The Importance of Adhering to Quality Requirements

Both QA and QC play crucial roles in the software development lifecycle. With a comprehensive approach, quality control and quality assurance activities can bring numerous benefits to your business:

• Increased ROI: Eliminating software defects is a complex and costly process. The later they are discovered, the more resources will be needed to fix them. Therefore, comprehensive measures to prevent defects and identify them early can reduce costs, thereby increasing return on investment. Necessary to maintain operational efficiency.
• Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: The modern software market is characterized by intense competition. In today’s product development environment, to gain the trust of your target audience and achieve expected revenue, you must create a final product that meets user expectations, providing them with an excellent customer experience and high quality.
• Quality of products and Brand Reputation Protection: Releasing a single finished product of insufficient quality can risk losing your users forever. In contrast, a high-quality product will positively impact your reputation, encouraging consumers to return to your solutions time and again.
• Reduced Time to Market: In our rapidly changing world, developers may struggle to keep up with new trends and consumer demands. Thus, the quicker a product is released, the more likely it is to remain relevant, maximizing the full potential of your project. Fewer defects mean less time spent on fixing them. Therefore, product quality should not be neglected.

Having addressed the role of quality management in your business’s success, it’s time to delve into the topic of our material and explore the differences between quality assurance and quality control

Definition of Quality Assurance

What is QA?: QA is a series of activities conducted during the development and manufacturing process aimed at ensuring that the product meets defined software quality standards and regulatory requirements.

These activities are part of the organization’s quality management system and must confirm that the product is ready for market release.

Quality Assurance focuses on the process of creating digital solutions and serves as a guarantee that the technologies and practices used will help achieve the main goal: to develop a digital product that satisfies the needs of end users and meets client expectations.

QA supports effective QA through clear standard operating procedures (SOPs) and a documented quality management plan.

Definition of Quality Control

QC – is a set of methods applied to check the product’s compliance with quality parameters upon completion of the production process. These methods are aimed at identifying potential defects in the software solution for subsequent resolution.

Quality Control requires that each application undergo comprehensive testing. If any defects are identified during this process, they must be reported immediately to the project manager, who will decide whether the product should be released to the market or rejected.

Differences Between Quality Assurance & Quality Control

To clearly demonstrate quality assurance vs quality control examples, we have chosen several parameters for comparison:

→ Approach to quality management
→ Focus area of QA/QC
→ Actions needed to achieve the desired result
→ Timing of activities
→ Responsible parties

Let’s take a closer look at each of the points mentioned above

Approach to Quality Management

Quality management combines QA (Quality Assurance) and QC (Quality Control) processes to deliver products that meet customer expectations.

Quality control vs quality assurance:

Quality Assurance employs a proactive approach to quality management, as QA activities begin early in the development process and the software development life cycle is aimed at preventing defects that may arise.

Quality control, on the other hand, uses a reactive approach. It focuses on identifying actual errors for their subsequent resolution. Both contribute to the effectiveness of your quality management system and overall operational efficiency.

Focus Area of QA/QC

QA vs QC in software testing, we should admit here that Quality Assurance focuses on process design and the production processes necessary to achieve the desired goal. It includes a series of activities needed to prevent errors.

In contrast, Quality Control is centred on final products. Its task is to identify defects that have already occurred, which may affect customer satisfaction and align with client expectations; it’s error fixes post-factum, in other words. Both require collaboration with project management and alignment with QMS documentation.

Actions Needed to Achieve the Desired Result

QA vs QC: Quality Assurance (QA) activities are different within the testing process and are conducted according to the testing strategy.

These are examples of each type of activity that support the overall QA strategy.

