Cover risk first, then prove it

Tier 1 Authentication, payments, balance Every build, gates the merge
Tier 2 Onboarding, transfers, notifications Nightly
Tier 3 Settings, profile, static content Manual or exploratory

Baseline these five before you automate

1
Regression cycle time
Code freeze to signed‑off pass
2
Release frequency
Store releases per quarter
3
Tier 1 coverage
Tier 1 flows under automation
4
Defect detection
Caught before the release candidate
5
Return
Manual hours returned vs. cost

Baseline before the first sprint.