Defect Dashboard Guide
Welcome to the Defect Management Dashboard – Widgets & Reports Help Guide. This document explains how to read, interpret, and use each dashboard widget effectively. It is designed for clients, business stakeholders, QA teams, developers, product owners, and management to ensure consistent understanding of quality metrics and reporting.
The dashboard converts raw defect data into actionable insights that help assess release readiness, product stability, team performance, and production risk.
How to Use Dashboard Graphs (Common Instructions for All Widgets)
Every widget on the dashboard includes a standard three-dot (⋮) menu in the top-right corner. These options behave the same across all graphs.
Force Refresh: Reloads the widget with the latest data. Always use this before reviews or release decisions.
Enter Fullscreen: Expands the graph for better visibility during meetings or presentations.
Edit Chart: Allows authorized users to modify filters, grouping, or metrics.
Cross-Filtering Scoping: Selecting data in one widget automatically filters related widgets for deeper analysis.
View Query: Displays the underlying logic or query used to generate the graph (mainly for admins/audits).
View as Table: Converts the graph into a table to view exact counts and records.
Drill to Detail: Opens individual defect records contributing to the graph.
Share: Generates shareable links or embedded views.
Download: Exports the graph or data as Image, PDF, or CSV/Excel.
Defect Status
New: Defect logged and awaiting review.
Open: Defect accepted and ready to be worked on.
In Progress: Defect actively being fixed.
Fixed / Resolved: Fix completed and pending QA verification.
Retest: Defect ready for validation.
Closed: Fix verified and completed.
Reopened: Issue persists after closure.
Rejected: Invalid or duplicate defect.
Deferred: Fix postponed to a future release.
Quality & Stability Metrics
These widgets help determine overall product health and release readiness.
1. Defect by Severity for Sprint of Release
Purpose This widget helps evaluate the technical risk and stability of each sprint or release by classifying defects based on their impact on the system. It is one of the most critical graphs for release readiness decisions.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis (Horizontal): Sprint or Release identifiers (e.g., SP-1, SP-130, SP-152). Each bar represents one sprint.
Y-Axis (Vertical): Total number of defects logged in that sprint.
How to Read the Graph
Each sprint is represented by a vertical bar.
The bar is divided into color-coded segments, each representing a severity level (Minor, Major, Blocker, Critical).
The total height of the bar equals the total number of defects in that sprint.
How to Interpret
Blocker/Critical present: Sprint is unstable and not suitable for release.
Major-dominated bars: Core functionality issues exist.
Minor-heavy bars: Indicates polish and usability issues rather than functional risk.
Trend analysis: Decreasing bar height across sprints shows improving quality maturity.
Business & QA Actions
Stop release if Blocker/Critical defects exist.
Prioritize root cause analysis for sprints with repeated high Major defects.
2. Defect by Priority for Sprint of a Release
Purpose This widget represents defects categorized by business urgency, helping teams understand what must be fixed immediately versus what can be deferred.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Sprint identifiers.
Y-Axis: Number of defects.
How to Read the Graph
Each bar represents a sprint.
Color segments represent priority levels (High, Medium, Low).
How to Interpret
High-priority-heavy bars: Immediate business risk.
Consistent High priority across sprints: Indicates planning or requirement clarity issues.
Medium/Low dominance: Indicates manageable backlog.
Business & QA Actions
High priority defects must be resolved before sprint sign-off.
Review prioritization rules if High-priority backlog persists.
3. Defect by State for Sprint of a Release
Purpose This widget tracks how efficiently defects move through their lifecycle within and across sprints.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Sprint identifiers.
Y-Axis: Defect count.
How to Read the Graph
Each bar is segmented by defect state (New, In Progress, Fixed, Closed, etc.).
Distribution shows where defects are currently stuck.
How to Interpret
High Closed: Healthy sprint completion.
High New late in sprint: Late discovery risk.
High In Progress: Development bottlenecks.
Business & QA Actions
Use this graph in daily standups to unblock work.
