ScienceSoft Global
How to Improve the Software QA Process
#1 Guide for QA Managers
Relying on the experience in software testing since 1989 and QA consulting since 2002, ScienceSoft helps companies improve their QA processes to build top-quality software.
QA Process Improvement in a Nutshell
QA process improvement involves analyzing software requirements and the established QA process, detecting bottlenecks in the QA process and identifying ways of improving the existing QA process and, as a result, the overall software development process.
- Timing: 2–4 weeks.
- Possible team members: QA consultant, QA manager, test engineer, test automation engineer.
ScienceSoft leverages 24 years of experience in QA consulting and an extensive pool of QA experts to help businesses make their QA processes smooth and cost-effective.
How to Improve QA Process in 4 Steps
The number and scale of changes required to enhance a software quality assurance process vary from case to case and depend on the software complexity and the current QA maturity level. Below, we present common steps that ScienceSoft’s QA specialists take to improve customers’ QA processes.
1. Analyze software requirements
A QA consultant analyzes functional and non-functional requirements of software under development, spots and eliminates unclear and contradicting requirements. As a result, future testing activities and the whole development process become more consistent.
2. Analyze existing QA process
The QA consultant examines the existing QA process to reveal its main flaws (e.g., insufficient or poor-quality project documentation, inadequate automation share, and poor communication between testing and development teams) and determines its maturity level.
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Best practice: ScienceSoft employs globally recognized or custom QA maturity models to assess the existing QA maturity level. |
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3. Prepare a QA process improvement plan
ScienceSoft’s QA team considers all the flaws in the QA process revealed during the analysis to plan improvements. Planning activities include:
- Developing a comprehensive QA strategy with measures to improve the QA process.
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Best practice: In ScienceSoft’s projects, we usually plan the following measures and activities to enhance a QA process:
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- Identifying risks related to changes in the QA process (e.g., insufficient regression time, unrecognized metrics) and creating a risk mitigation plan.
- Deciding on the optimal team size.
- Defining timelines for improvements implementation.
- Preparing test environments, test cases, and test data, configuring test automation tools, etc.
- Reviewing existing QA metrics and introducing additional metrics.
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Best practice: At ScienceSoft, we usually compare the following metrics before and after introducing improvements:
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4. Implement and monitor QA process improvements
ScienceSoft’s QA team incrementally introduces necessary improvements to the QA process according to the defined roadmap, continuously tracks relevant QA metrics, assesses the QA maturity level, and outlines a path for new changes, if necessary.
Consider Professional Services for QA Process Improvement
QA Consulting
Get your QA processes going like clockwork! We analyze your software requirements, assess your QA maturity level, and provide a detailed action plan to achieve and maintain a game-changing QA process.
QA Outsourcing
We take care of the entire QA process, from software requirements and risk analysis to the QA process setup, implementation, and control. We also continuously analyze and improve the QA and testing processes.
Why Choose ScienceSoft for QA Process Improvement
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QA Process Improvement: Success Stories by ScienceSoft
QA Consulting and Testing of Web Applications for Insurance Claim Estimation
ScienceSoft helped increase the Customer’s QA maturity level and improve the efficiency and flexibility of the testing process. As a result, the Customer managed to release fully functional application builds every 2–4 weeks.
QA Process Improvement and Automated Testing for a Multinational Automotive Software Company
ScienceSoft established a QA process strategy from scratch to ensure relevant control over the development and testing processes of the Customer’s CRM product. Also, ScienceSoft’s QA team provided automated performance and functional CRM testing.
QA Process Improvement for a Global Provider of Security Audit and Compliance Services
ScienceSoft’s team assisted the Customer in designing a profound QA strategy to test their updated product. Consequently, the Customer managed to test multiple aspects of the solution within a tight project deadline and make sure that updated software complied with the new environment.
Roles on ScienceSoft’s QA Teams
The QA team composition depends on the scale of improvements needed and if testing activities will be outsourced to the team. ScienceSoft’s QA teams generally include the following roles.
QA Consultant
- Analyzes software requirements and the existing QA process.
- Considers possible risks related to changes in the QA process and creates a risk mitigation plan.
- Works out a strategy with improvements ideas for the QA process to reach the required maturity level.
QA Manager
- Draws up a test plan according to the required changes in the QA process.
- Controls the testing team and the test design process.
- Provides regular reports to the customer and ensures that planned goals are reached.
QA Test Engineer
- Prepares test data, writes test cases, and executes tests.
- Reports found bugs.
QA Automation Test Engineer
- Writes and executes automated test scripts when improvements in the QA process require automation.
- Reports found bugs.
Sourcing Models for QA Process Improvement
A QA manager and a QA team are all in-house
- Full control over the QA improvement process.
- High requirements to an in-house QA team.
- Significant staff and training costs.
- Lack of the team’s scalability.
A QA manager is in-house and a QA team is partly or completely outsourced
- Opportunity to scale the QA team up and down.
- Balanced QA process improvement expenses.
- High requirements to an in-house QA manager.
A QA manager and a QA team are outsourced
- Experienced QA management.
- A QA team scalable to your needs.
- Possibility to hand over the whole QA process to experts.
- Risk of choosing an unprofessional vendor.
How Much Does It Cost to Improve Your QA Process?
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The costs of QA process improvement depends on the following factors:
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Tools We Use to Improve and Run a QA Process
ScienceSoft usually employs the following tools that enable an effective QA process.
Web application testing tools
- Selenium
- Protractor
- Ranorex
- TestComplete
- XCTest
Mobile application testing tools
- Appium
- Calabash
- Espresso
Performance testing tools
- Apache JMeter
- LoadRunner
- Gatling
- Locust
API testing tools
- SoapUI
- Postman
- REST-assured
Security testing tools
- HCL AppScan
- Nessus Professional
- Nmap
- BurpSuite
- Acunetix
CI/CD tools
- GitLab CI/CD
- Jenkins
- Bamboo
- TeamCity
- Travis CI
- Drone CI
Test management and defect tracking software
- Jira
- Zephyr
- Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS)
- Azure DevOps
- TestRail
- Bugzilla
- LogiGear
- BMC Compuware
- Micro Focus Quality Center
Remote communication tools
- TeamViewer
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Zoom
- GoToMeeting
