What Is Quality Assurance in Software Testing? Definition and Key Processes
Today, software is ubiquitous in everyday life. Users want convenient, fast, and reliable applications. When software stops working, it frustrates users. A software product must go through proper quality inspections to ensure a good experience for users.
Quality assurance in software testing is designed to inspect whether the product behaves as expected. It will seek to avoid problems in advance rather than correct them after the fact. Quality assurance is a significant contributor to customer experience.
In this blog, we will review what quality assurance in software testing entails. We will address how it works, who does it, types of tools available, considerations for best practice, and some examples from actual software development work.
What Is Quality Assurance in Software Testing?
Quality Assurance (QA) in software testing ensures that the software products you create deliver the highest quality in terms of performance and customer satisfaction.
This involves planning, executing, and monitoring testing processes to identify bugs, mitigate risks, and improve the overall quality of the programme.
With strong QA processes running, developers can confidently manage the complexities of software development, ultimately assuring their products will succeed in a competitive digital marketplace.
Why Does Quality Assurance Matter?
Builds stable and smooth-running software-
QA helps in building stable, trouble-free software. As a result, users will be able to depend on the product, as it will not show problems or errors too frequently. This creates an increase in customer satisfaction and retention.
Reduces rework-
QA aids in reducing rework. If defects are found early in the testing process, fixing them costs developers less time and money. QA is a practice that reduces waste and supports efficient workflows.
Strengthens the company’s reputation-
QA helps in building the company’s reputation. Companies that create products of quality build trust. Trust is essential for companies attempting to grow in competitive industries.
Top 7 Key Goals of Quality Assurance in Software Testing
Here are 7 key goals of quality assurance in software testing-
- To avoid defects before the software is released.
- To verify that the software is meeting user expectations and is working as intended.
- To improve processes so that fewer defects occur in the future.
- To provide consistent processes in the development, testing, and delivery of the product.
- To create feedback and insight on defects for developers.
- To encourage a culture where quality is valued by every team member.
- To mitigate risks during development and deployment.
Example of QA in Software Testing
A team implements a code-review process requiring one developer to review each piece of code before merging.
- This is QA, because it catches defects early.
- It improves the overall development process.
- It reduces the number of bugs pushed to testing.
How Does QA Fit into the Software Development Lifecycle?
QA starts early in the SDLC. It starts when we start gathering requirements. QA helps clarify any ambiguity in requirements and scope before getting involved later in the lifecycle.
QA continues into design and coding. QA considers whether we are building a product that aligns with the way humans will actually use it. QA also asks if the code is using consistent standards.
Lastly, QA supports monitoring after the release. QA will reflect on whether the software behaved as expected in a real-world environment, and QA works to recommend better solutions.
What Makes QA Different from Testing
| Basis of Difference | Quality Assurance (QA) | Software Testing |
| Focus | Focuses on preventing defects before they appear. | Focuses on detecting defects after the product is built. |
| Approach | Process-orientated improves development methods. | Product-oriented, checks if the final product works correctly |
| Goal | To improve the process of building software. | To find and fix bugs in the software. |
| Activity Type | Proactive (avoids issues) | Reactive (finds and reports issues). |
| When It Starts | Begins from the requirement stage | Begins after coding begins |
| Responsibility | Involves the entire development team. | Mostly done by testers and QA engineers. |
| Examples | Process reviews, documentation checks, coding standards setup. | Functional testing, UI testing, performance testing, regression testing. |
5 Steps of Quality Assurance Process
- Test Planning and Strategy
In the test planning and strategy phase, teams create a thorough plan for all the testing tasks to complete. Testers specify the testing objectives, identify the test deliverables, and determine the testing strategy. Testers allocate resources based on project deliverables and timeline requirements.
Planning and strategizing provide the framework for efficient and effective testing. It assures that the proper testing is conducted at the proper time.
- Test Design and Execution
QA teams create the test cases and execute the test cases determined at the earlier step. QA engineers create the test scenarios and write the detailed test cases that verify the usability and accuracy of different functions of the software. QA focuses on the user interface (UI) elements and equally on the back-end functions of the software.
Testing teams execute the testing, log the results, and use the results to determine if the application is performing as expected. The test execution is a detailed and documentation-intensive process. Every run/test has relevant information each time in terms of improving the overall software quality.
- Defect Management
Defect Management is the systematic process of identifying, documenting, and tracking defects, bugs, and other issues in software. In the defect management process, teams record information about the defect and assign priority based on defect severity. The teams map the defect to the responsible developer who will fix the defect.
The goal of effective defect management is to ensure that bugs do not reach the customers. Teams often use tracking tools to manage the status of the bug from discovery to resolution. The transparency of these tracking tools keeps everyone informed about the quality of the product.
