As software development takes a large part of today’s market, quality assurance testing became one of the most anticipated career choices. We can say QA is an essential part of software development. The goal is to ensure every aspect meets the original idea, but also the highest development standards and functions as intended.
These days, software development companies may include in-house QA teams, or outsource this part through companies like White Test Lab, building a bridge between a usually good and excellent software product.
But, how to make sure the software testing process is executed effectively, without making a “nuclear science” out of it?
Let’s explain the most important aspects together, but also learn some interesting tips. When it comes to QA power in software development industries, here are some essential things to keep in mind:
1. Set Clear Objectives and Scope
Just like any other process, software quality assurance requires defining and establishing clear objectives. As a software tester, you’ll need to ask what aspects of the software you’ll need to test more carefully and define the goals, as well as measurables, so you can estimate your success.
Without this objective, you won’t be able to start testing. Of course, you’ll receive detailed information on what to do and what method to apply. Or you may determine it yourself according to the software specifications and features. That way you can create a plan and documentation on what to do, and how to test different aspects.
As a result, you have a nice and clear process to follow, making sure you won’t skip any essential step.
2. Implement Test Automation
Sometimes you can accurately automate some processes of your QA team. Automated tests perform repetitive and boring tasks, and you only need to track down the process and correct the automation if the results are inconsistent.
Surely, sometimes a human needs to re-check the whole thing, but automation will help you reduce human errors and save time on regression and performance testing.
3. Prioritize Test Cases
Not every software is made equal, so that means some test cases aren’t equal too. And while you can automate the repetitive processes, sometimes you’ll need to pay more attention to the cases according to their impact and likelihood to contain some encountering errors.
As you focus on high-risk areas and functionalities, you can report the mistakes in the early stages, and get the software back to the development team to fix them. As a result, you maximize your effectiveness as a software tester.
4. Establish an Effective Communication
Effective communication and open dialogue are essential parts of the QA testing process. All the communication between developers, testers, project managers, and sometimes the other stakeholders included, must be clear and transparent.
And while many of us don’t really like daily meetings and status updates, sometimes it can ensure a smooth process and address the concerns early.
5. Focus on Compatibility Testing
With so many devices and platforms available today, compatibility testing is crucial for the early stages of the QA process. You need to make sure software works smoothly across different environments, so it can reach the target audience.
As part of this process, you ensure there won’t be significant post-release issues related to used devices.
6. Incorporate Security Testing
Security breaches must be addressed properly and early because if not detected, the consequences can be really serious. As you integrate security testing into your usual workflow, you will identify these vulnerabilities at the beginning and address the threats early.
Additionally, security testing covers aspects like data protection, authorization, authentication, and other critical areas.
7. Perform Usability and Performance Testing
At this point, you’ll need to check on the user experience and see if it’s smooth and intuitive. Usability testing is the part where you behave like an end user, so you can detect some potential issues and opportunities for improvement. Make sure you document every aspect of the software or application and document any issue you can see.
As part of this step, you’ll also need to focus on performance, because it directly affects the user experience and satisfaction. Check on aspects like response time, scalability, and resource usage, so you can suggest several improvements. That way you address the bottlenecks on time and deliver a completely smooth user experience.
8. Pay Attention to Regression Testing
As the development team adds new features and changes, unexpected bugs may occur. Regression testing ensures all functionalities work properly even after the smallest update. The best thing is that you can automate this process and just check on the functionalities to validate the software’s stability.
Manual regression testing is pretty repetitive and sometimes boring, so you’re allowed to automate the whole process or parts of it, to ensure maximum productivity and effectiveness.
9. Always Document Everything
Accurate documentation is essential for tracking results and progress, identifying some patterns, and making informed decisions. As you create nice and clear documentation, you can check at what point automation is possible, to ease the overall procedure.
Analyze the results of the initial testing, and always write down all the issues and overall quality concerns in the report. If you do this, you can set a QA process and refine it later, for more direct and neater software testing.
Surely, documentation will help developers fix the issues, or even other coworkers to be more efficient.
Conclusion
By incorporating these tips and methods, you can improve the whole quality assurance process and elevate your performance. Additionally, you reduce the time-to-market and always focus on reliable products.
As you incorporate all the described aspects in your QA testing process, you ensure it’s always direct, transparent, and well-executed, which additionally improves the software company’s reputation on the market.
So, gear up, because software testers are an essential chain in the whole from-development-to-market process. Without them, end users will have to deal with different problems and give up on using the software at some point. And we surely don’t want that!
