The Best Practices in Quality Assurance for Software Teams
28 Dec 2022
ContentTiffany Palmer
Table of Contents
In this article, we will discuss the importance of quality assurance for software teams. Read on to find out how you can use software quality assurance in your workplace.
Did you know that Australia’s tech industry contributes $167 billion to the GDP?
One of the big reasons that the industry is so successful is quality testing. As a result, software quality assurance is critical for this industry and software teams. But what exactly is software quality assurance, and how does it work?
App Testing: Quality Assurance 101
App testing is an essential part of app development, ensuring that users get the best experience possible with an application. Quality assurance (QA) is a big part of this process; it involves review and careful examination of an application’s functionality to ensure that it meets specific standards.
This includes:
- Running tests against the codebase
- Usability testing
- Identify any potential issues
Quality assurance helps ensure an app is consistent across different platforms and devices, including:
- Look and feel
- Features
- Performance
This means that QA should be considered early on in the app development cycle so that any problems can be identified and resolved promptly.
Quality Testing: What to Include
Quality testing is an important part of the software development process that ensures a product or application meets certain standards in terms of functionality and performance.
For successful results, QA teams should include:
- Thorough testing processes
- Test cases
- Automated regression tests
Additionally, it is essential to review user stories to identify requirements that need to be tested before launch.
Quality control teams should also pay attention to usability testing and ensure that applications are usable on all devices from desktop computers to tablets and mobile phones.
Finally, A/B testing should also be included for further validation of an app’s feature set before launch.
Let’s take a look at some actionable steps you can take to ensure the highest quality app.
Create a Test Plan
Creating an effective test plan is important for ensuring quality assurance. A good test plan should include:
- A list of features and requirements
- The schedules for testing activities
- The reporting procedures
It is also essential to determine the metrics you will use to measure the success of your tests.
Use TDD
One key technique to include in quality testing is test-driven development (TDD). This involves writing tests first, which drives code creation later.
Not only does TDD help to ensure that no gaps in functionality were missed during programming, but it also allows for automated regression testing afterwards.
While it might seem counterintuitive to spend precious time creating tests initially, spending these resources upfront can save hours of debugging once applications are fully released. Incorporating TDD into quality testing procedures will ensure that all parts of the application have been thoroughly checked before launch.
Implement Shift-Left Approach
While there are numerous topics to consider when it comes to quality assurance, one especially effective practice is the Shift-Left approach.
This technique prioritizes testing earlier in the development process. It results in faster feedback cycles and less rework, ultimately leading to greater efficiency and cost savings.
By shifting quality control farther to the left on the timeline, developers can identify potential problems at a much earlier stage so they can be quickly addressed and resolved before they delay a product’s launch.
The benefits of Shift-Left are not just financial – it also has a positive impact on customer experience by ensuring that software runs as intended right from the start.
Review With FTR
Formal technical reviews (FTRs) are an effective technique to ensure sufficient coverage during quality testing. With FTRs, teams develop test cases that cover all provided requirements while also accounting for edge cases they may not have expected.
As the results from these tests reveal any potential issues in the code or application, remedial steps can be taken before releasing them into production. This allows for:
- Comprehensive and extensive functionality testing
- Subsequent optimization of code
- Improved overall application performance
By utilizing FTRs in addition to other types of testing, organizations will be more successful in releasing higher-quality products.
Create an Inclusive Work Environment
It’s important to create an atmosphere that promotes inclusivity in the workplace, as this will not only help your staff feel comfortable but also improve overall productivity.
To foster a welcoming environment, consider implementing quality testing that allows you to gain insights into:
- How employees are interacting with one another
- Feeling about their workload
- Responding to job challenges
Keep an open dialogue with all levels of employees by providing tools for collaborative feedback and encouraging them to speak up about suggestions for the team and individual growth.
This type of feedback helps you identify areas of strength and weakness within certain teams or personnel so you can adjust accordingly and make sure everyone feels included.
Use End-User Testing
To ensure success, organizations should include end-user testing in their quality assurance processes. This involves asking real customers to use the product before launch.
It allows them to identify problems with:
- Usability
- Functionality
- Look and feel
As a result, the team can address these issues before going to market.
End-user testing can also uncover potential issues with:
- Scalability
- Performance glitches
- Loopholes in security
Including real end-users in the quality testing process before launch provides organizations with valuable feedback on a product’s effectiveness, and can significantly improve their chances of success.
Start Using Automated Testing
Automated testing has become a necessity in quality assurance. It provides several advantages to the process, the most important being an improved level of accuracy and precision.
Automation allows for rigorous tests to be completed quickly, resulting in higher-quality products with less difficulty and cost. Automated testing covers a wide range of activities including:
- Unit testing
- System integration testing
- Acceptance/regression testing
- Performance testing
- Security testing
- And more
By utilizing automated tools for greater coverage throughout the development cycle QA teams can gain greater insight into how their final product will behave in the real world before launch.
Automated testing also helps QA teams keep their products current by making sure all dependencies are updated before the release. The bottom line is that taking advantage of automation in QA can allow companies to develop superior products while saving both time and money.
Use Exploratory Testing and Ad Hoc Testing
Quality assurance testing is a critical but often overlooked stage of product development that ensures the reliability and satisfaction of any final product. To ensure high quality, it is important to include both exploratory and ad hoc testing during the development process.
With exploratory testing, testers are encouraged to be creative with how they approach their tests. This means sidestepping traditional scripts and test cases to explore potential problems or edge cases that might have otherwise gone undiscovered.
Ad hoc testing, on the other hand, focuses more on finding major issues in an app by exhaustively testing all its features.
By including both exploratory and ad hoc testing as part of one’s product quality process, it becomes more likely for any glitches or bugs to be uncovered before release, thus increasing consumer satisfaction down the line.
Quality Assurance for Software Teams with EB Pearls
EB Pearls is an innovative quality assurance solution designed to help software teams measure and improve their software products. EB Pearls is a cloud-based platform that provides comprehensive testing solutions for
- Web application
- Mobile application
- IoT applications
It caters to both QA professionals and non-technical users alike by offering features such as:
- Automated test cases
- Reporting options
- Comprehensive debugging tools
All of these enable teams to ensure their applications are fit for use. With EB Pearls, software teams can easily manage their QA process from start to finish, ensuring the highest quality of product releases every time.
What to Expect from EB Pearls
EB Pearls provides a comprehensive QA testing suite that covers a variety of processes, including:
- Manual testing
- Automation
- Performance
- Security
- Usability
- Integration
Our testing also focuses on:
- Accessibility
- Interoperability
- Code quality/coverage
We test these areas thoroughly to ensure that the final product meets our customers’ expectations. We use cutting-edge technology to identify any issues before they become problematic to decrease turnaround time and create higher-quality results for you.
High App Quality: Get Started Today
At EB Pearls, we understand the importance of quality assurance for software teams and continue to commit ourselves to help you launch superior products.
We designed our comprehensive suite of testing tools to help you identify any issues before they become problematic, resulting in higher-quality applications that meet your customers’ expectations. With our cutting-edge technology and experienced team members, you can rest assured knowing that your product will be as perfect as possible when it hits the market.
So don’t wait – get started with EB Pearls today and make sure your application stands out from the competition! Book a free consultation now!
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