6.4Key Visualizations

Trend Lines

Use for: Metrics that change over time (defect escape rate, automation coverage, flaky test rate)

Escaped Defect Rate (%)
12 │ ●
10 │   ●
 8 │     ●
 6 │       ●
 4 │         ● ─ ─ ● ─ ─ ●
 2 │                          Target: 3%
 0 │─────────────────────────
   S42  S43  S44  S45  S46  S47  S48

Design principles:

• Always show the target line
• Include at least 6 data points for meaningful trends
• Annotate significant events ("Introduced shift-left practices" at Sprint 44)

Heat Maps

Use for: Risk visualization, test coverage by area, defect distribution

Defect Distribution by Module (Last 6 Sprints)

                S42  S43  S44  S45  S46  S47
Payment         ░░   ░░   ██   ░░   ░░   ░░
Search          ██   ██   ██   ░░   ░░   ░░
User Mgmt       ░░   ░░   ░░   ░░   ░░   ░░
Cart            ░░   ██   ░░   ░░   ░░   ░░
Partner API     ██   ██   ██   ██   ██   ██
Admin           ░░   ░░   ░░   ██   ██   ░░

█ = High defect count   ░ = Low/zero defects

This immediately shows that Partner API has persistent quality issues requiring structural attention.

Distribution Charts

Use for: Defect severity breakdown, test type distribution, coverage by module

Defect Severity Distribution -- Sprint 47

Critical  ██                                    (2)    5%
Major     ████████                              (8)   20%
Minor     ████████████████████                 (20)   50%
Trivial   ██████████                           (10)   25%
          ─────────────────────────────────
          0     5     10    15    20    25

Bar/Column Charts

Use for: Comparisons between sprints, modules, or teams

Sprint	Bugs Opened	Bugs Closed	Bug Backlog
S44	15	12	23
S45	11	14	20
S46	9	13	16
S47	7	11	12

The backlog is trending down. Opened is trending down faster than closed, which means the team is both fixing more and producing fewer bugs.