It may include:

• 

  Requirement Analysis – reviewing functional and non-functional product requirements, checking their sufficiency and realism;

• Test Planning – developing a testing strategy considering the project’s features and complexity.
• Test design – creating test cases to cover all established quality requirements.
• User interface (UI) testing involves confirming that the various UI components, such as buttons and labels, work as specified in the requirements.
• Exploratory testing – an approach to software testing that emphasizes the personal freedom and responsibility of individual testers exploring the App. It is contrasted with scripted testing, where testers follow predefined steps.
• Regression testing – manual testing is consuming, so identify repetitive test cases suitable for automation. It allows running tests faster and more frequently. Integrate automation into the continuous integration (CI) pipeline to increase delivery.
• Test execution & Defect reporting – team runs the test cases and logs any identified defects in a bug tracking test management system or other kind of electronic quality management system. Additionally, test automation tools are employed to execute tests and automatically generate reports.
• Improvements – bug fixes, maintaining testing documentation and other current improvements in the testing process to prevent defects.
• Release stage – once a new version of the software product is ready for release, the testing team performs smoke testing to ensure the release candidate is stable and checks for critical issues. They then run test suites to verify the new functionality and issue a test result report.

Timing of Activities

Quality Assurance is characterized by the fact that all actions span different times across the entire SDLC and take place throughout the entire development process of the digital solution. Specialists must continuously pay attention to QA activities to prevent problems and ensure an adequate level of product quality.

The QC process is not as comprehensive. It comes into play during the final stage of the production cycle, when the software product is ready for testing.

Responsible Parties

The development process involves distinct roles for specialists responsible for various activities.

In the QA process, the following roles may participate:

• QA Manager or QA Lead: This person is responsible for overseeing the implementation of quality assurance strategies on the project, planning testing, managing the QA team, and organizing collaboration with other departments to ensure the integrity of the development process.
• QA Engineers or QA Analysts: These specialists are responsible for developing testing plans, writing test cases and scenarios. Their duties also include implementing QA processes, maintaining testing documentation, and continuously improving processes to achieve set goals.
• Test Automation Engineers: If the project involves repetitive tasks, it is advisable to automate them to increase productivity. Test automation engineers handle this by writing scripts, setting up the appropriate tools, and ensuring that the results of automation align with QA strategies.
• Business Analysts (BA): This is an essential participant in the QA process, as they are responsible for gathering and documenting product requirements. The quality of their work determines whether QA engineers can write test cases that meet business needs. The BA also acts as a liaison between the client, development team, and QA specialists.
• Project Manager or Product Owner: This role is one of the most responsible on the project. This specialist is accountable for ensuring that the digital solution meets required standards throughout the software development lifecycle. They also prioritize features based on their impact on the quality of the final product.

In QC activities, the following roles participate:

• Manual and Automation Testers: These specialists perform automated test cases and manual testing on the project. They are required to document all identified software defects and report them to the development team and project manager for resolution.
• Test Engineers: Their responsibilities include setting up the testing environment, developing complex test sets (for example, for system or integration testing), and collaborating with the development team to ensure the reliability and high productivity of the software product.
• DevOps Engineers: Their duties include providing the infrastructure necessary for performance, load, and stress testing, as well as supporting the proper functioning of CI\CD pipelines.
• Release Managers: They oversee the final stage of the SDLC before the software product is released. They are also responsible for quality management after the release and addressing any errors that arise during this period.

Additionally, there are specialists who participate in both QA and QC processes. These include software developers, who, along with QA Engineers, may write and execute test cases (for example, for unit testing) while taking on the role of testers.

Cross-functional specialists also include Scrum Masters, who ensure seamless communication between QA and QC teams, developers, clients, and other stakeholders.

To visualize the differences between QA and QC, we have prepared a comparative table outlining the features of both processes.

Despite the clear differences between quality assurance and quality control, these concepts cannot be viewed in isolation from each other. They represent two equally important components of a quality management system, essential for ensuring the development of quality products and delivering customer satisfaction.

This perspective is supported by certain similarities between quality assurance and quality control. We will discuss these similarities next.

Similar in Quality Assurance and Quality Control Processes

In comparing quality assurance vs. quality control, we can easily identify not only their differences but also certain similarities.

