QA Best Practices for Software Testing

Quality is the bedrock of a successful software project. Even small mistakes may lead to big financial losses and incur significant brand damage. So, it is necessary to put software through rigorous testing before release, which is where professional software testing services can play a crucial role. 

Many companies tend to ignore the importance of effective quality analysis. Some even go beyond to build and release new features instead of improving the old ones. But this will only result in increased defects and technical debt which will eventually doom your software. 

On the other hand, implementing QA best practices for software testing can make your code more readable and maintainable, reduce costs, enhance user satisfaction, and ensure sustained software success. 

In this article, we discuss QA practices to help ensure that you build and release better-quality software that works up to expectations and industry standards.

1. Quality Assurance Best Practices for Software Testing

Quality Assurance (QA) aids in risk mitigation by lowering the probability that end-users might come across severe bugs, which in turn avoids costly bug updates and possible brand damage. As a starting point, let’s review some of the best practices for performing successful software testing.

1.1 Develop QA Goals and Objectives

It is important to have clearly defined QA goals and requirements before getting started with the software testing process. Understanding the customer demands and user acceptance criteria helps quality analysts build different test cases and ensure software quality. 

There can be single or multiple objectives for software testing ranging from specific feature evaluation and detecting defects to reducing security vulnerabilities. In any case, you will be working towards code optimization and enhancing overall software quality. 

1.2 Define Software Testing Process and Plan

Software testing won’t be effective enough without a proper plan. You need a comprehensive test plan to make the most out of the testing process. It involves handling testing requirements, determining the scope of work, testing techniques, deadlines, managing required resources, and other little details.  

Since you know the requirements, you can easily determine the skill set and tools required to fulfill them. Hence, preparing a test plan also covers forming a team with suitable expertise. You must dictate the responsibilities and roles assigned to every member.  

Implementing this QA best practice also means figuring out your approach and strategy for software testing. It is about charting an appropriate path to obtain your testing goals and identifying potential challenges and ways to solve them.

1.3 Imply Multi-Directional Testing Strategy

One of the most apparent but sometimes overlooked Quality Assurance techniques is to employ a variety of QA types. Don’t limit your testing process to just one or two categories. Instead, use several methods of testing to quickly find various types of issues.

You need to motivate your development team to create automated unit tests. This will help them evaluate the quality of their code and address any issues before sending it to QA team for testing. Once you have sent the request, the QA team will start with smoke testing. In this QA  process, they may either confirm that the code is ready to test or return it to the developers for retesting.

When you apply multi-directional testing in software development, this means the QA teams will test all the test cases thoroughly using multiple testing strategies. In the software quality assurance program, team members will initially check manually if there are any bugs or not. 

Then they perform various types of testing like regression testing, non-functional testing, user acceptance testing, and compliance testing to obtain accurate results from the testing process. After making significant changes and meeting the release criteria, regression testing ensures that all functionalities are current and work seamlessly.

The last phase here is user acceptance testing. In this testing phase, the product is evaluated against user needs to be analyzed to see if it meets all functional requirements or not.

1.4 Ensure It’s A Top-Down Effort

Maintaining a high standard of quality is essential. The QA procedure needs to be communicated as a top priority by senior management and the board. It is not by chance that a company develops and maintains a high-quality QA culture, but it has been the experience of many that when QA is given the top priority at all stages of a business, it is far more probable to be successful and purposeful.

1.5 Implement Code Quality Measurements

Ensure that you quantify, record, review, and monitor your quality goals. The quality of code can be evaluated in several ways. To improve your process, use metrics that are easy to understand and implement.

There are five key elements of software quality, and we will examine how they can be quantified.

1. Reliability – How long the system can operate without failure is shown by this metric. Reliability testing is performed to lessen the frequency of unscheduled application restarts.
   • To measure reliability, you can count the number of bugs found in the production environment, or by load testing that checks how the software functions when the load is high. Regression testing is also useful to verify the number of defects. 
2. Performance Efficiency – It describes how quickly a system can respond to a request for action. It can be measured using following metrics:
   • Stress Testing: To identify the upper limit of the system capacity. 
   • Soak Testing: To check how long a system can handle a certain load. 
   • Performance Monitoring: Detailed metrics as per the user’s perspective. 
3. Security – Security refers to a system’s capacity to keep sensitive data safe from prying eyes or accidental deletion.
   • Scanning the entire application will reveal how many security flaws are there. The vulnerability count can be used as a positive or negative indicator of overall security.
4. Maintainability – System adaptability refers to how simple it is to make changes to the program, use it for other purposes, hand it over to a different development team, or adjust it to suit changing business needs.
   • A simple way to review the code maintainability is to check the number of lines of the code in each file. Many times, it becomes complex to debug the code if it has more lines. So, less complex code is easy to maintain.  
5. The Rate of Delivery – The rate at which software is released is also an essential metric to track.
   • The key metric to review how often a client is receiving updates is to check the number of software releases.   

