(Newswire.net — February 21, 2022) — Software testing services are an integral part of the software development lifecycle. During the testing phase, you can understand how your end-users will perceive and interact with your product, as well as what problems they may potentially encounter. In addition, you can see how your business goals and software requirements are being met at every stage of software development.
The next task is to ensure your QA practices raise your software testing efficiency and help you get the most out of every product quality assurance check.
QA best practices for effective software testing
Based on our product development experience and the full-cycle software testing services we offer to our clients, we’ve compiled a list of seven crucial QA practices to follow. Let’s discuss each in detail.
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Define test goals and requirements
Before the QA team starts the testing phase, they should elicit the customer’s expectations and clarify testing requirements. Then, knowing the problems that need to be solved, the team can organize the testing process according to the client’s needs to set testing priorities.
In addition, this practice includes agreeing on the form of the QA report to be submitted at the end of each period, establishing communication channels, and scheduling meetings.
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Establish a transparent workflow
A well-designed workflow is a prerequisite to successful QA checks. This means QA engineers should draft a test plan that will guide the testing process throughout software development. Next, your QA team should look at the project’s requirements to see if they match the quality criteria and the product’s business needs. Another essential part of a transparent QA workflow is setting up regular test reports and establishing a clear flow of tasks, roles, and responsibilities.
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Validate compliance with requirements
Validating compliance with laws, regulations, and standards is critical to quality software development. There are numerous laws, regulations, and standards that governments and industries create to protect customers’ personal information.
For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects the personal information of EU residents. At the same time, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) aims to protect patients’ private health information in the US. Therefore, QA teams must provide compliance testing services to create a viable product.
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Use automated and manual testing methods
Using both automated and manual testing approaches allows you to check different areas of software functionality. However, manual and automated testing methods influence the success of the testing process in different ways. For example, manual testing requires QA specialists to write test cases and report bugs to developers, while automated testing is useful for increasing test coverage by automatically executing with test automation tools.
Using both manual and automated testing results in improved software testing efficiency and increased test coverage, an essential metric for evaluating product success. For example, a successful QA check should have between 80% and 100% test coverage.
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Implement risk-based testing
Risk-based testing is an approach used to identify the greatest risks during the testing process. This approach includes evaluating project risks, prioritizing possible risks, and planning the testing process based on this prioritization. As a result, your QA team can identify the most important risks and be fully prepared to mitigate them quickly and effectively to prevent serious damage to your product development productivity.
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Apply regression testing
Regression testing is another workable practice to achieve early QA testing success. This type of testing aims to test the product after new features and updates have been implemented to see if they affect the software’s existing functionality. The regression testing process is simple: QA specialists run a series of tests used in previous QA checks to understand if the product works as expected after the latest updates.
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Use shift-left testing
Using shift-left testing, the QA team begins testing activities at an earlier stage of development than they would with traditional testing methods, where testing activities are started after the development stage is completed. Shift-left testing is a critical practice that allows the QA team to catch bugs early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). This also helps optimize resources for your business before the product moves to the final stages of the SDLC.
Conclusion
Even though software testing is resource-intensive and complex, it is essential to include software testing services in your product development cycle to improve software quality and control its functions. Deciding how to set up testing processes or hiring a dedicated software testing company will help you approach successful testing practices.
Either way, you can reduce the testing burden with a reliable QA testing team that has domain experience in delivering great products to the market. In addition, by choosing a team that follows QA best practices, you can ensure your product development is transparent and efficient and that high-quality solutions will benefit your end-users.