Here are some of them:

• Adherence to Standards. Both processes are based on specific quality standards that the final product must meet. The only difference is the approach to achieving this goal, as we mentioned earlier.
• Focus on Achieving a High-Quality Product. QA and QC activities share a common objective — to achieve high end quality in digital solutions. This leads to the conclusion that both processes contribute to a better customer experience and help maintain the company’s market position.
• Prevention of Critical Mistakes. Quality assurance allows for the identification of errors in the early stages of the SDLC, thereby reducing the costs associated with fixing them. Quality control aims to eliminate problems after the digital solution has been released to the market, as bugs discovered by end users can cost the company not only extra expenses but also its reputation.
• Continuous Improvement. Both processes allow for the identification of areas for improvement. This could include gathering quality requirements, testing, preparing documentation, etc. As a result, your team can enhance the efficiency of its processes and potentially achieve better outcomes.

Both quality assurance and quality control processes are critically important in a company’s quality management system for software development.

These processes cannot be viewed separately, even though they differ from one another. Only the comprehensive application of QA and QC will ensure a better customer experience and help outpace competitors by releasing high-quality products to the market.

The post Quality Assurance vs Quality Control: What Sets Them Apart? appeared first on testomat.io.

What is QA audit?

A quality assurance audit is an independent evaluation of software and its development process. It is documented process, performed in a planned manner by competent personnel with the objective of evaluating the program by the requirements and acceptance criteria of quality the customer expectation.

Thus, the key purpose of a Quality Assurance Audit in Software Testing is to continuosly improve QC/QA testing processes and ultimately build confidence in your product. Regarding QA audit goals, QA audit tasks should be identified according to the needs of your project and business goal in compliance with your testing process, product specification or QA team skills.

QA audit should be done in the next situations:

#1: The problems with the quality of products

The common red flags of poor software quality are bugs in production, bad customer feedback, software failures, gaps, errors, crashes, security issues or performance problems.

#2: Software testing process issues

There is no understanding of how a testing process should work. What and for what? There is no systematic process. The QA team clearly does not know the sequence of their actions. They miss testing steps and do not meet deadlines. QA managers are too worried about operational issues and other ones.

#3: Unification needs

The Quality Assurance Audit should be a way of standardization. By implementing an audit, an Agile team can develop standards across different projects. These gained standards ensure the equivalent comparison between other projects in the company.

#4: Passion to grow and work better

For a company, this means scaling and income growth. As for the QA engineer, it is aligning the corporate’s interest with self-interests.

#5: Necessity to improve the maturity level of company and projects

Your software needs an audit to meet specified standards or certification requirements, legal requirements or licensing compliance – like popular CMMI certifications, IPO Certification and other certifications that require process improvement. In this way, top management expects to capture new customers with ones.

QAs Role in Audit and Inspections

Whether you have worked in a company for a long time or just started, it’s essential to manage the QA audit process. You can conduct a quality assurance audit if hold the following positions:

• QAs
• QA Manager
• QA Lead
• Team Lead
• QA Coordinator
• etc. note by any person responsible for product quality

Who needs a Software Quality Audit?

Let me stress again, a general QA engineer might be the initiator conducting a quality assurance audit to monitor the efficiency of the current QA testing efforts along with investors who want to reduce their risks with a big picture. Therefore, the audit is a win-win for both. And as follows

There are internal and external types of QA Audits:

• Internal audits are usually performed by the internal QAs within an organization and cover activities that may directly influence on product quality.
• External or third-party QA Audits are performed by independent software testing service companies or individual QA professionals (external auditors, consultants) who have deep knowledge and skills in particular areas. For instance: API testing, Automation testing, Performance testing, Security testing, Usability and accessibility audits etc.

In addition, many other types of reviews:

• Risk Assessment Audit
• Process Audits
• Product Audit
• System Audit
• Compliance Audit
• Pre-production inspections
• During production Inspection
• Pre-release inspection
• etc.

How to perform a QA audit? Comprehensive Checklist

In my view, auditing shouldn’t be a chaotic process caused by a spontaneous decision. It should be a controlled process with a well-defined strategy. That’s why QA Audit in software development generally includes the following four phases:

1. Audit Planning
2. Audit Execution
3. Audit Reporting
4. Audit follow-up and Closure

However, many organizations may apply their own steps in the auditing test and development process. A good practice is to have a less detailed software audit program, which helps in smart spending audit resources as well as demonstrates alignment of the audit strategy. Let’s look at each of these points in detail!

