略。反過來，這些策略可能取決於及時且具有競爭力的產品發布。保護業務可能需要緩解各種物理、環境和網絡威脅。
雖然這些目標似乎是離散的，但它們高度相互依賴，反映了類似的動態。理解QA計劃和戰略成果之間的聯係是關鍵的第一步。
公司的市場份額和收入目標不是在真空中實現的，它們建立在實現較小的戰略和戰術目標的基礎上。雖然無法保證每個QA結果將如何影響業務戰略，但存在一種強大的集體關係。如果產品不可靠、上市較晚或不滿足客戶需求，它們就不太可能對市場、收入或相關戰略做出積極貢獻。
Still, QA is often seen as a business cost rather than a strategic partner. For QA to change the narrative, it must understand and believe in the connection and value delivered. If QA leadership is not sold on the benefits, no one else will be.
那麼，在C-suite中，什麼樣的QA指標是最好的？質量保證指標就是質量保證指標。需要進行一些翻譯和定位，以顯示其與戰略目標的相關性。對戰略目標影響最大的質量保證指標通常與質量保證速度、結果和成本趨勢有關。雖然個別QA事件可能很有趣，但持續的趨勢將具有最大的意義。趨勢也為不同的開發方法和團隊提供了最有意義的比較。
Metrics related to QA and development speed are particularly relevant. For example, the average time for ideas to go from concept to delivery directly affects the company’s ability to solve customer problems on time. In turn, this has direct bearing on strategic goals for revenue, market share, and innovation. Examples of speed-related metrics include:
- Lead Time
- 循環時間
- 團隊速度（每衝刺/天點數）
- Defect Resolution Time
- 活動天數（與管理任務的非活動時間相比）
與QA和開發輸出質量相關的指標通常可以預測後續的應用程序安全性和客戶體驗。它們是運營效率、公眾信譽、客戶滿意度和法律合規性的戰略先導。例如：
- Open/Close Rates
- Burndown Chart
- 缺陷類別率
- 平均無故障時間（MTBF）
- Mean Time to Recover/Prepare (MTTR)
- 應用程序崩潰率（ACR）
質量成本指標證明了QA對運營效率、費用管理和勞動力優化策略的貢獻。示例可能會演示在開發周期的早期識別問題，此時問題緩解相對便宜且無中斷。其他候選人包括：
- 平均檢測時間（MTTD）
- 缺陷檢測百分比（DDP）
- 外部故障修複成本
- 內部故障修複成本
- 檢查費用
- Error Prevention Cost
當然，擁有好的指標和獲得批準的采購請求不是一回事。考慮到這一點，這裏有5種方法可以改善管理層對QA計劃和請求的響應。
1.盡早和經常溝通QA價值觀
中國戰略家孫子說,“每一個battle is won or lost before it’s ever fought”. While it never hurts for QA to make its case when requesting purchase approval, it’s much better if QA value has been consistently established in preceding months.
2.以觀眾理解的方式報道對他們來說很重要的事情
This facilitates better understanding, engagement and response. Convey directional trends for QA speed, results, and cost. Align QA outcomes with the perceived strategic priorities of the relevant organizational decision level.
3.注重結果而不是過程
QA流程改進可能具有內在價值，但展示與客戶體驗、安全性或其他戰略成果的合理聯係很重要。
4. Keep it real
Quality assurance has a significant impact on strategic priorities, but there is not a perfect cause-and-effect correlation. Focus on trend and pattern data; the impact of individual QA events may be unpredictable, but sustained trends and milestones tell a clearer story.
5.充分利用分析數據
有意義的QA分析和引人入勝的視覺儀表盤使案例清晰、令人難忘、令人信服。
智能質量保證投資使團隊能夠更智能、無縫、大規模地進行測試。他們通過優化上市時間、客戶體驗和風險管理，將QA定位為業務戰略的關鍵推動者。通過理解和傳達QA的關鍵角色，以及測試和戰略結果之間的相關性，QA領導層可以捕獲軟件質量的業務價值，並為其計劃建立執行支持。