Overcoming challenges in QA operations

Overcoming challenges in QA operations

QA is an essential component for the success of any project. Lack of QA process and skill can become a great hindrance to the overall success of the project and thereby of the organization. There is constant advancement in technologies & tools that can enable the QA process to impove and become better and thereby set an agreeable KPI for the project. It becomes very challenging for Testers to stay aligned with the new and best practices for quick, accurate testing in a highly competitive market. Lets look at some aspects which when taken care can become key factors to the success of the project.

Proper planning:

There is a saying that when you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Planning always helps to keep the expectations and deadline in focus and ensures a timely release and a very happy customer.

When QA team and managers prepare and execute strategic plans and follow up on it they ensure a successful & thorough testing is done.

Keeping a close tab on the requirements & scope changes:

Normally scope changes during the sprint cycle can cause great damage to the project execution. Infact we can take that in the next sprint rather. If planned well the frequent change requests during the sprint cycles can reduce and priorities can be set during the sprint cycle. The change requests needs to be managed and addressed with the client and testing needs to be done based on a planned outcome with the product owner so that we can test these changes continuously and ensure quality outcomes

Automation avoiding regression cycles:

Frequent changes and fixes made by developers have to be tested. Automation enables that the bug fix or change does not affect the other features in the applicaiton. Test automation avoid breaking of the applicaiton and ensures smooth running of the application. Creating of test scripts and test automation addresses all the regression tests. The are key steps to the application.

Communication across teams:

Establishing communication between the product owner, scrum master, developers and testers using tools that enhances proper communication and accountability and transparency is established. A well-defined QA process and tool ensure proper communication among the Stakeholders and its a sure sign off at each and every milestone in the lifecycle of the testing process.

Upgrading Technical Skills:

The QA/Tester should upskill themselves and needs to have a proper exposure to the latest tools & technologies. Besides understanding the testing concepts. The testing team needs to undergoes training from time to time to keep abreast with the latest trends in QA/testing so that they can be technically competent to make the project successful. Having a more experienced testing team coupled with well-defined QA process to plan, execute and monitor the testing activities will ensure qualitative project delivery.