QA 101: Software Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, which ensures that the software is reliable, efficient and usable, is responsible not only for checking that the software is error-free, but also that it is designed to best meet user needs. QA aims to ensure that the software complies with the established standards, while also helping to detect and prevent errors at an early stage.
1. Functional Tests
These are tests that verify whether the software performs certain functions/basic functionality. It evaluates functionality, correctness and compatibility.
- Integration Testing: Tests that different software modules work together smoothly.
- Unit Testing: Tests that check that the smallest units of the software (usually functions) work correctly. Executed by backend developer.
- End To End Testing: Testing all functionality of the application from the user’s perspective.
- Smoke Testing: A basic test that quickly checks whether the main functions work.
- Regression Testing: Tests performed to verify that new changes do not disrupt existing functionality.
- Acceptance Testing: Tests performed by the end user to determine whether the software meets customer requirements.
- White-box Testing: is a type of test that checks the correct operation of the software by testing the internal code structure and logic.
- Black-box Testing: is a type of test that tests only the input and output values without knowing the internal structure of the software.
- Interface Testing: These are tests that verify that the interfaces between different software components or systems are working correctly.
2.Non-Functional Tests
It evaluates the non-functional features of the software, such as performance, security, and usability. The aim is not only to check the correct operation of the software, but also to improve the user experience.
- Security Testing: The process of testing the software for security vulnerabilities and how protected it is against unauthorized access.
- Performance Testing: Tests that evaluate the software’s performance criteria, such as speed, response time and resource usage.
- Load Testing: Tests how the software performs under a specific user or process load.
- Stress Testing: Tests to determine how the software behaves under maximum capacity or excessive load and when it will crash.
3. Automated Tests
Testing that is difficult and time-consuming when done manually is performed using software test automation tools. It aims to test software updates faster and more reliably.
QA Process And Cycles
1) Requirement Analysis: The process of determining the needs and expectations of the software to be tested.
2) Test Planning: The process of determining when, how, and by whom the test strategies and tests will be performed.
3) Test Case Development: The process of creating test scenarios, test conditions and test data.
4) Test Environment Setup: The process of setting up and configuring the environment in which the tests will be performed.
5) Test Execution: The process of running the prepared test scenarios on the software.
6) Test Closure: The process of analyzing the test results and deciding on the quality and stability of the software.
Tools and Technologies
This area, which used to be limited to manual testing, has experienced a noticeable growth with the development of technology. With the introduction of automation tools, it has become more efficient and faster.
Test automation helps reduce error rates, speed up the development process, and automate repetitive work/tasks.
Test Management Tools
Tools such as JIRA, TestRail, and Zephyr.
Automation Test Tools
Tools such as Selenium, Cypress, Appium, and JUnit.
Continuous Integration Tools
Tools such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, and CircleCI, GithubActions.
QA Career&Skills
Junior QA
Tasks:
- Writing basic test cases,
- Performing manual testing,
- Reporting bugs
- Performing simple test automation tasks.
Educational Development: Learns basic testing methods, becomes familiar with the software development process and gains the ability to use testing tools.
QA Engineer
Tasks:
- Create test plans,
- Write complex test cases,
- Develop automation tests,
- Performance and security testing.
Educational Development: Develop deeper technical knowledge and automation skills, gain project management skills and work on optimizing testing processes.
Senior QA Engineer
Tasks:
- Create test strategies,
- Design test automation frameworks,
- Lead teams,
- Solve complex problems
- Provide technical consultancy.
Educational Development: Gain in-depth technical knowledge, develop leadership skills and take responsibility in project management.
QA Lead
Tasks:
- Manage QA team,
- Define test processes and strategies,
- Control the quality of test plans and test cases,
- Ensure integration of QA processes in projects.
Educational Development: Gain experience in team management, strategic planning and project management.
QA Manager
Tasks:
- General management of the QA department,
- Budget and resource management,
- Setting strategic goals,
- Evaluating team performance and improving quality processes.
Educational Development: Develops management skills, gains strategic thinking skills and creates quality strategies in line with organizational goals.
Required Skills
1. Technical Skills
- Programming Languages: Proficiency in languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript is required, especially for using test automation tools.
- Automation Tools: Experience with tools such as Selenium, Cypress, JUnit, and TestNG; is critical for setting up and managing test automation processes.
- Database Knowledge: Knowledge in database languages such as SQL is required for testing data accuracy and performing data management.
2. Analytical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills
- Analytical Thinking: The ability to analyze complex problems and test scenarios helps to effectively identify and resolve software defects.
- Problem Solving: The ability to quickly and effectively resolve problems encountered during testing increases the quality of the software.
3. Communication and Teamwork Skills
- Communication: The ability to communicate clearly and effectively with both technical and non-technical team members ensures that QA processes are carried out efficiently.
- Teamwork: Collaborating with developers, product managers, and other stakeholders is important to achieve common goals and ensure successful completion of projects.
Best Practices
- Start Testing Automation Early
Early automation enables tests to be run continuously and regularly, so that bugs are quickly detected and fixed as the software evolves.
-It enables faster bug detection.
-It enables shorter turnaround times.
-It encourages quality code writing during the development process and reduces manual testing overhead.
2. Creating Continuous Feedback Loops
Returning test results and bugs quickly as feedback increases the quality of the development process. Continuous feedback loops ensure that test results are quickly communicated to the development teams and bugs are fixed early.
-Rapid feedback,
-Developers fix bugs earlier.
-Provides better communication and collaboration between teams.
3. Strong Communication and Collaboration Between QA and Development Teams
Effective communication and collaboration between QA and development teams is essential for the successful completion of software projects. This includes understanding testing requirements correctly, resolving issues quickly, and jointly defining project goals.
-Strong communication and collaboration,
-Ensures that issues are identified and resolved early,
-Helps projects to be completed on time and creates a harmonious working environment between teams.
Common Mistakes
Not Enough Test Scope
Keeping the test scope narrow means not testing all the important functions and scenarios of the software. This leads to potential errors and deficiencies being overlooked.
Consequences, Lack of coverage can cause some functions of the software to not work properly, which negatively affects the user experience. In addition, incomplete testing can lead to bigger problems in the production environment.
Relying Only on Manual Testing and Neglecting Automation
Manual testing, in addition to checking that the software works correctly, can be time-consuming and error-prone. Lack of automation means that repetitive testing is not done in the long term.
Consequences, Relying only on manual testing leads to insufficiently comprehensive testing and slows down the testing process. Lack of automation can cause repetitive tasks to be time-consuming and reduce the speed of testing.
Fixing Bugs Randomly, Not in Order of Importance
Fixing bugs randomly, not in order of importance, can lead to the most critical issues being overlooked and major bugs that negatively impact the user experience remaining unresolved for a long time.
Consequences, Missing critical bugs can negatively impact the reliability and performance of the software. This can lead to user dissatisfaction and the software failing in the market.
