Top Mistakes QA Make While Estimating and How to Avoid Them (2024)

As a QA professional, one of the crucial tasks is providing accurate time estimates for testing tasks. Estimating is not an easy task as it requires a deep understanding of the project, testing objectives, and scope of work. Despite the challenges, some mistakes QA makes while giving estimations. In this blog, we will discuss the biggest mistakes QA make while giving estimation and how to avoid them.

1. Not considering dependencies: QA often overlooks dependencies while estimating testing time. Dependencies are factors that can affect the progress of the testing process, such as the availability of the environment, the completion of development, or testing on multiple platforms. QA should consider all the dependencies before providing any estimation.

Solution: QA should have a clear understanding of the project's dependencies and discuss them with the team to create a realistic timeline.

2. Not including contingency: Contingency is an essential aspect of any estimation. Many QA makes the mistake of not including contingency time while estimating. Contingency time is used to deal with unforeseen issues, such as bugs or unexpected delays.

Solution: QA should always include contingency time in their estimations. Typically, 10-20% of the total time can be allocated to contingency.

3. Underestimating the complexity of testing: QA often underestimates the complexity of the testing process, leading to inaccurate estimations. They may overlook the effort required for testing specific features, which can impact the overall timeline of the project.

Solution: To avoid underestimation, QA should analyze the complexity of each testing task and account for the effort required for testing specific features. They can use past experience and industry best practices to make a realistic estimate.

4. Not involving the development team: Sometimes QA makes the mistake of not involving the development team while providing estimation. This leads to unrealistic timelines and an incomplete understanding of the project requirements.

Solution: QA should collaborate with the development team to understand the scope of work, technical requirements, and deadlines. It helps in making a realistic estimation and ensures that everyone is on the same page.

5. Overestimating the testing time: QA sometimes overestimates the testing time, leading to a longer project duration and wasting time.

Solution: QA should have a clear understanding of the project scope, deliverables, and objectives to avoid overestimation. They can also use past project data to make more accurate estimates.

Conclusion:

Estimating is an essential task for QA professionals, and avoiding the above-mentioned mistakes can help in providing accurate estimations. QA should understand the project's dependencies, include contingency time, analyze the complexity of testing, collaborate with the development team, and avoid overestimation. By avoiding these mistakes, QA can make accurate estimations and ensure smooth project delivery.

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