Software development is a complex job that demands rapid development cycles and quick time to market. And with the codependencies involved and the focus on each core application feature, hiring a QA team isn’t a luxury anymore but a necessity.
In fact, the global software testing and quality assurance market size is expected to reach $90.39 billion by 2030. And speaking in qualitative terms comes the big question:
Why is a quality assurance tester needed on a software development team?
In this blog, I’ll discuss the basics of QA testing and why they are important for development teams.
What is QA testing?
QA testing analyzes your software to ensure its quality, functionality, and performance are up to the mark.
The process involves identifying defects, validating compliance and development requirements, and improving the user experience.
QA testing is incorporated into the software development lifecycle to detect and fix defects, ensure software quality, enhance user satisfaction, and alleviate risks.
QA and agile development teams use functional, regression, and performance testing to deliver high-quality tools and exceptional user experiences.
Suppose a development team is working on an e-commerce website, and a simple feature allows users to add items to their shopping cart. QA testers will write test cases to verify this feature. They might:
- Functional Test: Check if an item can be added to the cart smoothly.
- Boundary Test: See if the limits work appropriately by adding no items or the maximum number of items in the cart.
- Usability Test: Ensure the “Add to Cart” button is prominent and responsive.
- Performance Test: Test how the cart feature performs during sessions of heavy traffic, i.e., many users adding items simultaneously.
- Security Test: Ensure sensitive data, such as pricing, discount offers, quantity, etc., cannot be manipulated or changed by users.
If any one or more of the above tests fail, QA reports the issue to developers for correction before the website goes live.
This process helps catch bugs and glitches early and improves the overall quality of the end product.
Why is a Quality Assurance Tester Needed on a Software Development Team?
QA testers are involved in more than testing prototypes and tools or writing test cases. Here are the reasons why is a quality assurance tester needed on a software development team.
Catching and preventing bugs
One of the foremost and most obvious reasons why a QA tester is needed in a development team—identifying and preventing bugs in the application before launch.
Bugs, from minor glitches to critical functional errors, can make the software unusable. QA testers systematically examine the software to spot these issues early.
Testers thoroughly review the software to catch bugs, such as crashes, freezes, or unexpected performance, and ensure it performs as intended.
QA testers help prevent minor issues from becoming more significant problems. This is why fixing bugs early in development is more cost-effective than waiting until after release.
Verifying core features and performance standards
Every project has specific functional and non-functional requirements noted in the development timeline. Functional requirements define what the software should do, while non-functional requirements explain elements like speed, security, and ease of use.
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QA testers perform functional testing to certify that all specified features work as expected. They test all individual components and note how they interact with each other.
Testers also perform security and performance testing to ensure that all the core features are functional, secure, usable and meet user expectations.
Improving the user experience
User experience is all about creating a tool that users will enjoy and continue using. A good UX leads to higher satisfaction, retention, and a better brand image.
Although they aren’t directly involved in improving UX, testers probe user interactions to identify usability issues, such as uneven navigation or unintuitive design.
By testing the tools from a user’s perspective, testers help refine the product’s user-friendliness and can provide valuable feedback to improve the overall UX.
Testing compatibility across platforms
With the total number of mobile phones expected to reach 18.22 billion by 2025 (not counting tablets, browsers, and connected devices), testing compatibility across platforms is becoming more challenging than ever.
Performance testers conduct cross-platform testing to check how the software operates on different devices and operating systems to catch platform-specific issues.
Moreover, it’s crucial to inspect browser compatibility across different platforms, particularly for web applications.
Testers verify that the software performs smoothly on different browsers to reach a broader audience.
Confirming security measures
According to research, the number of data breaches increased by 200% between 2013 and 2022. Hence, security is a priority for the software development business.
QA testers play a crucial role in validating the software’s security. Testers look for potential vulnerabilities in the code that malicious attempts could exploit.
Furthermore, testers also see that sensitive information is protected, ensuring user data remains secure and confidential.
Ensuring compliance with industry standards
Software applications must meet industry standards in almost all major industries worldwide.
A QA tester might ensure compliance with industry standards like ISO/IEC 25010, which defines software quality.
For example, during testing, they would check that an ecommerce platform complies with usability standards. It has clear and seamless navigation, accessible design elements, and a smooth checkout process.
This helps the project manager see that the software aligns with industry-recognized quality metrics, making it more user-friendly and reliable for the end users.
Enabling continuous improvement
QA testers go the extra mile beyond identifying and catching bugs. They also look for opportunities to help the software evolve.
Testers give constructive feedback to developers, allowing the team to learn from previous issues and improve the software with relevant updates and add-ons.
Additionally, professionals often create automated test scripts as development blueprints that can be reused, making future testing cycles more efficient and saving time.
Saving time and money in the long run
It’s a common misconception in the digital transformation business that QA testing is an added cost. However, it actually helps reduce costs and save time over the long term.
By catching issues early, testers and engineers prevent expensive future fixes and updates and ensure smoother, faster development.
Second, thorough testing helps the product launch quickly, allowing the company to cater to the needs of its audience at the right time.
Final Thoughts
This concludes our guide on why is a quality assurance tester needed on a software development team.
Their role in identifying and catching bugs and glitches, verifying core features and performance standards, improving the user experience, testing compatibility across various platforms, confirming security protocols, ensuring compliance with industry regulations, encouraging continuous improvement, and saving time and money in the long run, indicates that their importance in software development is not overstated.
So, whether you have an in-house software quality assurance team or you’ve hired an experienced technology solutions provider for your next project, the answer is clear.
QA testing is downright essential for your software project’s success.
