Quality assurance (QA) processes are used by QA testing services across a host of industries to test, maintain, and improve the quality of products for both consumer use and compliance. Typical practices involve implementing a set of predefined steps for each stage of development to spot defects, measure performance and ensure quality from start to finish.
Quality assurance in software development
Software qa services often function in the same way as traditional protocol. QA experts and even teams often work alongside a specialist known as a Solution Architect to perform systems analysis, define the goals and parameters for testing at each stage and ensure that these are completed to ensure a high-quality end product that performs as intended.
At the end of the product creation and quality assurance phase (once the product has properly passed all of the checks), it will be given over to a quality control (QC) team who will outline and implement another set of testing protocols to ensure the software product is bug/glitch-free. After a rigorous round of additional checks, the product should be ready for release.
5 Best quality assurance practices
As quality assurance should be undertaken throughout the product development lifecycle, there are a host of best practices that can be undertaken to meet the expected standards and potentially meet compliance regulations (if there are any in place for the software in question). Here are the main 5:
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Establishing proper processes
The best QA strategies will have a focus on problem analysis, a well thought out list of requirements and a functional, open line of communication where issues can be discussed. When these elements are established and implemented throughout product creation, the product is likely to be ready to pass on without any glaring faults.
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Root cause analysis
A QA specialist will perform an analysis when incidents occur. There will typically be a ‘post mortem’ process that will be detailed and then discussed with the production team to ensure everybody understands what went wrong, how the mistakes could have been avoided and more. It is crucial to learn from the issues that arise and target improvements.
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Well laid out documentation
When aspects of the QA process need to be documented, it can be important to ensure that everything is clear, concise and well-laid out so that everybody can quickly and easily find the information they need. Worthwhile records may also be kept to act as references for future projects.
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Training
The right quality assurance expert can be utilised to provide some worthwhile training to product development teams. They can cover topics like writing better documentation and when and how to properly communicate with peers – but training isn’t a necessary role.
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Collaborate with quality control
Once the product has been verified and passed over to the QC team, it can be worthwhile for QA leaders to keep an open line of communication. They can offer assistance if any questions need to be asked or if any specifics need to be further explained (OC teams should have a brief for the goals and expectations of the product, but there may be times when they want to understand something a little better).