4. Defect Distribution (Pie Chart)
Purpose Provides a high-level snapshot of the overall defect backlog health at any point in time.
How to Read the Graph
Each slice represents a defect status.
Slice size corresponds to percentage of total defects.
How to Interpret
Closed dominant: Stable product.
New/Open dominant: Growing backlog and risk.
Reopened visible: Fix quality issues.
Business & QA Actions
Use during leadership reviews for quick decision-making.
Team Performance & Workload
These widgets ensure balanced workload and efficient delivery.
5. Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE)
Purpose Measures how effectively defects are caught before production.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Project names
Y-Axis: Efficiency score (0–1)
How to Read the Graph
Taller bars = better defect prevention
How to Interpret
Near 1.0 → Strong QA process
Below 0.6 → High production leakage
Business & QA Actions
Strengthen regression & automation for low DRE projects
6. Defect Assigned User Wise with Status
Purpose Visualizes workload distribution across team members.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: User names
Y-Axis: Assigned defect count
How to Read the Graph
Taller bars = higher workload
How to Interpret
Uneven bars → Burnout or bottlenecks
High In Progress → Skill dependency
Business & QA Actions
Redistribute work
Enable cross-training
7. Defect Logged Based on Created By
Purpose Shows who is discovering defects.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Creator name
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Read the Graph
Taller bars = higher contribution
How to Interpret
High QA → Strong testing
Developer entries → Shift-left quality
Business & QA Actions
Encourage dev-side validation
Recognize top contributors
Functional & Technical Analysis
These graphs identify application weak spots.
8. Defect Logged Module Wise
Purpose Identifies modules with high defect density.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Module names
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
Tall bars → Technical hotspots
Business & QA Actions
Increase regression coverage
Consider refactoring
9. Defect in a Sprint Grouped by Category
Purpose Classifies defects by technical type (UI, DB, Logic).
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Categories
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
UI-heavy → Need UI automation
Logic-heavy → Code/design issues
Business & QA Actions
Adjust testing strategy accordingly
10. Defect in a Sprint Grouped by Labels
Purpose Tracks defects using custom tags.
How to Interpret
Useful for audits, hotfix tracking, regression cycles
Business & QA Actions
Use labels consistently for reporting accuracy
11. Feature Defect State Wise
Purpose Measures defect health at the feature level.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Feature names
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
High open defects → Feature instability
Business & QA Actions
Delay feature enablement
12. Epic Defect State Wise
Purpose Provides a strategic quality view by Epic.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Epic codes
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
High defects → Roadmap risk
Business & QA Actions
Use in release planning
Requirements & User Stories
Captures and documents what the system must do from the user’s perspective to guide development.
13. User Story Defect State Wise (Chart)
Purpose Identifies high-risk user stories.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: User Story IDs
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
High counts → Design or acceptance gaps
Business & QA Actions
Review acceptance criteria
14. Defect with Status for a Sprint – User Story Wise (Table)
Purpose Provides detailed defect-to-story mapping.
How to Interpret
Analyze patterns during retrospectives
Business & QA Actions
Improve story refinement
Execution & Production Monitoring
Tracks system performance and operations to ensure smooth execution and timely issue detection.
15. Defect with State, Priority and Severity (Detailed Grid)
Purpose Acts as the master defect list for daily triage.
How to Interpret
Review row-by-row for execution decisions
Business & QA Actions
Use in daily triage meetings
16. Test Execution Status Overview
Purpose Tracks testing progress, independent of defects.
How to Interpret
High Not Executed → Schedule risk
High Failed → Product instability
Business & QA Actions
Re-plan testing timelines
17. Production Defect Logged – Client Wise
Purpose Tracks escaped defects reported by clients.
Axis Breakdown
X-Axis: Client names
Y-Axis: Defect count
How to Interpret
Any value > 0 = Quality escape
Business & QA Actions
Immediate RCA and prevention
Final Takeaway
This dashboard is a decision-support system, not just a report. When interpreted correctly, it enables faster releases, higher quality, and stronger client trust.
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