Don’t launch a buggy program! Even the best features can’t save software riddled with glitches and crashes, leading to poor user experience. That’s where Quality Assurance (QA) testers come in. These experts on usability rigorously examine your software (or website!) to identify any issues before they reach your customers. Through different testing methods, a QA tester ensures that your software or website reflects your business’ high standards.
Let’s delve into the world of software development and discover the essential role QA testers play! They’re not just testers, they’re the wheels that drive an essential step in the software development cycle.
What’s The Software Development Life Cycle?
All efficient processes are supported by a reliable methodology that gets you from idea to product. For software engineering, the reliable methodology is called the software development life cycle (SDLC). It acts as the roadmap, outlining clear steps to design, develop, and launch software through these steps:
- Plan. Defining goals, features, and target users.
- Design. Analyzing requirements, best solutions, and any integration needs.
- Develop. Coding the software based on the agreed plans.
- Testing. Software evaluation based on business standards and criteria.
- Deploy. Releasing the software to the targeted users.
- Maintain. Bug fixing, feature updates, and software upkeep.
The lifecycle minimizes risks and streamlines resource use, eliminating the guesswork of making software. The QA tester lands in the step after development, but before deployment. They act as your crash-test users with the software engineering know-how to ensure that the software is smooth and finished before deployment.
What is Quality Assurance and What Does a QA Tester Do?
Quality Assurance in the SDLC ensures that your software or website meets your business’ standards – and the QA tester is the one who evaluates this. The prevailing opinion is that QA testers ensure that a program is “good to go”, but there is so much more that goes on. The goal of the QA tester is to use different types of software testing to ensure that the application is three things:
1. Functional and Finished
Hear us out, it may be a no-brainer that after development, the product needs to be finished. But a software QA tester uses a variety of tests to not only get as close to zero bugs as possible, but also to ensure that all specifications from the first stage are met – this is done through Functional and Non-functional testing.
Functional testing is as it is on the tin: tests functions as intended in the plans. For example, search engine functions on your website or button menus for mobile applications. Common functional tests include:
Unit Testing. Focuses on testing individual units/components of a software to properly inspect.
Integration Testing. Validating individual modules work together and communicate with one another.
Non-functional testing looks beyond what the software does, focusing on how well it performs (speed, stability). This ensures a smooth user experience across all intended platforms (phones, tablets) by preventing crashes and bugs before launch.
Stress Testing. Tests the software beyond normal operations, and often to the breaking point to observe results.
Compatibility Testing. Check if the software runs smoothly across web, mobile, and other platforms.
These are often the tests done to ensure that the software works as intended in the plans. However, two more aspects such as usability and scalability are equally as important as functionality.
2. Scalable
While developers build the engine, a QA tester acts as a pit crew and wants to ensure that the program runs smoothly under pressure. Scalability is a key performance indicator for testers, and it plays a crucial role in safeguarding it for the future by:
Load Testing. Simulating high to low user activity to check how the program responds.
Concurrency Testing. QA testers identify any issues (crashing, data corruption) that occur when multiple users access a system simultaneously.
Data Management Testing. The QA team assesses the application’s ability to handle increasing volumes of data efficiently.
Through proactive measures, QA testers uncover and address scalability bottlenecks before they become problems for real users. This delivers a consistent and positive user experience from day 1 to day 100, and gives the development team little to no problem should new features be introduced.
3. User-Friendly
Features are useless if users can’t find them. A cluttered interface makes an app no better than one with limited functionality. However, a QA tester acts as the advocate for the user, ensuring the final product is functional, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. Here’s how they champion user-friendliness:
Usability Testing. The QA team collaborates with limited target users, asking them to complete software tasks and observing their interaction to see any issues in the flow.
Accessibility Testing. Evaluating the application based on common standards for users who use assistive technologies.
User Interview Review. QA testers will analyze the overall design from information hierarchy to confusing icons and unclear labels. This focuses on the visually appealing aspects to ensure that users can find what they need quickly.
As the voice of the users in the development process, meticulous attention to detail ensures that the final product is enjoyable to use right from the get-go.
QA Tester – Your Partner Toward Innovative Success
Don’t just build it, launch it with confidence. QA testers are your secret weapon for a flawless digital future. They go beyond bug-checking – they’re your partners in innovation, ensuring your product meets not only your standards, but also unlocks new possibilities for your digital journey. Especially as we undergo industry 4.0 and web 3.0 revolutions, a reliable QA tester helps a business leap out of the development tunnel. Embrace the power of QA testing and conquer the new digital frontier together.
Never underestimate the power of quality assurance. If you’re ready, contact HGS OSS to meet your offshore QA team soon. It’s time to remove the uncertainty in digital success.
Citations
Gupta, Divyanshu. “Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).” GeeksforGeeks, 29 Aug. 2024, www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-development-life-cycle-sdlc/.
HGS Offshore Staffing Solutions. “How Will Web 3.0 Change Your Business?” HGS OSS, 13 Mar. 2024, hgsoss.com/newsroom/how-will-web-3-0-change-your-business/.
HGS Offshore Staffing Solutions. “What Is Industry 4.0: Definition and The Essential Pillars.” HGS OSS, 9 May 2024, hgsoss.com/newsroom/what-is-industry-4-0-definition-and-the-essential-pillars/.
