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QA Rubric
— Definition —
A QA Rubric (also called a Quality Scorecard or Review Framework) is the structured set of dimensions and criteria used to evaluate the quality of a support conversation during QA review. Each dimension (e.g., accuracy, tone, process adherence, empathy, solution completeness) is scored on a defined scale. The aggregate score becomes the Internal Quality Score (IQS) for that conversation. The rubric is the foundation of every quality program — a poorly designed rubric produces meaningless scores regardless of how rigorously reviews are conducted.
— Common mistakes —
- 1Building a rubric with too many dimensions — scoring 12+ dimensions per conversation makes reviews slow and calibration difficult. Five to seven well-chosen dimensions produce more actionable data.
- 2Weighting all dimensions equally — accuracy and resolution quality should typically outweigh tone or formatting. Weight dimensions by their actual impact on customer outcomes.
- 3Designing a rubric for compliance rather than quality — a rubric that only checks whether agents followed process (used the right greeting, tagged the ticket correctly) without measuring resolution effectiveness doesn't measure quality.
- 4Not updating the rubric when the product or process changes — a rubric designed for last year's product measuring last year's processes produces scores that don't reflect current reality.
— Related metrics —