Posted by Randall Rice on 4/27/2026 to
Software Testing
Meaningless Metrics…And Some That Matter
I learned early on in my 38-year QA and Testing career that measurement and metrics are important parts of evaluating quality.
I have also learned that it’s tempting to measure so many things that the really important things get lost in the noise. I have seen spreadsheets with dozens of metrics sliced and diced so many ways that it would make my head spin. I would ask, “How in the world do you keep up with all of that?”
In testing software, there are some core metrics that are often taught, but when you peel back the layers, they have little or no real meaning. Things like test coverage, number of test cases, number of defects, etc.
Yes, I know those metrics seem essential at first glance, but they're not. For example, I might report that I have 100% coverage of all user stories. I can achieve that with one test case per user story! But most of us know that it takes more than just one test case to verify a user story.
In the most recent episode of my Value of Testing podcast, I present my top 5 meaningless metrics. Then I present seven meaningful metrics and explain why you should capture and report them, especially in an age of AI.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why many testing metrics fail to deliver real insight
- The difference between activity metrics and value-driven metrics
- How metrics can mislead teams and decision-makers
- What makes a metric truly meaningful
- Practical examples of metrics that actually drive better outcomes
You can check out the podcast on YouTube at https://youtu.be/IP48Rf_c6Ts
By the way, I would be interested to hear your take on this. Which metrics have you found to be of little value? Or, do you even care about measuring anything in testing?
I have also learned that it’s tempting to measure so many things that the really important things get lost in the noise. I have seen spreadsheets with dozens of metrics sliced and diced so many ways that it would make my head spin. I would ask, “How in the world do you keep up with all of that?”
In testing software, there are some core metrics that are often taught, but when you peel back the layers, they have little or no real meaning. Things like test coverage, number of test cases, number of defects, etc.
Yes, I know those metrics seem essential at first glance, but they're not. For example, I might report that I have 100% coverage of all user stories. I can achieve that with one test case per user story! But most of us know that it takes more than just one test case to verify a user story.
In the most recent episode of my Value of Testing podcast, I present my top 5 meaningless metrics. Then I present seven meaningful metrics and explain why you should capture and report them, especially in an age of AI.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why many testing metrics fail to deliver real insight
- The difference between activity metrics and value-driven metrics
- How metrics can mislead teams and decision-makers
- What makes a metric truly meaningful
- Practical examples of metrics that actually drive better outcomes
You can check out the podcast on YouTube at https://youtu.be/IP48Rf_c6Ts
By the way, I would be interested to hear your take on this. Which metrics have you found to be of little value? Or, do you even care about measuring anything in testing?