1.6 Incorporate Agile Methodologies into Software Testing

In software development, the Agile approach is followed by the Agile testing practices. Throughout each phase of a sprint, Agile development teams make revisions to improve the project. Agile testing is concerned with maintaining a high standard throughout the entire Agile development cycle.

Principles of Agile Testing:

Principles	Advantages
Early and continuous testing	Software testers should be involved in the development process as early as possible. The program should be tested regularly while it is being developed.
Collective effort	When using an agile testing methodology, everyone on the team must take responsibility for the final quality of the product. Software engineers, QA specialists, BAs, and Product owners all fall under this category.
Close collaboration	In an agile project, every individual in the team works closely with one another. That way, there will be no unexpected developments and everyone will be on the same page.
Customer Involvement	Agile testing encourages continuous participation from the customers. They give input after each cycle, which the team uses to keep improving.
Process Improvement	Each iteration is an opportunity for agile teams to improve their testing practices. Process improvement also provides a great learning experience which can not be found in any documentation or tutorials.
Adaptable approach	Agile software development allows us a lot of liberty. At any point during the testing process, teams can modify the conditions as needed.

1.7 Combining Automated Testing and Manual Testing

Preferably, your quality assurance (QA) testing process should include both automated and manual testing. The trick is to establish which form of test is best appropriate for each element and phase of the product’s development.

Manual testing enables you to test against a diverse set of situations and scenarios. The QA testers’ comments on the app’s experience and usability are crucial. For the testing process, usability testing and ad hoc testing as well as manual tests are ideal. Manual tests should preferably be carried out by highly skilled and professional testers who represent a variety of end-user profiles and have experience with different devices and operating systems.

Manual testing can be enhanced with frequent automated tests to save time during the testing process. When performing white box testing, load tests, and other types of performance testing, automation is the most suitable method.

All repetitive tests should be automated. Automation testing is a convenient, and dependable option when it comes to analyzing whether your software functions properly on a technical level.

If automation falls short in meeting all of your testing requirements, then you can use crowdtesting to augment in-house manual testing. This strategy enables rapid testing of your product on a much wider scale.

1.8 Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment

From the standpoint of the QA team, there are several benefits of continuous integration and continuous deployment. One of its major benefits is the ability to quickly obtain a build that includes the most recent additions or fixes.

Continuous Integration is the automatic and immediate technique for testing any change made to your codebase. Continuous Deployment is the process of pushing these changes to a staging or production system. It simultaneously activates Continuous Integration and adding continuous delivery would enhance the overall speed and efficiency of the process. 

Your development team may have several Git branches relating to different features over the development cycle, but only one branch includes the most up-to-date code. When the code is modified, the CI tool verifies this branch and generates a new build, which is then shared with the selected stakeholders.

1.9 Adopt a Two-Tier Approach to Test Automation

This QA best practice is implemented when working with significant modifications in the original code. For instance, the developer who had made exhaustive changes has now moved to a different project. In such cases, the project suffers a delay. The Quality Assurance team is not aware of what testing tools and QA processes were used. Hence all the tests need to be performed again.

So a two-tier approach is introduced, where you apply automation tools to augment the testing processes. As a result, the two-tiered approach is in two directions. Tier one implies every contribution to the codebase. It also enables quick verification of developer changes. This needs to be performed with all sanity testing and ad-hoc testing that takes some extra minutes to complete but they ensure good results. The test process in tier two goes through regression tests. You can schedule it to run at night with added test coverage. It is a challenging task to choose which tier should perform which type of software QA testing.

1.10 Implement Exploratory and Ad-hoc Testing

Exploratory testing involves simultaneous learning, test design, and execution. It requires testers to have expertise, insight, and creativity to find bugs. Tests for exploratory purposes are conceived and executed on the spot. The outcomes are then analyzed and applied to future test planning and, possibly to issue fixes.

Ad-hoc testing is about performing random testing without any plan. It does not follow any documentation to perform the activity. 

The methods are highly effective for testing application usability since they mimic actual user actions. Rapid evaluation of the system is possible with this method, allowing for timely response and the identification of test areas.

Here is what a Quora User has to say about Exploratory and Ad-hoc Testing:

1.11 Conduct Risk-based Testing

Another QA best practice for software testing you must implement is to list all the risks and prioritize test executions based on them. We can say that it is one of the most important aspects of agile methodology which cannot be neglected.

