Software Quality Assurance is integral in the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle). Quality Assurance means ensuring product and service excellence for our customers. To complete the software testing process effectively, whereby increasing client confidence, company credibility, and the ability to thrive in a competitive environment, a QA strategy should be planned and implemented.

Best Software Quality Assurance Practices that can be part of the QA strategy are as below:

1. Developing Own QA Testing Strategies

We will be able to produce a quality app by using the right quality assurance testing methodology. The software quality depends not on testing but on the outcome of our QA tests and how we use this data. Our approach to QA testing needs to be adapted to the product you are developing.

2. Agile Methodology into Software Testing

With the change in the IT industry, most companies have shifted from the traditional waterfall development methodology to an agile process. The agile methodology incorporates a series of short development cycles, another best QA practice worth considering. Rather than being a separate phase, QA testing is a part of the design and development processes. It is a collaborative approach that requires designers, developers, the QA team, and sometimes even users to communicate or work together.

There can be some applications where Agile cannot be implemented. This is where point 1 comes into for such applications/software. 

3. Separate Teams for Testing Security and Performance

Application security versus performance testing requires two different skill sets. Security testing involves loopholes and vulnerabilities, simulating attacks and ethical hacking. Performance testing is all about benchmarking application behavior. Separating these teams avoids diluting each team member’s specialization and keeps both as sharp as possible.

4. Understanding the Target Audience

The Understanding of the target audience is also one of the important factors and should be considered. It will help improve the QA process. When we know who will use the actual end-product, we can improve the QA process to save time and money.

It is better for testers to connect with end-users, whether internal to the organization or external customers. This way, it will become helpful in uncovering the issues they run into when using the software and the features they would like to see added. That will help the team conduct testing from the end-user perspective, which counts most in delivering quality software. 

5. Right Testing Environment

A test environment plays a vital role in the quality of software. It provides accurate feedback about the quality and behavior of the application under test. To avoid developers and QA teams experiencing different application performance results, make sure the QA environment mimics the development environment. 

6. Testing Throughout the Cycle

The agile model aims to incorporate QA at each stage of the project’s lifecycle to identify issues as early as possible. The QA team tests and retests the product within each sprint with a new feature added. This allows validation that the new feature is implemented as expected and to identify any bug that has been introduced. This leads to time and cost savings.

7. Conduct Regression Testing

In the Agile method, code change is constantly in every sprint. Change in code to fix one problem can easily lead to another. One of the best practices to embrace is reusable regression tests. This ensures that the code added to fix one problem does not cause another. Regression tests can be reused for multiple cycles with minor changes if required.

8. Combine Automation and Manual Testing

Ideally, the Quality assurance testing methodology should combine automated and manual testing. The idea is to determine which type of test is more relevant for each aspect and stage of the product.

Manual testing allows you to explore a wide range of scenarios and conditions. The QA testers’ feedback regarding the app’s experience and feel will prove invaluable. Manual tests are preferable for exploratory, usability, and ad hoc testing.

Automation can help maximize the effectiveness of the QA team. Automation ensures that the previous deliverables continue to work while the QA team focuses on testing newly delivered features. Automation is mostly helpful in Regression testing.

9. Document Observations for Reports

Whether tests are manual or automated, notes and observations taken of all activities remove ambiguity. They also provide great training material and a solid basis for configuration documents and manuals. This helps improve risk mitigation for future test development life cycles.

10. Teamwork

Behind every high-quality software, there is a team of professionals that work with full zeal round the clock to ensure the organization upholds top-notch standards of quality. Although each team working on the project must ensure quality, the primary responsibility for quality rests with the QA team. Using the Agile QA process, engineers discover the problems and help the team deliver high-quality products, ensuring client confidence, company credibility, and successful product delivery.