By Gabriela Chaves – QA Analyst at Santex
Why it is important to fully understand the role and it’s benefits
If you have been close to the software development process, chances are that you have experienced working on agile projects where it is common to conduct a small waterfall model in which the QA runs tests on late stages of development or perhaps there’s no QA assigned at all. In my experience, I find that this reveals only a slight notion of what a QA does and the impact his or her work has on an agile project. I believe it’s beneficial to share deeper insight on the responsibilities of this position.
The QA applies an analytical mindset throughout the complete process with this concept in mind:
“Are we building the right product, and, if so, are we building it correctly?”
A person in this role is someone who constantly questions all parts of the development process to ensure the team is producing the desired output. Kenny Cruden indicates this in his article “The QA Role – What Is It Really?” It is also referenced in international quality norms and standards such as ISO 9000 and CMMI dev with the name “Verification and Validation”.
Adding detail to the already known activities, a QA also thoroughly analyzes the product to be developed, and from sprint zero starts suggesting improvements and changes, polishing unclear aspects, detecting possible discrepancies and bugs, and bringing attention to items that may have been overlooked, with the aim of avoiding issues before they come up. Working side by side with Business Analysts and Developers, a QA and his or her team will not only develop an usable product, but they will also deliver one that suits the client’s needs. By constantly keeping in mind the business and the user perspectives, the QA helps build a better, stronger, and more reliable product, resulting in a satisfied customer and a greater appreciation for the company’s work.
There’s an internal benefit as well as Stephanie Dedhar points out in her article “Six irresistible benefits of real quality assurance.”
‘A focus on QA helps to develop a culture of continuous improvement. Colleagues will help each other develop, challenging things and preventing complacency setting in and leading to carelessness. In my experience, high standards are infectious – if one or two members of the team set the right example and pick up even the littlest things, these good habits will spread and you’ll develop a true QA culture.’
From all of this we can infer that the work performed by quality control specialists has a bigger impact than assumed by the people outside the project, providing an increase in quality and helping make the client happy with the end results. It can also be noted that starting the work early as previously described can result in increased client satisfaction and a reduction of rework, in turn reducing the total costs of the project.
About the Author – Gabriela Chaves is an experienced QA Analyst at Santex, passionate about her work. Great analytical skills and quick learner.
Sources
Kenny Cruden – https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/qa-role-what-it-really
Stephanie Dedhar – https://stephaniededhar.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/six-benefits-of-real-quality-assurance/