If you’re still confused, here is a simple answer by a techie on Quora to revolutionize risk-based testing, have a look:

Risk-based testing is a methodology for detecting the most critical hazards throughout the testing process. This technique involves identifying project risks, prioritizing them, and arranging the testing process accordingly. This enables QA engineers to focus on the most significant risks that might hurt the product’s overall performance.

It is beneficial for both the QA department and customers. The QA department incorporates a risk-based testing strategy early in the software development process; they may ease the code architecture and make the product simpler to test.

When testing engineers take a risk-based approach, they focus on the most likely issues that may arise during product use. As a result, it contributes to the reduction of the spectrum of testing operations.

When a QA team uses a risk-based testing strategy, they focus on the functionalities that are most likely to encounter errors. This enhances the customer experience. Thus, you may obtain a high-quality product if you lack the resources necessary to test the product’s performance thoroughly.

1.12 Frequent Regression Testing in the Development Process

In the software development lifecycle, numerous types of testing are conducted. The QA specialists must understand which bugs to report, what information to include in those reports, and how to structure them effectively. It also shows if you need to change the QA testing methods. 

Conventional methods like black-box testing or white-box testing have now changed. There are other additional methods which include load testing, stress testing, and other QA best practices for software testing. In addition, the customer and the QA team must agree on the conditions of the testing environment and the much-needed frequency of regression testing and retesting.

Not only that, regression testing offers numerous advantages for both the QA team and the customers.

For the QA department, Regression testing includes documenting the process of performing autotests in detail. This documentation provides system specifications, test designs, bug reports, operator findings, and other information about the software. Not only testing engineers but also developers and stakeholders may make use of this information.

Another significant benefit of regular regression testing is that it enables testing engineers to ensure that new product features do not impact the stability of the core program, which is critical for maintaining a high level of product quality.

For the customers, Updates have the potential to introduce flaws in a software product. Regression testing assists quality assurance engineers in reducing the number of problems in a product.

Automated tests enable quality assurance experts to accelerate quality assurance reviews and ease the software upgrade process.

Further Read – What is Regression Testing: Types and Techniques

1.13 Utilize Test Management Tools Effectively

Software testing solutions, known as test management tools, facilitate the testing process for quality assurance and software testing teams. Such tools may be used with your existing software, including your test automation frameworks, continuous integration and delivery tools, and bug-tracking software.

You’ll need to choose between an open-source platform, which costs less but has fewer features and less support, and a commercial platform, which is faster, easier to use, has more features, and more cost. Smaller businesses often find luck with open-source software.

Let’s go through the important software testing tools and their key functionalities.

Software Testing Tool	Key Functionalities
Selenium	Open source software testing framework. It can be used to build robust and browser-based regression automation tests. One can also distribute and manage tests on several machines or multiple environments from a central point.
Appium	Mostly used for Software Test Automation. Appium provides a set of tools that support UI automation in a standard way across any number of platforms. It requires advanced knowledge of Appium to set up and implement tests.
Katalon	Katalon is used to run the right tests at the right time with a dynamic test suite and smart test scheduling. It can auto capture test objects, and their properties. One can easily analyze failed tests with this tool.
TestRail	TestRail transforms the testing into a centralized, scalable process. This tool provides informative dashboard, metrics, and activity reports.

Other than these tools, Zephyr, SpiraTest, TestPad, Xray, Tuskr, and many more are also used for Software testing. So, before selecting any tool, read all its features, advantages, and limitations; and select the best-fit one that you can utilize effectively.  

1.14 Test Across Multiple Browsers and Devices

Testing your new product/service/website on a wide variety of browsers and devices is essential. Avoid having your site load normally for Android users while leaving iPhone users with an indefinite loading screen. More favorable comments and participation from your audience will result from testing your content on all the most popular browsers and devices.

BrowserStack is a good tool to test applications across multiple devices. Let’s see some of its features and benefits: 

• BrowserStack is a cloud-based tool. 
• It can be used to test the code across 3000+ real devices and browsers. 
• It supports automated as well as manual testing. 
• One can also test the application in multiple resolutions as well. 
• Compatibility of the browser can also be tested using browserstack. 

1.15 Hold On to Peer Reviews Quite Often

It is said to be a good practice in software development to take peer reviews periodically. The main reason for taking peer review is to know what the competitors think of your product and what is their take on it. This method enables continuous verification, that all changes have been made and that the installation has fulfilled your specific requirements. It also benefits your team by exposing each member to different projects and groups regularly, providing continuous learning and growth opportunities. 