#1 Audit Planning

I usually plan QA reviews in advance. Break them into a series of tasks that have been previously identified as corresponding to the company’s objectives. The primary objective of my Quality Assurance Audit is gathering information related to the ongoing status of a process and then applying it to impact SDLC areas that we want to improve against defined criteria. Any findings can become the basis for improvement activities.

Areas my team include in SDLC quality audit

1. Project Management
2. Scrum process
3. Quality Assurance
4. Configuration Management
5. Product Management

What effect do we get inspecting these areas:

1. Transparency improvement
2. Understanding of real situation
3. Defined system of metrics
4. Results analysis
5. Growth zone
6. Metrics of result
7. Measure of Not Degradation Level

#2 QA Audit Execution

I create a quality audit checklist to ensure that my team does not miss any auditing tasks, we perform them and then I match the audit results.

Throughout this article, I would like to share my great QA professional experience and make your QA work easier! So, take this FREE for QAs quality audit template. You can use this Quality Assurance Audit checklist as a basis as well as improve it for your project needs.

Have you downloaded this QA Audit checklist? Great! Come on, look briefly at the short instruction below on how you should work with the announced checklist.

Order of audit steps

Now, let’s look at a real quality audit example based on one of the areas chosen by my software development company. I assign points when I communicate with the person responsible for this task. I play the role of an impartial person. To guard against bias, I form an audit team, so that each team member has their own area of responsibility. For example, one team member performs marks while another evaluates the results.

In the column on the right side, you can see the maximum of an achieved score. And on the left side, you can see the actual result. Mark data presence as Yes\No.

If there are no auditing data to be evaluated, but the parameter is crucial for us, we estimate the audit checklist task as ZERO. If there is no data and this parameter is not critical for us, then it does not take part in the calculations. But it is displayed as N\A in the audit checklist because the circumstances may change in the future.

During inspection, use the following QA Audit tools:

• questionnaire
• evaluating
• retrospective analysis
• comparison

#3 Audit Reporting

An audit gives some information about the current project status. This status is possible to measure against another period (names retrospective). I conduct this audit checklist every 2 weeks. But you a free to set up another audit timeline.

This retrospective view allows to control degradation trends by tracking our level. So, it is very important for me.

#4 Audit follow-up and closure

The audit report outlines the inspection results as a whole, providing conformances, and nonconformances found along with any recommended corrective actions that need to be taken.

It is a Good Practice to let the auditing professionals incorporate their recommendations.

To complete our SDLC Audit we should schedule a team meeting to address problems and document actions a team have to take to correct identified fails. We use the Jira task manager to assign those tasks to a responsible person who will make them directly during the meetings.

Wrap-up: QA Audit Benefits

1. Shows areas for improvement. Even if you think that your current solutions work well, there are always things that might be done better. So, find them with QA Audit.
2. Knowledge transfer. A key point in the Quality Assurance Audit process is the potential for learning and knowledge transfer within a team. A person who has a good understanding of the product or process can use the audit checklist as a form of sharing app knowledge and explaine the reasons for particular requirements, tasks or test points.
3. Increasing customer satisfaction. By tracking software development trends and competitors, deliver to your customers a modern and necessary product.
4. Quality costs and profitability control. SDLC audit also includes due diligence on your current infrastructure and the profitability of modernizing it. The current review lets you investigate any hidden costs associated with further development. This allows you to get a grip on the risk factor of any subsequent investments. The future maintainability of your software architecture and the costs connected to it is also an issue that’s often covered in software quality audits.
5. Mitigating potential risks. Ideally, a critical Audit is based on identifying potential risks. A good practice is to have a risk management process in place to the various risks to an organization, including safety, quality, reliability, financial, reputational, etc. These Audits are then planned in accordance with the risk levels identified. The greater the risk is, the more frequent and detailed the level of quality assurance audit should be performed.