- Configuration Management
Configuration management governs the tracking of software configuration changes across the software development life cycle (SDLC), incorporating version control and change management in order to retain software quality and software integrity, providing a stable and governed environment.
It mitigates the risks associated with making the wrong changes at the requirement or code level and enables teams to easily roll back changes if the software receives a negative update.
- Metrics and Reporting
In this phase, testers aggregate and analyze software quality, applying appropriate metrics. The metrics include test coverage, defect density, test execution progress, and other forms of performance metrics. They show the status and specifics of quality in the software under examination.
This allows for informed decision-making and iterative development. Metrics transform an abstract concept of quality into a quantitative measure.
5 Types of Quality Assurance
- Product QA
Product QA is responsible for the quality of the final product and/or service. It implements processes, quality standards, and controls to ensure that the product meets customer expectations before releasing it to the market. Teams verify that every feature of the product is working as designed.
This function is centered around the end-user experience. Product QA teams understand the customer mindset to discover any potential issues the product may create. They want to ensure that the final product exceeds customer expectations and all functional requirements.
- Process QA
Process QA creates and implements needed audits of the process itself. The ideal of process QA is to identify and illustrate opportunities for improvements that maximize efficiency and quality. People are able to look at workflows and eliminate waste and redundancy.
If an organization improves their processes, then they are able to produce better products at an accelerated speed. Process QA will identify points of rigidity and offer suggestions for optimisations. A commitment to continuous improvement keeps teams at an advantage and running efficiently.
- Compliance QA
Compliance QA ensures that specified legal, regulatory, and industry-specific requirements are being met. Compliance QA protects the organization from penalties, litigation, and brand reputation hits. Teams will stay abreast of changing compliance regulations and adjust their processes accordingly.
In many organisations, compliance is not optional. Industries such as healthcare, finance, and educational organizations face strict regulations for compliance. The QA in compliance promotes compliance and protection for the organization and develops trust with the user.
- Supplier QA
Supplier QA is focused on the quality of goods or services received from third-party vendors. It assesses vendors’ capabilities, audits processes, and generates quality agreements. This ensures that all partners share the same quality standards enforced internally.
Many companies engage third-party supplier partners for critical components of the product. Supplier QA protects the quality of the product from the raw material stage to the delivery to the customer. Supplier QA continually audits and assesses suppliers to ensure consistency with quality standards.
- Customer QA
Customer QA is focused on gathering customer feedback, conducting customer satisfaction surveys, and acting on it. Customer QA occurs after the software product is released for public purchase and use. The teams look at the feedback experience to identify improvement opportunities.
“Real user” feedback gives insights no internal testing can get near to. Customer QA provides the critical feedback loop between “development” and “actual use”.
In addition, it shapes prioritization of future development and allowable quality improvements. It brings the experiences and knowledge of those making the purchase and subsequent use.
What Is Software Quality Assurance?
Software Quality Assurance (SQA) encompasses the standards and processes that are in place to ensure quality software is developed and delivered.
It involves working throughout the entire development life cycle to prevent defects, improve processes, and guarantee that the final product behaves as expected and that it is secure, reliable, and usable.
What Is an Example of Software Quality Assurance?
A straightforward example of SQA is performing code reviews prior to developers pushing their code. This also avoids any issues before the code ever gets published, and it helps ensure that coding standards and guidelines are followed.
Difference Between QA and SQA (Software Quality Assurance)
| Basis of Difference | QA (Quality Assurance) | SQA (Software Quality Assurance) |
| Scope | Applies to any industry such as manufacturing, healthcare, or software. | Applies only to software development and testing processes. |
| Objective | Ensures overall quality of the product or service. | Ensures the software development lifecycle follows defined quality standards. |
| Area of Focus | Focuses on general quality processes and improvement. | Focuses on software-specific processes, code quality, testing practices, and tools. |
| Methods Used | Uses audits, training, standard guidelines. | Uses coding standards, test frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and version control. |
| Outcome | Results in improved product quality. | Results in improved software reliability, performance, and usability. |
What Is the Role of QA in Software?
The role of QA is to:
- Ensure that the software solution is engineered correctly from the start.
- Prevent defects, not just find defects.
- Review requirements and design specifications, coding standards, and test plans prior to actual test execution.
- Collaborate with developers and other stakeholders to support the engineering process.
- Inspect and ensure that the software solution works together and provides the user with a seamless experience and reliable performance, along with consistency with each execution.
QA Roles in Software Teams
Typically, there are three roles involved in the quality assurance process in software teams.
- QA Manager – The QA Manager manages the entire QA process. They plan the QA strategy, identify team members for roles and review activity and progress. They assist teams to ensure consistency in approach.
