Software Testing Cycle: what is it and why do you need
Published: 2021-09-17 19:00:31

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a time of always-connected users and an ongoing digital transformation, where technology is influencing people's choices and their behavior is increasingly dependent on devices. Many companies realize the importance of technology in their IT solutions and care about their quality. QA is evolving from an optional feature to a necessity. But setting up QA processes so that they produce results is not easy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hiring engineers to conduct </span><a href="https://qawerk.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">QA services</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> after the start of development - and sometimes right before the software is released to the market - is not the best strategy, especially when release dates or project budgets are severely limited.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why? Because quality is not only troubleshooting but also requirements analysis, CX (customer experience) testing, and more.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.thinkhdi.com/library/supportworld/2018/why-your-service-desk-needs-implement-shift-left.aspx"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The shift left strategy </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">has turned the idea of QA upside down. Quality assurance is not focused on finding errors, but on preventing them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sounds utopian and confusing, right?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Companies don't have to constantly innovate and create completely new technologies - all they have to do is find the missing pieces and put them together.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let's take a look at five steps without which QA implementation may not yield the results you need.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">5 STEPS FOR SUCCESSFUL QA IMPLEMENTATION</span></h2>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 1 - Test the requirements</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The thoroughly described requirements cover all important aspects of functionality and help to avoid repetitions or gaps in performance.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When different people are involved in preparing requirements, inconsistencies can arise. For example, when documenting elements of functionality, if a business analyst overlooks an aspect and another person does not pay attention to it, inconsistencies and ambiguous interpretations occur.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The presence of a QA expert at this stage will help avoid such difficulties.</span><strong> An experienced tester will quickly identify bottlenecks, which will provide a solid foundation for further development.</strong></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 2 - Test with customer experience in mind</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your software product is a complex system, it is very important to pay attention to the proper planning. The later design or customer experience inconsistencies are identified, the more expensive it will be to fix them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is worth keeping in mind that the end-user is willing to give up on an application that is inconvenient to use, even if he or she needs it. The design of your software product may look attractive, but pages with poor navigation, awkward arrangement of key information, complicated logic of working with the application worsen the usability.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Difficulties in interacting with the product cause negative emotions in the end-user and only hasten the transition to a competitor's product.</span></p>
<p><strong>Usability testing and prototype testing ensure timely identification of bottlenecks and help avoid redesign at the product development stage.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is equally important to test all major customer journeys. This helps testers understand the software product from the user's point of view and get more accurate test results that will also take into account the peculiarities of the target audience behavior of particular software.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 3 - Carry out acceptance testing</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Acceptance testing is an important part of the process of bringing an IT solution to market. Even if all functionality has been thoroughly tested manually, it is necessary to look at the product objectively from both the end-user and customer sides after completion. For this purpose, acceptance testing and intuitive checks are performed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During acceptance testing, the software is examined not as part of the development process, but as an </span><strong>actual software product that must be tested for compliance with business requirements and reviewed from the perspective of user expectations</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Without this stage, the overall picture remains incomplete.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 4 - Take a personalized approach to implement QA</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each project has its own peculiarities: industry, software users and their expectations, project timeline, level of complexity, and so on. Ignoring these factors can lead to distorted perceptions of real product quality, incorrectly defined QA timeframes, and missed critical defects.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Does the mobile game need security testing? Should the performance of the internal CRM system be tested? Should user interface tests be covered by automation scripts and to what extent? Will new technologies (AI, machine learning in test automation) benefit or only complicate workflows?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You may already know the answers to these questions: it all depends on the nature of the product. </span><strong>A mobile game, a CRM system, or banking software requires different approaches to quality assurance</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. You won't be able to determine the right vector for QA until you've thoroughly studied the product.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Step 5 - Carefully select the QA team</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let's imagine that you know exactly what types of testing need to be done to improve the quality of your software product. Suppose these are automation testing, security testing, and usability testing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What will be the next step?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It may seem better to hire different teams for each type of testing or even multiple teams from different vendors for quality.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But what's the snag here? </span><strong>The lack of a personalized approach. Yes, it's about a deep understanding of the software again.</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If different tests are performed by different teams, keep in mind: all teams will need their own time to immerse themselves in the specifics of the software product. Neglecting this step can result in a one-size-fits-all testing service without any attention to the specifics of the IT solution.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to avoid it?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Find a team that works solely on your project and can perform all types of testing. Thorough knowledge of the software will allow you to find the best QA solutions that are truly right for your product.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">FULL TEST CYCLE: HOW TO CONNECT ALL THE MISSING ELEMENTS</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It may seem difficult:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">determine the scope of work for QA;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">introduce testing at every stage of product development;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">to find the right team;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">customize processes.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But there is a common solution for all these problems.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The full testing cycle combines those QA services that are required by the specific product and allows you to select a tailored set of services depending on the features of the software.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This approach is based on a deep understanding of the software by a dedicated team combined with the implementation of QA approaches at all stages of its lifecycle.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The main advantage of a full test cycle is that the responsibility for product quality falls on the shoulders of the QA team, and you can focus on achieving your business goals. </span></p>