Mistakes are made in every walk of life and it is quite common. Mistakes help us correct our ways and learn to do things better. When there are situations where you cannot afford to have mistakes and one such instance is the software development process. To achieve this, several quality testers and quality assurance teams are set up to prevent mistakes. Quality Assurance in Software Development is testing the software regularly and periodically to ensure the product delivered is of top quality.
But what happens when the one who are supposed to prevent mistakes commit mistakes themselves? That’s what happens when QA personnel make mistakes. Mistakes in QA have long reaching consequences and over the years we’ve observed that some mistakes are more common than others and knowing about the mistakes would help you to avoid them as well.
Here are 5 of the most common mistakes in Software Quality Assurance and ways to prevent such mistakes from happening.
1. Using Record and Playback for Test Scripts:
When QA is automated many developers have the habit of using Record and play options for creating test scripts instead of using the feature just to develop a skeletal script. Automation QA demands a script that could be customizable. Data Parameterization and adding checkpoints for validation could be used for script customization. Another way to avoid the mistake would be to modularize the script to allow several testers to work at the same time.
2. Testing only Visible Validation:
This is something that we encounter far too often. Testers fail to consider validations other than visible objects while testing applications. They just stick to visual elements such as Buttons, Page Text etc. Instead, testers should also focus on other aspects as well and ensure that all processes are completed and the result is shown.
3. Thinking Agile Makes it error-free
Many people just assume that working in an Agile environment simply makes their products error free. This is a misconception because we tend to think that because we perform regular testing in an agile environment, it is essentially error free. This is true to an extent but it could never replace the expertise and precision that a dedicated testing and QA team would provide. When it is about assurance, you expect to be assured by the masters who follow internationally approved best practices.
4. Using Irrelevant Test Cases
Test engineers many times do make mistakes while preparing test cases and these test cases become irrelevant. This could serious compounding mistakes in application flow and functionalities. Creating simple test cases and comprising them into a single suite that represents the entire functionality and flow of the application could help to avoid this common error.
5. Depending solely on QA team for assurance
It is understandable to think that quality is a job for the testers and it is their duty to ensure the quality of the product. But, it is not completely right to forget about quality and let the testers figure it out all by themselves. When you leave quality to the QA team completely, it put added pressure on the team and pushes them to make mistakes. When every team member takes accountability for the quality of everything they do, it makes the job easier for everyone around. When every person contributes to quality, the QA team could diversify their testing and makes suggestions and improvements to the product.
If you are a small business in need to Quality Assurance Services, it is better for you to choose an service provider instead of hiring a testing team on your own. At XCEL Corp, we have the experience of testing hundreds of products and our customers have been completely satisfied with the services we have provided. Our expert QA consultants are well versed with international best practices in quality testing and will ensure that your products tested by us are of world-class quality.
Visit xcelcorp.com today to learn more about the Quality Assurance services that we provide.