The post QA Audit Checklist and Quality Audit Template for Testing Teams📥 appeared first on testomat.io.

What does Testing as a Service mean?

This is a remote collaboration model in which certain testing processes and tasks are delegated to an outside expert or organization. Usually, the need for such services arises when the in-house team cannot meet all the business needs.

What are testing services in this context? As a rule, it implies the full or partial transfer of responsibilities to outside testers. Independent QA engineers as well as the domestic QA team interact with software development team at all stages, helping to identify technical bugs to help get the product to market faster.

Also, under the Testing as a Service(TaaS) model, it is possible to involve one or more experts in automated testing to advise full-time employees. There is another, no less convenient option: a comprehensive audit of existing testing processes in order to improve them in the future.

In any case, such cooperation is based on a contractual basis. The service provider uses its own test infrastructure and test automation capabilities. The independent testing model is suitable for short- and long-term partnerships, including multiple projects.

When it makes sense to use test automation as a service:

• Lack of expertise in automation testing (АТ). Sometimes a company simply does not have the knowledge and skills needed to perform the tasks at hand. This is the most common reason for outsourcing.
• The need to reduce testing time. When you need to create optimal conditions for fast development without compromising product quality, it is worth reconsidering the existing processes and implementing an automation approach. This is especially true for projects which require frequent code changes.
• The pursuit of cost savings. Startups and small companies may prioritize cost savings. Working on the TaaS model, they get a set of testing services at a lower cost than building their own infrastructure and hiring QA specialists on staff.

The automation as a service provider creates an automation strategy, provides a secure test environment, and offers proven testing tools. They track the progress of each project and report on the results. Automation software test engineers work together with the customer to help ensure the quality of the product at every stage of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

Test automation services open up new opportunities for the business side, both for improving existing processes and for building an automation testing strategy from scratch. All this through the support of testing industry experienced experts (or an entire team) and the implementation of effective modern technologies on flexible terms and in optimal timeframes.

Let’s take a look at the five main benefits a business receives from cooperation on the independent Testing Service model

5 key benefits of automation as a service

1. Flexibility and scalability

   Testing as a Service(TaaS) means that you can ask for help from experts at any time and choose the format you want. For example, if you have complicated issues in the field of test automation, you can involve QA Automation consulting services. If you don’t have the specific skills to solve problems, you can delegate some of the processes to outsource testing company.

   In this way, you manage the scope of services according to the actual needs of the business and each project. This is especially important for Agile teams, where priorities are allocated from sprint to sprint depending on what will benefit the project the most.

2. Availability

   Testing as a Service(TaaS) is suitable for any company, regardless of its scale or line of business. Test automation services cover all types of digital products.

   What software can you test:

   • desktop, mobile, and web applications;
   • corporate solutions for managing internal processes (ERP, CRM, HR);
   • сloud (SaaS), local(Desktop), and hybrid software products.

   You can outsource industry-specific projects to test automation. For example, an application for e-commerce, web services for online training, or a customized business solution for individual purposes. In either case, the partner will provide the skills and technology relevant to their software testing requirements.

3. Speed

   According to our observations, choosing automated testing over manual testing reduces product creation time by at least 30%. Technical defects are identified early, allowing you to make timely changes to the product and move faster towards the goal. Also, possible break it up into subprojects and outsource automation testing if it’s a large project.

   Speed is also positively affected by the use of modern test automation tools. Testing Automation as a Service opens up round-the-clock access not only to talent but also to all necessary technological resources. For example, we offer a unique test management system cloud solution testomat.io to help speed up processes for identifying and fixing software bugs.

4. Cost cutting

   You need the right infrastructure, testing tools, well-adjusted Agile testing processes, and key skills of experienced QA Engineers to create a workable product and bring it to market successfully. This means large initial investments: hiring and adapting software testing specialists, renting offices, and equipping workplaces.

   With outsourcing or outstaffing testing services, businesses get everything they need, from expert support to a suite of testing tools. Test automation services synchronize people and the testing process. It’s your chance to save up to 50% project testing budget. And it won’t affect the quality of your digital product.

