9 Ways Of Doing QA The Right Style!
Testing a humongous software is one heck of a job itself. And without a proper QA practice being implemented, it could turn out to be much of a nuisance for the QA people.
No matter how robust your system is, you’ll always need to perform QA testing on it to ensure that it looks, navigates, and operates as expected. A bad testing practice could result in a chaos and might create the possibility of missing out on some important testing factors. Everything being prepared well in the initial level of the development phase could help a lot in the later stages of project lifecycle, eventually simplifying the QA process of the software ( Web/Mobile) application.
Anyone who has been a victim of a cumbersome, messy QA testing couldn’t agree more with what I already stated.
Well certainly, nothing’s impossible when one has planned it the efficient way. You don’t have to be a proficient tech savvy to organize your software testing procedure. All that’s needed is a conventional approach to identify the individual features and functionality of the system, the look it is supposed to have, the value it is supposed to give, and the certain way it is supposed to behave.
It is not possible that every technique that is devised for a successful QA testing would be applicable to every project as each project differs from the others with respect to functionality, features, modular structure, navigational structure, and its look and feel, but the ways mentioned forth might be some way or the other pertinent to a successful QA test of your project.
1. Bridge communication gap between the Development team and the QA team
Being a QA tester, you should actively work in collaboration with the development team to ensure that nothing goes unnoticed and each feature has been the point of discussion between you and the development team.
2. Set desired goals for the software
Think of yourself as an end user and then set your intent of using the software, the goals and the value that you expect to get from it. Start off by considering one goal at a time and then navigate your way to get the required outcome. During the process, there is a greater possibility to catch more bugs making it easier for you to test the system and mention what exact problem is and where it occurs.
3. Reporting through proper means
A proper reporting channel should be established to converse about the errors and bugs that are found in the system. Instead of QA team directly telling the development team about the flaws, someone should act as a middleman to ensure that suggestive measures are opted by the development team in response to the report generated by the QA team. This practice could prevent the situation of the development side feeling criticized for their work.
4. Play with the system
Don’t start your quest for the search of bugs right away. Begin by first using the system as an end user, try to figure out the features that the system inculcates, and the functionality that the system is supposed to possess. Once you have analyzed the working of the system and the required level of performance, it would help you initiate the testing phase.
5. Prepare well during Requirement gathering phase
A precisely written test script could prove to be helpful throughout the software development lifecycle. It not only facilitates in understanding the minute requirements but it also aids in the testing phase. It gives an idea to the QA team of what to ‘actually’ test in a software system.
6. Distribution of the Tasks
Each module should be independently given to an individual so that they can focus on one thing and give their complete attention to it. This method can be usually implemented in the complex systems where the functionality holds importance and is a little difficult to understand.
7. Testing before Integration, Testing after Integration
Once a module is developed, it should be thoroughly checked for bugs and errors as getting rid of those petty issues at this time could save us from a huge hassle that will be difficult to handle once all modules are integrated.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the modules should be integrated one by one, and testing should be conducted in parallel to the integrations. Doing so would make it easy for the QA team to locate the origin of error and ultimately, the likelihood of errors emerging at the end of system assimilation would reduce significantly.
8. Bug Report with appropriate details
A well-described and detailed report should be created for the bugs that are found during the testing. Doing so would enable the developers to easily catch the error that the QA team refers to.
9. Spend more on QA rather than Maintenance
Gaining client’s trust is the main key to lead a project to success, and trust can only be built when you deliver an efficient product on the first instance. To ensure this, it is better to allocate proper finance for QA testing rather than spending endlessly on the maintenance. Practicing this would enable you to manage overall cost beforehand with a little surplus for the maintenance that of course won’t bother you if everything’s being tackled with proper planning.
It’s not necessary that all of these would be applicable to the project you are working on, but this would definitely provide you with some knowledge that can help you conduct an efficient QA testing procedure.
Author: Arshia R.
Infographics by: Sidra A.
