Software Quality Assurance Definition, Types & Roles

Learn what software quality assurance is, what are the different types and activities associated with software quality assurance.

What Exactly Is Software Quality Assurance?

Software quality assurance (QA) ensures that all computer programs or system aspects meet set standards and are technically correct. All code adheres to ISO 9000, CMMI, TMMI, and best practices.

The QA team collaborates closely with the development teams to guarantee that the application is delivered in a high-quality manner.

What Exactly Is The Objective Of Software Quality Assurance?

Software quality assurance is a dependable method for creating high-quality software. There should be little rationale for not wanting high-quality software. It’s objectives are:

1. Save Time and Money

First and foremost, a high-quality software solution will help you save time and money. One of your primary objectives as a business is to produce a product that people desire to buy. Software quality assurance can ensure that your good, or software product, is worth buying if you’re developing software.

The trouble with a product that isn’t worth buying is that you lose money in manufacturing or software testing, and you don’t receive a penny of it back if you don’t make a profit.

Similarly, delivering a high-quality product means less maintenance in the long run because your software engineering product will be durable from the start. As a result, if the product requires any future maintenance, you can spend the least amount of time and money on it.

Overall, software quality assurance is vital to growing your organization and maintaining a positive brand image.

2. Providing Security

Software goods must provide security. You may use software with good functionality and flawless execution, but it may not be safe. There are always possibilities of security breaches in your software which can jeopardize the user data and the product’s trustworthiness. Software Quality Assurance plays a crucial role in ensuring security, and it helps in the timely discovery of security flaws in the initial stages of software development. 

3. Provide User Satisfaction

The development of the software constantly focuses on improving the product so that the user gets the optimum user experience. A software system with flaws and faults may annoy users and damage their experience. Quality Assurance engineers guarantee that the software is built without flaws and performs its intended tasks successfully. As a consequence, users receive a high-quality product that they like using.

What Are The Types Of Software Quality Testing?

Now the question is, how many different types of software quality testing are there? Yes, we have  listed a few for you below:

1. Accessibility testing

The practice of verifying that your mobile and online apps are functional and useful for users without and with disabilities such as vision impairment, hearing impairment, and other physical or cognitive issues is known as accessibility testing.

2. End to end testing

End-to-end software testing guarantees that the application’s workflow is thoroughly tested from start to finish to verify that everything works as expected.

3. Functional testing

Functional testing examines a program, site, or system to ensure that it is operating as it is required.

4. Interactive testing

Interactive testing, often known as manual testing, allows testers to build and facilitate manual tests for individuals who do not use automation and want to obtain data from external trials.

5. Integration testing

Integration testing verifies that an integrated system meets a set of criteria. It is performed in a hardware or software environment to guarantee that the entire system functions smoothly.

5. Load testing

Non-functional software testing examines how a software program operates when several people use it simultaneously.

6. Non-functional testing

This type of non-functional testing evaluates a system’s readiness based on non-functional criteria (performance, accessibility, user experience, and so on) that are never addressed by functional testing.

7. Performance Testing

Performance testing investigates a software application’s speed, stability, dependability, scalability, and resource utilization under a particular workload.

What Do Software Quality Assurance Engineers Do?

Here’s a list of typical QA specialist tasks; let’s break it down into points:

  • Examining the product to see if it meets the specifications
  • Identifying dangers
  • Conducting tests
  • Examining the results of the tests
  • Quality assurance professionals might specialize in various areas, including quality control, software testing, and others.

The primary purpose of quality assurance engineers is to eliminate defects. On the other hand, quality control specialists examine test findings and look for flaws. They are in charge of identifying and correcting deficiencies in a product.

Software testing is another subspecialty of quality assurance. A software tester verifies that the finished product is free of mistakes (bugs) and meets the requirements. 

What Are The Activities Associated With Software Quality Assurance?

1. SQA management strategy

First things first, create a testing plan that includes the application to be tested, software quality assurance methodologies to use, features to focus on, software quality assurance tasks to complete, tools to utilize, and a testing timeline, among other things. 

2. Preparing test cases

The second stage is to plan the test cases after obtaining the requirements. It outlines the steps that QA professionals will take to ensure the application’s operation. A software designer can get high-quality specifications by employing some software engineering techniques.

3. Designing a test

The team conducts the test cases to ensure that the solution is correctly built and meets all technical criteria. A multi-testing technique should be used to ensure that the software product is thoroughly evaluated from all sides to achieve the best possible outcome.

4. Bug detection and reporting

When a QA expert finds a bug, they are responsible for reporting it to a bug tracking system. Developers can track task updates in real-time using the correct software engineering applications, ensuring that quality improves during the software testing process.

5. Final inspection and verification

Developers are primarily responsible for this last phase. After the developer has resolved the problem, he must label it as resolved. The application should be re-run for final verification by a QA specialist.

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