1.13Question 3

Prompt: A product manager argues that your QA-to-developer ratio of 1:5 is too high and wants to reduce it to 1:8. How do you respond? What a strong answer should cover:

• Avoiding the ratio debate in the abstract
• Using context-specific data to justify the ratio
• Presenting the trade-offs of reducing the ratio
• Offering alternatives that address the PM's concern Example answer:
• "I would avoid arguing about ratios in the abstract. Instead, I would calculate the 'quality load' specific to our situation."
• "I would present the data: 'We ship 12 features per sprint across 3 platforms (web, iOS, Android), with SOC 2 compliance requirements. Our escaped defect rate at 1:5 is 2 per release. Industry data suggests that increasing the ratio to 1:8 in a regulated, multi-platform environment would increase escaped defects by 40-60%.'"
• "I would quantify the trade-off: 'Reducing from 1:5 to 1:8 eliminates 2 QA positions, saving approximately $200K/year. Based on our average production incident cost of $8,500 and the projected defect increase, the expected cost of additional incidents is $170K-$250K/year. The savings are less than the cost.'"
• "I would offer alternatives: 'If the goal is cost reduction, I can achieve a 20% efficiency improvement through automation investment without changing the ratio. That gives you the cost benefit without the quality risk.'"