I’ve seen teams rewarded for finding as many defects as possible.
Better that the teams finds them, rather than end-user, right?
Over time the culture and metrics rate a higher defect count as proof of the QA is doing well. Defects become a currency that some team members benefit from. The builders learn that if a high defect count isn’t a problem, then they can meet their delivery deadlines simply by announcing the work as complete before the expected due date (while quietly knowing that it’s imperfect)
A quiet, mutual understanding forms and an economy of defects takes hold.
This culture is debilitating. We need to flip the incentive: reward prevention, not discovery!
Discussions for your team
- Does our culture reward finding defects or preventing them?
- How can we incorporate QA principles and practices early in our work?
- Are there some metrics that can signal “prevention” (instead of “defect counts”)?
- How can we encourage the team to prioritize “quality” over the “schedule”?