Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE)

Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE) is a widely used software quality metric that assesses the effectiveness of a testing process in identifying and eliminating defects or bugs from software during its development lifecycle. A higher DRE value indicates a more rigorous and effective testing process, as it suggests that a larger proportion of defects were caught and resolved before the software reached end-users.

This article will walk you through the steps of monitoring Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE) using the Performance Objectives: Charts for Jira app, right on your dashboard.

Generating a Defect Removal Efficiency Report in Jira

In our scenario, we’ll employ the Performance Objectives dashboard gadget. To gauge Defect Removal Efficiency via the Performance Objectives: Chart for Jira app, we’ll leverage the app’s custom metric formula and data segmentation capabilities.

The formula to calculate looks as follows:

DRE = (A/(A + B)) * 100

where A stands for total defects found in development, B stands for total defects found in production.

The JQL data segmentation in the configuration is based on Bugs reported by the QA team vs. not reported by the QA team, instead of reported in Development vs Production environment. The reason is that environment field may not be explicitly filled by a reporter on your instance so the given configuration would provide more accurate results.

Below you can watch the video with the complete configuration steps for Defect Removal Efficiency report on your Jira dashboard.

Here is also a summary of the basic steps to the present configuration:

Step 1: Add the ‘Performance Objectives’ dashboard gadget to your dashboard.

Step 2: Add 2 data sources, one with Bugs reported by QA team, and the second one with Bugs reported outside the QA team.

Step 3: Select ‘Formula’ tab for the Metric calculation.

Step 4: Add 2 parameters – first (P1) with the number of issues from data source A: ‘Reported by QA’ and second (P2) with the number of issues from data source B: ‘Reported by others’.

Step 5: Use the parameters above in the formula equation: “(P1/(P1+P2))*100” for Defect Removal Efficiency (%) KPI.

Step 5: (Optional) Adjust the date granularity according to your needs.

Step 6: (Optional) Set Group by to ‘Components’ or “Priority” or another filed of your choice.

Step 7: Switch on Target section and select ‘Overall’ visualization. Keep the ‘Fixed’ tab selected and set a target value.

Step 8: Expand the ‘More Settings’ section, enable the ‘Warning Threshold Line’ and set value as % target. This will color the results above that value and below the target in amber.

Another visualization is also available for that configuration if you choose ‘per x-axis item’ type in the target section as follows:

You will get the following chart showing % completion against each x-axis item:

You may also check the Formula Metrics Article for more ideas how to use the Formula feature.