- QA Engineer/Tester – QA engineers or testers conduct the tests. They develop the test plans and test cases and report defects. They often have direct contact and communication with the developers.
- Automation Engineer – Some teams have automation engineers to develop the scripts that run tests in an automated manner and reduce time and increase coverage.
QA Automation Testing Tools
- Unit Testing Tools
Unit testing tools are used to test individual codes and individual functions. These tools can prove that small code components are working properly. If the unit is tested early on, this will prevent integration issues later in the development cycle.
- Functional Testing Tools
Functional testing tools are used to find errors and provide feedback to the developer teams. Examples of these tools include Testsigma, Selenium, and Cucumber. These tools will prove the feature works according to the requirements documents.
- API Testing Tools
API testing tools are used to test service layers or API endpoints. API tests will help validate backend functionality without user interface intervention and allow the dev team to work in parallel development and testing faster to deliver to the clients.
- Browser Testing Tools
These are for cross browser testing to help you ensure compatibility. These tools validate your applications performance across different browsers, catching browser specific bugs ahead of time before users see them.
- Test Management Tools
These are tools that help you to note all the requirements and write test cases that are appropriate. Management tools help organize testing effort and to keep track of progress. They also provide a complete view of all testing effort across the organization to help coordinate better.
- Performance Testing Tools
These tools are used to test the reliability and scalability of your product. There is always a crucial point where every product fails performance. An example of a performance testing tool is Load Runner. LoadRunner is a comprehensive and flexible performance testing tool used primarily to develop stress and load testing scenarios.
10 Best Practices to Ensure Quality Assurance
- Create a Requirements Traceability Matrix
The requirements traceability matrix (RTM) is a tool or framework that collects, saves, and links all project requirements to the corresponding tests and design artefacts. You also get an updated view of all project activity at a glance. Sized properly, the RTM is the key to keeping QA activities organized and accountable.
It tells you if all requirements are being validated by tests. It can red flag any requirement that is missed early in the process if done well. Its value comes from always having a complete view of requirements and coverage to avoid gaps that may cause quality issues.
- Develop a Comprehensive QA Plan
The QA plan should begin by identifying the scope of the project. It should distinctly identify the testers roles in the project. Specify the development phase quality assurance is scheduled to start, ideally as early as possible.
Include plans for test strategy, test environment setup, resource assignment, timelines and assessment of risk. Include detailed plans for test case specifications and executing, coverage estimates for testing and expectations of results. Include metrics for assessing team productivity and level of quality.
- Defining Acceptance Criteria Clearly
In defining the test cases, clarify what constitutes success and failure. Define the percentage of successful tests to be declared ready for production. Keep in mind that the acceptance criteria should be specific and measurable, attainable and realistic, relevant and time-bound.
Clearly defined criteria remove uncertainties about what quality is. Teams clearly understand the definition of success. This speeds up decision-making on “what we want our product to be” at the time of release.
- Utilize a Version Control System
The version control system (VCS) is where the most current application codebase is stored, along with all test cases. It is the central hub for all project team members to access the information they need. All testers have access to the current code, and no tester ends up using an out-of-date version of the code.
VCS tools like Git are capable of tracking all test cases that were all developed while being able to roll back to previous edits, code as well as all test cases, if needed.
- Have Regular Code Reviews
Having regular code reviews has many advantages to the QA project. Having reviews will allow defect identification early on in the development life cycle. Code reviews will lead to improved code, meeting coding standards and style guides.
The code readability, maintainability, and testability will be greatly improved. The process will reduce testing effort by identifying defects earlier. Code reviews will enhance software security due to better oversight from multiple reviewers.
- Use Automated Testing
Automated testing is critical to the success of modern testing initiatives. Using automated testing for most tests significantly reduces testing time and effort. It also lowers the risk of bugs being missed due to human error and fatigue.
Think about the possibilities of exploratory and creative testing when using automation to conduct tests–the repetitive tests will run faithfully every single time. Relying on repeated tests builds confidence in quality processes throughout your organization.
- Use Production Level Testing Environments
Testing software in environments that best mirror production is optimal. Put another way, test your applications on real browsers, real devices, and real OSes. This guarantees that an opportunity to miss a bug has been mitigated because testers are using the applications in the same manner as end users.
In order to minimize or eliminate resources that would have to be spent to purchase or manage a cache of real devices, you can instead use a cloud based tool to do testing.
- Incorporate AI into QA Operations
AI in QA can amplify the reach, effectiveness and speed of QA workflows. AI can help to automatically generate test cases write along, modify them when a change is made to the UI, analyze the results, recommend changes and improvements to testing, and it can even flag potential issues before they ever run a test.
