Final answer:
A test suite quality metric quantifies a test suite's ability to identify software faults, centering on the effectiveness of the test cases rather than their size or complexity.
Step-by-step explanation:
A test suite quality metric (or test suite adequacy criterion) is primarily a measure of the effectiveness of a test suite in detecting faults within the system or application under test. It evaluates how well a set of test cases can identify issues, ensuring the reliability and correctness of the software's behavior. Adequacy criteria could take various forms, such as code coverage, which measures the extent to which the source code is executed by the tests.
A test suite's quality is not merely about its size or complexity, but more about its capacity to discover potential defects. Therefore, adequate test criteria are crucial for maintaining high standards in software development and quality assurance. By applying these criteria, developers and testers can ensure that the software meets the specified requirements and behaves as expected under various conditions.