Testing used to be the last step in the software development process. With the adoption of agile methodologies change came, and the inclusion of Quality Assurance (QA) as a practice happened. If you have a project that must be tested, you can contact Advancio for an evaluation.
What Is the Difference between Testing and Quality Assurance?
Testing is the process to detect and solve bugs on a finished software solution. The problem with traditional testing was the implementation step. Testing used to be the last step of the development process, making it detect and solve bugs once the project was finished. This made project delivery for a software development company delayed by extended periods of time if there were too many problems before its release. All of this happened with the traditional use of the waterfall methodology.
Once the Agile methodology got adopted as the prime method by developers, QA was included. In contrast with pure testing, QA can be included in any part of the development process. QA not only adds a new layer of software quality from the beginning of the project, but it also monitors changes and decreases potential critical errors and bugs in a business transformation.
The Main Preconceptions on Testing Used to Be
- Testing adds cost to the project
- Testing delays delivery
- Testing must be the last step in the development process
Quality Control Comes First
QA is more than checking the code for bugs. QA engineers can help with requirement assessment and give critical insight before the project begins. Also, Quality Assurance professionals deal with a lot of manual testing, giving them a good idea of how the end-user will navigate the software. This means that QA engineers can give you a step-by-step user story.
Fixing Defects in Software Solutions
Thorough testing alone is almost impossible to find all the bugs during the development process. Deploying a QA team not only helps you decrease the number of errors and increase quality but also decreases the cost of fixing at the end of the project. If you don’t have such a team, there is always staff augmentation as a strategy to grow your in-house team.
In practice and theory, the estimation of the cost of finding and fixing software development problems after delivery is 100 times greater than doing it on the go. Perhaps it’s worth considering an IT outsourcing partner as you build your own staff.
Conclusion
Why test? The answer to this is simple, Quality product. The importance of software testing and quality assurance is that they are designed to increase the efficiency and completion of your software. Also, different software engineering processes impact the final budget of the project. The results are so positive that it is really difficult to overlook the potential of a QA team enhancing a software development team.