5. Complexity

   By establishing a partnership with one software testing company, you can get a range of services, from a full testing audit to assistance in transitioning from manual to automated testing. This eliminates the routine tasks of creating particular test scripts and test frameworks from zero, tracking the progress of each test project, and reporting to your in-house IT team.

   We take a comprehensive approach, too. Our services aim to make testing your product even faster, easier, and more efficient. We not only provide our own tool for managing automated test frameworks but also help you implement it in your processes and integrate it with your corporate solutions. Test management solution testomat.io expands your automation capabilities.

What types of test automation do we perform?

We will help you organize a transparent modern Agile workflow so that you can turn manual test cases(classic or BDD test cases) into automated ones with a few clicks. Implementing the test management tool will be your first step toward eliminating routine software testing. This test solution is universal because it supports different types of software testing.

Major types of tests:

• Modular testing. Tested: a code base divided into logical blocks. Purpose: to create a solid foundation for the future product and avoid code regression.
• Integration testing. Tested: group tests that integrate software modules. Goal: provide protection against failures and avoid the need to rework the code.
• Regression testing. Tested: functionality on services that change frequently, such as new software versions. Purpose of automated regression testing: to make sure that new changes made to the code have not compromised the functionality of the product.
• API testing. Tested: interaction of the program with other programs. Purpose: to prevent errors in the interconnection between system modules or between systems.
• Functional testing. Tested: the feasibility of function requirements. Purpose: to understand whether the software is capable of solving user tasks.
• GUI testing. Tested: the compliance of the existing GUI to the established standards and norms. Purpose: to find ways to improve the user interface.
• Performance testing, including stress testing and load testing. Tested: performance under conditions close to real. Purpose of automated performance testing: to detect code defects when the expected load and volume of data are applied to the software.
• Localization testing. Tested: the correctness of the product’s settings for the client’s country. Purpose: to avoid errors related to the adaptation of the product for different versions.

Performing some tests manually takes a lot of time. If you need speed while maintaining quality, automation is the best option. There are many software testing tools on the market for this purpose. Especially our software testing tool stands out among them because it implements an innovative “all-in-one” approach. This is just one of the reasons why we can be a reliable partner for you.

Recommend read to this subject:

• Best test automation tools comprehensive list
• Best open source testing tools short list

Key features of a partnership with Testomatio

We work with all companies, regardless of size or industry, to help QA teams organize and track processes intelligently. The solution we are developing is designed for the needs of BA, Dev, QA, and non-technical professionals. This is how we bring all your employees into a single stream to maximize your efforts.

We work in three directions:

• Development of your own test management system with continuous improvement of functionality.
• Seamlessly implementing the system into your business and integrating it with all the solutions you are already using.
• Customization to your unique needs, up to creating a new custom tool that will be useful to you.

By moving in several directions, we can consider the needs of all our customers and refine the functionality accordingly. This makes testomat.io test management a solution with a decent user experience and proven efficiency.

Implementing test management gives you the opportunity to:

• Import autotests and integrate seamlessly with such test automation frameworks as CodeceptJS, Cypress.io, Playwright, Cucumber, TestCafe, and other frameworks.
• Synchronize automated and manual tests in a single space within classical and BDD projects.
• Track test execution in real-time via the analytics panel in a convenient visual format.
• Integrate with test environments, continuous testing tools, and bug tracking services.
• Improve productivity with a flexible and scalable testing strategy.
• Create reports based on Screenshots and Video Capturing, detailed analytics, and share them with stakeholders.

Thus, our testing services startup takes all processes related to test automation to a new level. For a manager, it is the first assistant in managing in-house employees and distributing tasks. For QA testers, it is a simple and convenient tool for planning and executing tests. For BA, it is a set of analytical capabilities for tracking projects and working with test data. At the same time, every non-technical specialist will be able to use it fully for actual tasks.

Do you want to expand your ability to perform classical and BDD tests? We combine your manual and automated processes and provide all the features and tools you need to manage them effectively.

We are ready to become for you not just a supplier of automation as a service, but a reliable partner, who is interested in your success as much as you are!

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