Software Testing : How to Level-Up Your Game

Over the past decade, development teams had tons of research to pinpoint the root of software failures. One of the common factors found in the studies is inadequate quality assurance (QA) during the development stage. The primary goal of doing a strict QA software testing is to avoid releasing inferior quality products to the market that will lower customer satisfaction and willingness to continue engaging with the company’s current and future products. Remember that with software, even small glitches can lead to immense financial losses. And, a sure way to improve software testing is to execute a reliable QA management that has useful tools and a well-designed process that can help your software be bug-free.

Software Quality Assurance Management

Software QA management has three main areas: SQA, QC, and testing. SQA means software quality assurance. It is a series of well-organized actions that include the formulation of standards to avoid errors and eliminate bugs before product release. QC is the quality control process that assesses and analyzes the activities performed based on a set of requirements. Last but not least, testing is the activity focused on the search and troubleshooting of all technical concerns on the source code of the software. It is also the evaluation process of the software based on its performance, device compatibility, user acceptance, and security capability.

While there are various ways to improve the whole software QA management process, in this article, we will focus on software testing as it is the main area that can determine the success or failure of your software.

Here are four valuable tips on how to level-up your game when it comes to software testing. 

 

• Plan ahead.

 

Software testing must have proper planning and documentation. A well-planned process gives direction to the developers and the testing team on what to do. Moreover, documentation will enable effective communication with all parties involved. 

An effective management plan for software testing starts with the team defining the standards to tell if the software is a quality product or not. This crucial step should also coincide with the scheduled activities of each member to meet the testing team’s goals. 

Once a management plan is completed, the team can proceed to brainstorm and draft their test strategy. The test strategy must be able to draw an accurate picture of how the testing team will approach their objectives through concrete actions. An effective strategy should answer the following points:

• What are the areas to undergo testing?
• What will be the testing approach?
• When will the testing start?
• What are the criteria that will tell if the testing is complete?

When the testing team has a defined test strategy, they can go on to formulate their test plan. The test plan is different from the management plan as the previous is more focused on the product itself rather than the team’s actions. It must be able to state the testing scope, testing objectives, testing activities, and testing time. A good definition of these areas will help the testing team manage any risks. While there is no definite structure on what a test plan should have, here are some items that will add value to your software.

• Test items
• Features for testing
• Criteria to indicate pass or fail status
• Testing techniques
• Deliverables, including test scripts
• Testing environment
• Testing schedule
• Testing team and their specific responsibilities
• Assumptions
• Risks
• Approvals

 

• Utilize a test-oriented management software 

 

Test-oriented management software will help the testing team to complete software testing systematically. For software testing, the best approach is to employ Extreme Programming (EX), a software-oriented management methodology that targets to construct a high-quality product. EX works under two main principles: test-driven development and pair programming.

A test-driven development (TDD) is a software development approach wherein the testing process is drafted before code execution. This testing approach maximizes software development costs and produces well-aligned codes, which helps software engineers to understand how the product behaves in various environments. Moreover, to supplement the efficiency of the management software, programmers and software developers prefer the integration with test case management tools. When the testing team uses test case management tools with jira integration, the probability of a successful testing process increases.

On the other hand, pair programming, another EX approach, needs two software engineers to work together as a pair. One engineer drafts a code, and the other analyzes the process. Pair programming lowers the risk of coding errors.

 

• Maximize the use of test case management tools. 

 

If you wish to release high-quality software, the integration of test case management tools with your management software, such as Jira, is a great idea. Going through your testing process with the help of test case management software promotes the CI principle, which aims to develop a sustainable and adaptable product. With CI, all codes undergo integration tests. And whenever code changes, the software can detect errors and bugs, which helps the testing team to act promptly. It also helps the developers save time, effort, and money as test case tools lower the risk of human error.

 

• Create a bug report regularly.

 

A valid bug report assists the software testing team to be more productive in the assessment and solution of the problem. A poorly constructed report may result in misunderstanding and testing failure. To create a useful bug report, you may follow these tips.

• The bug report should be a sound basis for effective communication between the developers, QA specialists, and stakeholders. 
• Before making the report, try to reproduce the bug first. Write a descriptive on how to copy it to secure the context misunderstanding that can mislead the testing team in the long run. 
• Make sure that the bug report is clearly written to foster proper communication of information to the QA team. It should include every detail of how the problem started and what areas are affected. 
• Incorporate a screenshot of the failure in your report. It will help the engineers to take action on the issue more accurately
• Formulate a summary. It will help assess and analyze the software bug efficiently. It will help the testing team to identify, classify, and fix it in the future. Creating a bug ID system containing all pertinent information is also useful.

Upgraded management software integrated with testing tools and bug tracking systems can make reports, track the status of the testing process, and even allocate roles and tasks to appropriate team members. Popular management and tracking software like Jira has already a built-in bug reporting tool.

Conclusion

Developing and releasing competitive and best-quality software is the goal of any product based software company.  Boosting the quality of the software will have the highest impact. Investing in the best-performing management software and test case management tool can also never go wrong.

Author Bio : 

Angela is an IT marketing specialist with expertise in software development and specializes in test case management tools with jira integration. She writes to provide information and solutions for developers, project managers, and stakeholders to foster the growth and improvement of the IT industry. 

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