A comprehensive approach to software quality assurance
The intricacy of software quality assurance is directly proportional to the complexity of today's software.
More often than not, a seemingly simple piece of software has years of work behind it, work which may have been split between various departments in different corners of the world.
Bugs are inevitable, but it's important to track and eliminate them, so that the final version released on the market functions in accordance to the advertised standards.
Obviously, the more complex the software, the more you have to invest in quality assurance and by investment we don't necessarily mean money, but time and energy.
Application lifecycle management tools offer the most straightforward approach and they can improve the quality of your product considerably.
However, the quality assurance process itself is quite complex and requires a combination of different tools and strategies, as well as the combined effort of testers and developers.
Nowadays, testing can be done both manually and automatically and by choosing the right balance between the two you can be thorough enough without forcing your department do too many repetitive tasks.
A reliable
bug tracking tool is the first thing that you need to consider before launching a new product.
You can enjoy many benefits, one of the most important ones being that you will reduce bug tracking time to a minimum and you will streamline the process considerably, especially if you crowdsource projects.
Make sure you choose software that has an intuitive dashboard and allows for localization.
This is a must if you offer a multi-language application and you want to make sure users for all over the world do not encounter issues when changing the language.
There are several options that you can choose from when choosing bug tracking tools.
Many companies choose to invest in Jira, which is the best known software of this time and indeed performs well in terms of bug tracking.
However, it lacks one important feature: test case management.
Test case management software is another important part of the quality assurance process.
It allows you to generate bugs straight from test runs and, briefly, it creates continuity between the two steps.
Although you can use two separate softwares; one for bug tracking and test case management, things can become quite difficult if the two are not integrated.
One way that you can extend the functionality of programs such as Jira is to install software that is integrated with it.
For example, you can download a
Jira test case management tool and sync the two, thus making tasks easier for your QA team and the final product more efficient.
When it comes to the best approach to quality assurance, there is one major principle that rules over the others: thoroughness.
Do not make the mistake of releasing an application just for the sake of respecting the release date. Most of the time, users discover more bugs than the development team and this is never a sign of professionalism.
Also, keep in mind two realities of software quality assurance.
First of all, QA is not free; you dream of high standard results, you will have to make at least a small investment.
In fact, through testing saves money in the long run.
Secondly, do not seek a clear answer for the manual vs. automated testing, because each application and each company has their own specific requirements.
Instead, focus on the task at hand and think what technology can offer you to make things easier.
If there are many answers to this, then consider investing in automated testing.
If not, use manual testing as the main source of quality assurance.
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