Quality Assurance is not a new concept that has evolved as a result of the implementation of the Agile Model Indeed, the primary goal of software engineering has always been to increase program quality.
Software quality means that the existing software product can perform all the functions and functions expected from it, error-free and safely. Just as the freshness, size, quality, and shape of a vegetable is evaluated before it is purchased, the quality of the software system is evaluated with “Quality Assurance” (QA). This highlights how important quality assurance is during the software development phase.
What is Software Quality Assurance?
Quality Assurance is a very comprehensive term that includes both quality control and testing and focuses on the quality of the software development process.
Quality Assurance(QA) should be present in every tab of the software creation and development process.It ensures that the right steps are taken at every step of the process. (requirements gathering and analysis, planning, design, coding and development, testing and initiation) of the process, thus ensuring that quality is maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
Real-Life Examples of Errors in Software Development
In 2012, a well-known large e-commerce company suffered a loss of 440 million dollars in just 45 minutes. This event caused great chaos on Wall Street. The error in question occurred as a result of incorrectly configuring an old and unused system during trading and reflecting incorrect prices in stock trading.
Another example is the loss of Starbucks company in 2015. Millions of sales were lost due to a malfunction during the daily systemic renewals that closed many sales points in Canada and the USA. Branches were forced to distribute drinks free of charge during the period when the systems were repaired and restored. This caused a great deal of damage.
In 2017, a major lawsuit was filed against Uber when a person was notified about their spouse’s relationship with a reporting error caused by Uber. In this error, the app continued to send Uber notifications to his wife’s phone even though he signed out of the account on the device. This mistake cost millions in damages and marriage breakdown.
Implementing Quality Assurance Throughout the Software Development Lifecycle
Software testing is the entire process of evaluating a system and either a product or its components to determine whether it meets certain requirements expected from users or customers.
Quality Assurance (QA) focuses on structuring all processes by revealing beauty with UI/UX designs along with software development to provide quality and functional products to users who will use the product. Quality Assurance (QA) practices are as important to user and customer interaction as research, application interface design, or software development.
Simply put, the implementation of quality assurance in the software development life cycle is the most important and necessary part of a project. It helps to minimize costs by significantly improving the customer experience, reducing errors, and increasing quality and efficiency.
“Quality is not a coincidence, it is a habit.”
Why is Quality Assurance (QA) Important?
Quality Assurance (QA) helps those involved in the project identify malfunctions, system errors, and redundancies in a constantly evolving software product. Quality Assurance (QA) processes are essential for a successful and quality software project, the main reasons are:
- Prevent major errors in development applications.
- Loss of reputation of brand value due to faulty user experience.
- Potential lack of income due to dysfunctions of the system.
- Low involvement of app users, software developers, and the community.
5 Items Explaining the Importance of Quality Assurance in Software Development Projects
The result of a Quality Assurance approach is a high-quality and error-free software product. But quality assurance includes much more than all that. In addition to identifying defects and areas of improvement in the output product, quality assurance is also important for other seemingly small but big aspects of the business, such as customer relationships and the company’s reputation in the marketplace. Let’s take a look at the top reasons why quality assurance is so essential for all software development projects.
Saving Money and Time
Software quality assurance is important to you if you want to save money and time. Failure to identify bugs and errors until later in the development process can be expensive because fixing bugs in a previously designed and coded product will be time-consuming and therefore cost more money.
A well-calculated quality assurance strategy will ensure that no mistakes are made from start to finish to avoid any major mistakes for the software development company and the product owner’s customers.
Ensures Product Quality and Competitiveness
The examples of software bugs mentioned above speak of the consequences a company may face because it releases a faulty software product.
Better quality assurance maintains product quality and competitiveness before it is released to customers and with each subsequent update.
Provides Software Security
Security has always been a big issue for the product during the software development process. Even if a software development application meets all functional requirements and works exactly as expected, it may need to be more secure software. Vulnerabilities in the security of a software system can compromise user data and the reliability of the software for the user.
This is one of the most obvious reasons we can understand the importance of software quality assurance. It is a factor that helps to reveal the security vulnerabilities of developed software and to reveal a completely safe and reliable product for the user.
Protects the Reputation of the Business
Software quality assurance is also important for maintaining a business’s reputation. Negativities arising from malfunctions of software and in some cases legal problems and disputes can adversely affect the reputation and position of software creators in the market. If a product with a quality below normal conditions is delivered, it may cause problems in the relationship between the company and its customers.
It is clear here how important quality assurance is throughout the software development process. It greatly supports the removed product to serve as a suitable brand for businesses.
Provides 100% User Satisfaction.
The software development method is always centered on the product’s end users, and it is critical to ensure the best user experience possible. A software project with functional shortcomings can be inconvenient for end users and spoil their experience.
Throughout the entire development process, Quality Assurance (QA) engineers ensure that the product is developed without errors and that it correctly performs all the functions developed while in the hands of the end users, that is, the expected result is achieved. As a result, end users get a quality and useful product that they are happy to use.
Software Quality Assurance Steps
As the resulting software product gains more functionality, bugs may appear in the live environment. Software Quality Assurance takes care of such malicious errors by hardening every stage of SDLC.
Analysis Stage:
It is extremely important to incorporate Quality Assurance (QA) engineers early in the SDLC analysis phase since it aids in remaining proactive in terms of software quality through – early discussions of possible software loopholes.
Test Planning:
Immediately after the analysis phase, the Quality Assurance (QA) team reviews the complete software requirements and creates a test plan for the required testing tools.
Testing Phase:
During the Testing Phase, test cases check all software functions to ensure compliance with agreed requirements. Quality Assurance (QA) engineers must remain active in detecting and reducing product defects.
Test Re-Runs:
The test findings are frequently documented for future reference once the software items have been properly evaluated. After software testing is complete, QA’s should retest regularly to look for faulty parts in the test documentation. Quality Assurance (QA) teams should also assist with test case changes and identify the effects of cases on software functions.
Conclusions
Quality assurance is responsible for fulfilling user requirements and required testing. Companies’ disregard for quality assurance can lead to disappointed customers, delays, errors, and misunderstandings in the company.
Testers do not just perform familiar testing activities such as generating bug reports, writing test cases, and running and testing the functionality of applications. They test and approve the resulting product from a user perspective that aims for perfection. Quality Assurance (QA) engineers are always working on new tools to reduce the number of malfunctions and errors in software products and to improve the quality of the application.
We can say that quality is the most important stage in the software development life cycle, as it prevents the occurrence of errors that may occur in your project. If you are looking for Quality Assurance for your software, Nioyatech’s QA services are the best choice.
Nioyatech’s approach integrates seamlessly into the development lifecycle while maintaining the critical separation between development and software quality assurance processes. Their subject matter experts collaborate with you to select the appropriate frameworks and technologies to enable your QA strategy and integrate it into your development lifecycle.
