Elevating Operational Excellence: Unravelling the Essence of Defects

In project management, continuous improvement is key. But when deadlines and budgets loom, the desire to analyze failures often diminishes. Teams tackle quality issues, missed estimates, delays, and cost overruns, solve them, deploy the project, and then let valuable lessons slip away. As dedicated quality assurance specialists, we believe in learning from every experience to foster a culture of constant progress. Why did we encounter so many defects? What caused our estimate errors? Why did change requests multiply? Most importantly, how can we improve next time?

It's essential to distinguish between business problems and IT issues. Mislabeling them can lead to misunderstandings about the root causes, whether they're system glitches, behavioral problems, process inefficiencies, or data errors. By understanding these distinctions, we can better address issues, establish accountability, and cultivate continuous improvement.

"Continuous Improvement with CI and CD is the ultimate goal."

Projects often shift from 'green' to 'red' during QA phases, whether in agile or waterfall methods. Instead of dwelling on why this happens, we focus on the importance of root cause analysis.

Root cause analysis should be a core activity throughout testing. By thoroughly investigating causes and embracing continuous improvement, integrated with continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD), we aim for the best results.

"Don't just blame the technology."

Defects are often blamed on "system problems," ignoring the human element. This oversimplification isn't always accurate. Defining problem categories is the first step to improvement. We suggest starting with these categories:

• Systems: Technical issues.

• Behavior: Cultural and perception-related issues affecting tech usage.

• Process: Procedural frameworks influencing tech use.

• Data: Quality and integrity of information entered into systems.

With this categorization, we can identify root causes and implement improvements under accountable leadership.

Cultural and Behavioral Changes

Foster a culture of thoroughness, avoiding assumptions. Identify why failures happen and prevent them in the future. This isn't about blaming individuals but about improving processes and possibly addressing training needs.

Process Improvement

Make root cause analysis a mandatory part of defect management. Don’t close a defect without it. Assign this task to defect managers and discuss the findings in post-implementation reviews. Promote ongoing improvement rather than waiting for project completion.

Most importantly, act on identified root causes. Assign key actions to process owners and ensure they follow through. If needed, improve third-party contracts and associated KPIs and SLAs. Ignoring insights guarantees recurring issues.

Analyse, Measure, Share

Standardise measurement and reporting across projects and the organization. A comprehensive view can provide valuable insights. Strive for quick improvements, learn from failures fast, and use past knowledge to drive effective change.

Promote the QA Team

Use insights from analysis to highlight the value of QA teams. Measure the cost of discovering defects, the benefits of early detection, and the potential impact of undetected issues in production. This will strengthen the role of testing in your organization, motivate your teams, and support salary negotiations.

If you'd like to discuss this further, please reach out. We look forward to engaging with you.