- Leverage Agile Methodologies via CI/CD
CI/CD is synonymous with publishing code changes in the core code base, quickly and reliably building, testing, and deploying software changes. It enables integration and delivery of changes quickly and automatically. CI/CD serves both best practice Agile principles at the same time, aligning with quality expectations of software development.
Better software is released faster with the single goal of delivering a better customer experience. This process creates an integrated quality workflow benefitting the entire development team.
- It Never Ends, and is Always Improving
The QA process will routinely be monitored while feedback is gathered from stakeholders looking for improvement opportunities. Monitor app performance levels, team performance levels, apply project average number of bugs identified and bugs resolved for given projects, and ultimately review ROI on automation and test management tools.
All operations should be documented for easy reference, benchmarking, and comparison. Continual visibility of risk levels should be maintained. Continued improvement on all obvious gaps in functionality should be expected to be a part of the process in order to stay competitive.
Essential Quality Assurance Metrics
- Defect Rate
The number of defects discovered per product or service, or in the contextual phrase “Defect Rate” suggests the degree of proficiency of the quality processes in being able to identify the defect rates, an overall goal of lower defect rates across the QA jobs, consistent with better identification of defects.
It is worth tracking this metric over time, to determine if process improvements have led to a decrease in defects.
- Customer Satisfaction Score
To what extent are your customers satisfied with the quality of your products/service? This metric reflects the outcomes of the quality processes you have used, as you will gather customer satisfaction scores from regularly conducted surveys.
- Return Rate
The total amount of products or services returned because of a defect can also question the overall quality failure; however, the overall quality is impacted with higher return rates in the quality failure. To the business, this can produce clear lower net profit margins and clear numbers.
- Warranty Claims
The warranty claims against your products show the tangible long-term quality of your products. If there are frequent claims against your product, there may be hidden defects anticipated in the evaluation of your reputation and profitability.
6 Benefits of Quality Assurance in Software Testing
- Ensures Quality Standards
QA ensures that what is all going out the door meets all the requisite quality standards beyond just functional quality that rely on the UI and compatibility for all uses of the product.
Overall, QA contributes to the reduction of post-live bugs and patches. Providing users with confidence that they can hijack the software it is meant to provide.
- Enhances Customer Satisfaction
Improved software quality leads to enhanced customer satisfaction and trust. QA procedures verify that what is delivered is as close to the user’s expectations as can be. Customers who are satisfied become loyal fans of your brand.
- Enhances Security
More robust and comprehensive security processes are built into the software product. Any mature QA pipeline includes extensive security testing. There is no high quality app if data security is not seamless for the users.
- Ensures Compliance
QA ensures that applications and even the entire development process adhere to applicable local and international regulations. This protects the organization from legal risks. In regulated markets, compliance becomes a competitive advantage.
- Constrains Operational Risks
QA identifies, eliminates, and constrains significant operational risks, disruptions and failures (this is simply ‘bad quality’); it accomplishes this by scanning for quality gaps at every stage of the SDLC. Proactive risk management can limit catastrophic failures that could impact the business.
- Optimizes Development
QA optimizes the development pipeline through the application of CI/CD principles. This improves and accelerates the development workflow while minimizing bottlenecks. Teams can deliver features quickly without compromising quality standards.
5 Key Challenges in Quality Assurance
- Changing Requirements: Unexpected changes in requirements during the development phase can complicate test planning.
- Timing Constraints: When time is limited, you’ll have to make compromises in your testing coverage, raising the potential for defects to go unnoticed.
- Unclear Requirements: If the requirements are unclear, incomplete, or even worse, contradictory, it can become very challenging to produce valid test cases from these requirements.
- Complexity of Systems: New software development is becoming ever-more complex with the amount of integrations now involved in many modern software use cases, this adds complexity to the testing.
- Tool and Environment Issues: Unstable test environments, or deficiencies in industry tools can impact QA efforts.
Conclusion
Quality assurance is vital in software testing because the goal is to create reliable, usable software. It prevents defects and is an approach that can ultimately save development costs. When performing, strong QA teams deliver a better software product and earn a customer’s trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does ‘quality assurance’ mean in testing?
Quality assurance is preventing defects via improvement in the practice of software development and assures the products achieve quality standards before released.
- What is software quality assurance?
Software quality assurance means using methods, tools, and checks to make sure the software being developed is reliable and can be used without concerns of errors. Quality assurance emphasize prevention of the issue, not just finding the issue.
- What does a software quality assurance tester do?
They write tests and run the tests. They document defects found. They help make sure the final product runs smoothly.
- What are the five QA types?
The four types of QA are Product QA, Process QA, Compliance QA, Supplier QA, and Customer QA.
- What is the difference between QA and SQA?
QA is about defect prevention for all types of processes. SQA is about ensuring the whole development process follows defined standards.