Now that you have surpassed the first layer – the physical layer, you can skip testing and correcting codes. You don’t have to make it complex, just simply utilize the development tools and start executing the plan as per the scope of the work, a collaboration between teams, documentation, changes and modifications, and deployment procedures.

1.16 Adhere to Industry Compliance

A business must know and understand the standard measures of compliance. Every sector or industry has its own set of rules and laws that firms must follow to protect their company’s data as well as consumers’ data. Speaking of compliance acts, you can never forget the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) act that aims to protect the personal data of EU residents to ensure the safety of their citizens and their country. For the healthcare sector, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) safeguards patients’ health information in the United States.

 The banking sector, specifically the Payment Card sector has the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Act that safeguards customers’ payment card information globally. To guarantee that a product fulfills all criteria, quality assurance teams must do compliance testing.

1.17 Conduct External Quality Review

It is always a good way of making your app better and more efficient. Take a second view of your product or set some fresh eyes to review it, which can turn out to be beneficial in software development. You can choose to invite an independent specialist to analyze your software code and perform a technical assessment as a project manager, product owner, team lead, or business owner.

They should know a basic summary and consider ideas for the team to improve their performance. While such a step is primarily intended for software developers, it will also aid QAs greatly. After all, both developers and testers are working towards achieving high-quality code.

1.18 Continuously Improve the QA Process

The Continuous Improvement Process (CIP) refers to the never-ending quest for betterment in any area of operation. Based on the Shewhart Cycle (Plan, Do, Study, Act), this four-step method systematically plans, sequences, and implements improvement actions using data.

Plan	Plan for the improvement and identify the possible opportunities.
Do	Implement the identified changes.
Study	Review the changes and study whether it has desired outcomes.
Act	If successful, then implement across all the processes. Else, Study further for the improvement.

Teams can use the data gathered from quality assurance as a springboard for ongoing progress. Also, they can identify defects and ineffective processes. The fix isn’t just meant to stop faulty functions from deployment, but it is also crucial to remove the factors that cause these errors. The concept of constant improvement comes into play here. The group conducts in-depth research into the issue at hand and comes up with ideas on how to improve efficiency.

1.19 Utilize Crowdtesting Approach

One other aspect of the quality assurance process is Crowdtesting. This approach involves a company or organization using a group of engineers to test their software to increase release velocity. 

Crowdtesting has various benefits like: 

• One can create a team with diverse software testers to bring a diverse set of perspectives to the process like different levels of expertise, unique experiences, etc. This can increase the effectiveness of the testing process. 
• Crowdtesting can be beneficial in reducing the overall process time. It can lead to quicker results and productivity. 
• Crowdtesting is a cost-effective approach as the particular group can solve the queries faster and help in improving the Software Testing Life Cycle (STLC) process. 

1.20 Manage and Maintain Documentation

Every step of the software testing process should be meticulously recorded. It can include test plans, test cases, defect reports, or any other thing that is written by the QA team.

Each of these documents has a specific structure and set of requirements that must be met for them to be effectively built and managed. To ensure that the developers do not miss any bugs, all bugs should be recorded and reported. Documentation is also useful in later phases of the project: if a bug that was previously detected and addressed reappears, this knowledge will enable developers to fix it faster this time. Additionally, documentation assists testers by demonstrating that they carry out their responsibilities diligently.

However, high-quality documentation is more important than just documentation. If testers ambiguously report issues, developers and project managers will spend more time attempting to understand the problem rather than fixing it. However, if the documentation procedure is clear and rigorous, it becomes easier and more efficient for everyone to understand the process.

2. Conclusion

This long-form article is to help you understand all the QA best practices for software testing involved in making high-quality applications. You may find multiple quality management tricks in abundance but which one to trust is a matter of intelligence. All you need to do is draft a test strategy, manage quality standards, and check the product from the user’s perspective. Do it by performing continuous testing and quality control measures. The software team should ensure that it meets all the requirements and that the developed software product is of higher quality. Let’s follow these best practices for software testing to save time in the repetitive development process.

FAQ

How can I improve my QA performance?

Follow these steps to improve QA performance:

• Set specific guidelines to reduce errors.
• Focus on the QA environment.
• Enhance collaboration with developers.

What makes a good QA test plan?

A good test plan specifies clear goals, boundaries, and testing methods thoroughly. Test types, levels, and settings are just a few important things it must address. A good QA test plan is logical and practical. It consists of attainable goals and takes into account limited resources.

What are the 4 pillars of quality assurance?

There are four primary aspects of quality management: quality control planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement. However, those who work in manufacturing have a more detailed understanding of what these factors mean for their business as a whole. Therefore, define your needs and then choose wisely.