What is Quality Assurance in Software Testing?

When developing a software application, the occurrence of bugs and defects is inevitable for various reasons. In such cases, quality assurance in the software testing process helps identify bugs and defects by executing different types of testing processes based on scenarios.

In other words, QA in software testing is the process designed to test and validate the quality of software applications in accordance with the specified requirement. Preventing future bugs and enhancing the software quality are the goals of the QA process.

Understanding the Importance of QA in Software Testing

To deliver the product to your target audience, QA in software testing is important. The organization that prioritizes the software testing process automatically drives growth. The testing process should not solely concern identifying bugs, defects, and errors in codes but also focus on enhancing the user-end experience.

• Increased Complexity:
  Today’s modern applications have evolved with more advanced features like AI, Machine learning, and IoT, bringing challenges in the testing process to ensure quality.
• Quick Product Release: As the market becomes competitive, the product should be released quickly, and it requires an automated QA testing process to kill the bugs earlier.
• User Expectations: The user’s expectations are high. The product that convenience the user’s expectations are crucial, and it must be accomplished through software testing.

Manual QA and Automation QA in Software Testing

In manual QA testing, testers directly interact with the software application or systems to validate the features, functionalities, and user interface. Manual testing is suitable for small-scale projects whereas the scope of exploring test scenarios is less. It requires human intervention for every test case which consumes more time which consequence in a delay in production release.

In automated QA testing testers are equipped with specialized tools are frameworks to execute the tests. The automation testing tool executes the test case automatically by utilizing the given input or instructions in the form of uploaded test data. Based on the input, it validates the different scenarios quickly and accurately. Automation testing is suitable for all sizes of projects, and it reduces the time and effort required for test run. Moreover, in automation testing efficiency of identifying the bugs, interpreting with codes, and the test coverages are high.

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The Software Testing Life Cycle: A Phased Approach to Quality

In the software testing life cycle (STLC), testers follow several phases to deliver a quality-assured product. By adhering to these phases, one can deliver the final product free of bugs, errors, glitches, and other issues. It follows a structured format where each phase has specific goals and procedures.

• Requirement Analysis: Requirement analysis is the foundation for understanding the product. The requirement analysis team will closely work with the stakeholders and gather information such as system specifications, product goals, functionality, features, target audience, and competitors and document it. The document has been shared with diverse departments within the organization for review. Testers review the document and plan their testing process strategically.
• Test Planning: With a complete understanding of project requirements, the testing team will design the testing plan to conduct the process effectively. The plan involves choosing the testing type (functional or non-functional), source utilization, testing method (manual or automation), timelines, and more. An ideal testing plan minimizes the risk of post-deployment bugs and fixes. Following the testing plan, testers can enhance the testing process’s efficiency and reduce the cost and time.
• Test Design: In test design phase, testers create the test cases based on the requirement analysis document. Considering the user interaction with the application, testers draft multiple scenarios and pinpoint the important test coverage. This helps them give an idea of approach throughout the testing process.
• Test Execution:Here the phase testers gear up to the testing process. Following the testing plan and design, the testing team triggers the testing process. The testers meticulously validate the functions and features of applications and document the bugs if any discovered. The test execution process is either manual or automated, sometimes both based on the project requirements.
• Test Reporting & Defect Logging: After the completion of the testing process, the testing team prepares the comprehensive test report that includes the number of tests passed and failed. Additionally, the report details the count of bugs identified in both functional and non-functional testing. The reported bugs are forwarded to the development team to fix them.
• Test Closure & Review:
  In the final phase, the testing team reviewed the pros and cons of the whole testing process. The test closure report has been submitted to the project managers and stake-holders mentioning the deviations and the areas of improvement for future testing. An ideal test closure report resembles the product quality, and it is ready to release.

Organizations that follow all the phases carefully could deliver the prominent product to users. Each phase contributes to the overall efficacy of the testing process, resulting in a robust and reliable software product.