Quality assurance (QA) is a crucial part of any enterprise software development process, but it also involves many risks and challenges. How can you collaborate with other teams to mitigate QA risks and ensure a high-quality product? In this article, we will explore some strategies and best practices for effective QA collaboration across teams.
The first step to collaborate with other teams for QA is to identify who are the key stakeholders and what are their roles and responsibilities. QA stakeholders are not only the testers and developers, but also the product owners, business analysts, customers, users, and any other parties who have an interest or influence on the quality of the software. You should communicate with them regularly, understand their expectations and requirements, and involve them in the QA planning and feedback process.
On a major financial software project, our QA team initially focused on technical specs, working closely with developers and the product owner. We missed engaging broader stakeholders, overlooking regulatory and user experience aspects. A business analyst's feedback on regulatory compliance and user testing revealed usability issues, highlighting our QA process's narrow scope. We expanded stakeholder engagement to include compliance officers, customer service, and users, establishing regular feedback mechanisms and enhancing communication. This approach ensured the software met technical, regulatory, and user needs, teaching us the importance of considering diverse perspectives in QA to deliver true value.
The next step is to define the QA standards and processes that will guide the collaboration and ensure consistency and quality across teams. QA standards and processes include the quality criteria, testing methods, tools, documentation, reporting, and metrics that will be used to measure and improve the quality of the software. You should align the QA standards and processes with the project goals, scope, and timeline, and make sure they are clear, agreed upon, and followed by all the teams involved.
In one project, we realized our QA processes were misaligned with the development team's agile methodology, leading to delays and frustrations. We convened a cross-functional workshop to redefine our QA standards, focusing on integration with agile practices. By adopting tools and metrics that supported faster testing cycles and continuous feedback, we bridged the gap between QA and development. This change facilitated smoother releases and significantly improved product quality. The experience underscored the importance of aligning QA processes with the broader team's methodology to enhance efficiency and outcomes.
Another way to collaborate with other teams for QA is to share the QA resources and knowledge that can help each other perform better and faster. QA resources and knowledge include the test cases, test data, test environments, test automation scripts, test results, bug reports, best practices, lessons learned, and any other information or assets that can support the QA activities. You should use common platforms, tools, and channels to share the QA resources and knowledge, and encourage feedback and learning among the teams.
In an effort to enhance collaboration and efficiency across our QA and development teams, we implemented a shared repository for all QA-related resources, including test cases, automation scripts, and bug reports. We encouraged teams to contribute to and utilize this knowledge base, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement. This initiative not only streamlined our QA processes but also significantly reduced redundancies and accelerated the identification and resolution of bugs.
A key aspect of QA collaboration is to coordinate the QA activities and schedules among the teams to avoid conflicts, dependencies, delays, and duplication. QA activities and schedules include the test planning, execution, review, and release phases, as well as the milestones, deadlines, and deliverables that are associated with them. You should use project management tools, calendars, and meetings to coordinate the QA activities and schedules, and communicate any changes or issues promptly and clearly.
You may want to implement a centralized schedule for QAs activities that is shared across all team involved and ask each team lead to plan against it. This can help you avoid downtime and maintain high quality. In the end, mitigating QA risks is not just about processes and tools but also about how teams work together in a coordinated way.
The final step to collaborate with other teams for QA is to resolve any QA issues and conflicts that may arise during the development process. QA issues and conflicts include the bugs, defects, errors, gaps, discrepancies, and disagreements that may affect the quality of the software or the collaboration among the teams. You should use issue tracking tools, escalation procedures, and negotiation skills to resolve the QA issues and conflicts, and seek feedback and improvement opportunities.
By following these steps, you can collaborate with other teams to mitigate QA risks and deliver a high-quality enterprise software product that meets the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.