First, let’s cover the basics. Software QA and software testing are not exactly the same, although they are interconnected on many levels.
SQA (Software Quality Assurance) is a process that employed to ensure that developed software meets technical requirements and complies with set standards of the industry. It is an ongoing process that incorporates in itself many methodologies and procedures, including software testing. QA is designed to tell if the product is being developed correctly and meets the required quality standards, such as functioning, performance security and others.

Meanwhile, software testing is the process of executing a system with the intent of finding defects. Traditionally, this process checks a fragment of software against some quantitative requirements, which means − finding bugs and defects. But over the past decade or so, the line between software testing and QA has blurred, and although they are still considered to be two distinct disciplines, you cannot but sometimes be confused, not knowing where one ends and the other begins.

In the interest of consistency and simplicity, we will discuss these two processes together as a combined service, without dealing with intricate differences. It also makes sense, because nowadays companies in the industry tend to position themselves as QA & Testing services providers, without separation of the two areas.

The Importance of Software Testing and QA

When we are dealing with any type of complex applications, there are numerous possibilities for mistakes and you would want to be able to get feedback on the system’s key business and technology elements. The importance of QA ultimately is in value. Companies wish to have products that will bring more benefits and will be a great asset for profit generation. Every mistake costs money, that is why evaluation of the product is such an essential component of the development lifecycle.
In software development, QA involves code inspection, statistical process control and many more processes. Each contributes to the overall quality of the end product.

Important software testing types

There are certain levels of software verification and validation that are crucial in quality assurance and are pretty much unavoidable.

• Unit testing deals with validating each individual fragment of the code separately, it is part of continuous integration and it’s performed repeatedly along the testing life cycle. In its essence, unit testing sets the stage for quality assurance. Today this process is commonly automated.
• Integration testing. After you’ve made sure that each module of the software works correctly, the next step is to ensure that all parts integrate and communicate with each properly and according to system requirements. Depending on the complexity and structure of the software, you might go about integration testing in different manners (top-down, bottom-up or big bang, where modules are checked as a whole). Defects found on this level are related to inter-process communication. Apart from testing the communication between software modules, this type of testing is also used to ensure the appropriate 3rd party integration, validating inputs/outputs between separate systems.
• System testing is where you evaluate the behavior of the entire application against business, system, and functional requirements. In order for this process to be effective, the testing environment needs to resemble the “natural” product environment. This helps to detect any system flaws that may arise under real conditions. The system testing stage is very time-consuming since the entire application is being checked from multiple perspectives. Although it is possible to reduce this time significantly by utilizing automated testing instead of performing it manually, especially when we are talking about processes that require a lot of repetition, such as regression testing on long lasting projects with hundreds of test cases.
• User acceptance testing, which is sometimes referred to as beta testing, is done right before the product release, and is performed by the target audience (i.e. client or end users). Here, user behavior allows detecting serious functional or user experience issues. Feedback is key for UAT, and its goal is to determine whether the software is actually usable and performs the expected way. The testing process is most commonly monitored by business analysts or UX specialists. If it is a public app that is tested, then the user is unprepared. In case it is enterprise-level software, then UAT can only start when the end user has been taught to work with the application. To achieve that, users either receive documentation or undergo some training. Apart from uncovering and fixing UX and functional bugs, user acceptance testing serves another purpose – it allows testing the end-user documentation and, if necessary, make some corrections and adjustments to it. So by the time UAT is finished, the documentation is expected to be tested as well.

Important software testing metrics

Metrics in software development mean the same as in any other area. Kilograms (or pounds) are metrics of mass, kilometers (miles) are metrics of distance.
Quality assurance has its own set of metrics, which help quantify the entire process and make it structured. The most basic test metrics include:

• number of requirements;
• average number of test cases written per requirement;
• total number of test cases written;
• number of cases executed;
• number of cases passed;
• number of cases failed;
• number of cases that were not executed;
• number of defects identified;
• number of critical defects found;
• and so on.

These figures are what in the end shows the quality of the software. Having a set of parameters against which the software is being tested allows us to determine what is wrong, to what degree and how we can fix it. As opposed to simply saying “it’s alright”.

The Changing Role of QA

In the past decade, the entire IT industry has undergone massive changes. With markets becoming more and more competitive each year and new trends emerging constantly, companies in this line of work had to adapt.

And with that, the entire software development industry has shifted, which is why QA needed also to change. The overall goal stayed the same, but the approach has turned more towards risk assessment since the development cycles have been shortened dramatically and all companies have moved towards agile methodologies. And although this shift in the QA industry might seem insignificant, what it means is that now there is a greater demand for quality assurance engineers capable of transmuting the test results into risk-based information, understandable for businesses. This creates an entirely new dynamic between companies when they are establishing partner relationships.

If you are in need of first-class software QA and testing services, you can always count on us. At Softvelopers we specialize in full-cycle software development and testing. From 360° testing to support and enhancements of 3rd party software, we cover the entire spectrum of services. We focus on best industry practices and guidelines, ensuring great long-term value for your company.