Quality Assurance: Before we proceed, let me verify the quality first

Written by: Sadikchha Chapagain , Software Engineer, QA

Every time you think of buying a new gadget, you probably examine its features and storage capabilities. You probably assess its overall functionality and ensure it’s a worthy investment, right?

But I imagine if the item you recently bought turned out to be a total disappointment, it didn't meet your expectations. How would that make you feel, realizing that your money was essentially wasted?

Would you repeatedly shop at the same store if they sold you products with defects? We all certainly engage in the practice of researching and checking reviews before making a purchase. It's a common approach to ensure that the product lives up to its claims and meets our expectations.

Whether it's the clothes you wear, the food you consume, or the applications you use, the essence of everything lies in its quality.

Well, I believe that the initial step towards becoming a Software Quality Assurance Engineer is developing the ability to empathize with the end users. This entails understanding how they perceive the user experience, design, and overall functionality of the application. It involves understanding the potential impact of the software on its users.

The core purpose of the existence of software is to address real-life problems and fundamentally simplify human lives.

The satisfaction derived from realizing that your capability to identify issues early and in every phase of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) can significantly improve the lives of customers and end users is gratifying.

Balancing perspectives in QA and development

However, the challenge arises because Quality Assurance engineers are typically focused on identifying problems, while software engineers are geared toward finding solutions. In simpler terms, developers envision building something, while QA engineers focus on the weaknesses unless the software demonstrates its reliability.

It's not easy to communicate that someone’s creation is good while expressing the belief that there is the potential to achieve something even better or find defects in something they've invested considerable effort in. Imagine preparing a full-course meal for your family, spending hours on the recipe, and— you receive criticism instead of appreciation. Ouch!

The most essential aspect is that we cannot compromise when it comes to software that can impact hundreds and thousands of individuals. It is crucial to align and unite as a team, working towards a common goal to address something larger than ourselves.

Please don’t ask us questions like “Is the software bug-free now?” Well, it’s not.?

“Software can never be completely bug-free."?

That's what makes the job of a quality assurance engineer all the more challenging and rewarding. Software always needs updates to ensure compatibility with evolving hardware and software environments. The new addition of the feature might have the possibility of giving birth to a bug, or the edge case that gets disregarded might have the potential to crash the application.

The only thing that we can do is reduce the number of bugs.?

Feedback, software quality, and iterative excellence

Ultimately, it revolves around meeting the customer's requirements and prioritizing their needs. Our primary focus is on their happiness, and listening attentively to their opinions is crucial.

As a QA, it's essential to acknowledge that even minor color adjustments matter when the client or customer expresses dissatisfaction. Your role empowers you to advocate for their preferences and ensure the software aligns with their vision.

The most important skill is the ability to listen. While we enjoy speaking and being the center of attention, what holds greater significance is actively listening to others, ensuring they feel acknowledged and heard. Software development thrives on iteration, and the more constructive feedback we receive, the higher the overall quality becomes.

Quality assurance plays a very important role in providing high-quality products and services. The QA (Quality Assurance) process entails various responsibilities such as requirement analysis, bug tracking, test planning, automation, performance testing, regression testing, collaboration with different team members, continuous improvement feedback, user experience (UX) testing, documentation and so much more.

QA processes vary for each application, as every software is different.

QA holds the power to successfully know the potential risks and address bugs ahead of the application's launch, which helps build quality products and services, helps gain customer loyalty, and a competitive positioning of the company for long-term success.

After all, we lean towards repeatedly choosing a store that consistently offers quality products.

Lastly, hats off to the development team here at Leapfrog, even though they may not entirely agree with our suggestions, classifying it as a bug rather than a feature ;). Nevertheless, they still chose to move forward with us as a united team. We sincerely value what you contribute!

We are in this together ????

Furthermore, we can’t proceed with that build without verifying its quality first.?

And, here’s the bug ??

Thank you!