Topical Issues of Quality Assurance and Their Importance in Project Lifecycle

Topical issues of software testing help to better understand its necessity in the project life cycle. In this article, we will analyze some basic problems, pre-conditions of their appearance, and solutions.

The understanding of the importance of quality assurance in the development of programs and applications comes to managers gradually. The first to adopt the culture of quality assurance were companies producing software for customers; then, QA became the norm even when developing products for internal use. In this article, we will consider the importance of organizing QA correctly through the prism of problems that professionals and entire companies can face during the product testing stage.

1. Pursuit of perfect quality

Perhaps every company looks for ways to release a product that will exceed customer expectations. And one of the main goals of QA is to provide the highest level of quality. However, striving to achieve perfect quality can slow down product testing and the entire development process.

During the product testing process, it is recommended to follow the original sprint plan. The team should complete the tasks that are planned, while new fixes and improvements should be added to the next sprint. It’s not worth risking a project for the sake of improvements. Improvements are useful and necessary but should be scheduled for another sprint.

2. Non-compliance of the software architecture with the specified requirements

At first glance, the main task of a QA specialist is to search for defects in accordance with the received specifications. However, QA specialists often need to think outside of the box. The architecture of a program or application can be innovative and aimed at solving not only urgent but also unforeseen problems. QA professionals should help the team understand what should be prioritized. Sometimes this means offering solutions that the customer did not ask for but that are necessary for the software to work effectively in the future.

3. Incorrect sprint scoping and planning

Most of the time, failures at the testing stage are associated with a lack of time and improper sprint planning. This happens mostly because the team wants to start working as soon as possible and doesn’t pay due attention to planning and scoping.

The attempt to save time during the planning phase is usually fraught with a protracted phase of correction. According to research by Gartner, the release of one in four projects is delayed due to the necessity of additional adjustments in the final phase.

4. Problems of evaluating the work and the contribution of specialists to the final result

When software is initially bug-free, or its bugs are tiny, developers tend to think this was all down to them, and so do QA specialists. The truth is that high-quality software is the result of the coordinated actions of all team members. And if QA specialists and developers disagree on the optimal solution during the development process, this is a situation when conflict is beneficial. The best solution is found during discussions because the initiators have to find feasible arguments in defense of their suggestions.

What is the risk of a lack of attention to testing?

If not enough time and resources are allocated for testing during project development, this can lead to the following problems:

1. Delay of release and additional fixing.
2. Bad implementation of good ideas.
3. The slow pace of product acceptance.
4. Customer dissatisfaction.
5. Loss of the company’s image.

The last point is difficult to measure, but negative reviews about the product and its implementation are likely to spoil the reputation of a large company.

Conclusion

Along with avoiding the problems described above, you can improve product quality and speed up testing by using automation tools. This will allow the team to focus on the most vital and difficult tasks.

Speed, quality, and the final cost of testing depend on the correct ratio of manual and automated QA. For example, when we at Andersen develop a project entirely for the client, we always assess the required number of specialists for manual and automated testing.

If the company has its own development team, and testers are outsourced, this method works just as effectively. But even if a company has its own manual QA specialists, bringing in additional automated testers can save time and money, even though there may be additional costs in the beginning.

Both large product companies and in-house IT departments building applications for themselves risk their reputation with every new product launch. Therefore, taking care of software quality becomes more and more important for every company that wants to develop in a competitive market.