In the age of accelerated and progressive software delivery, Quality Assurance (QA) roles have become mission-critical in enterprises across various domains. QA aids in cutting down on the time-to-market while giving the organization a competitive edge.

Enhanced ability for recurring software releases

Conventionally, around a decade ago, organizations depended upon on length deployments which worked using a rigid and inflexible structure. The elaborate process involved in deployment means that operations staff must spend a significant amount of time executing manual scripting during software production. But in today’s age of continuous software testing, there is a marked increase in building and deployment of releases. Release cycles are highly recurrent which in turn leads to acceleration of the feedback cycle. In the end, major bugs get fixed within durations of time that were previously thought unimaginable.

Fostering a collaborative work environment

New and redefined roles are created on a regular basis through the use of integrated product development including collaboration amidst IT teams and business teams. Using QA in software delivery speeds up implementation because it aids in subtle modifications in business needs that enables Business Analysts to communicate needs for new software functionalities and features in methods that empower staff across various departments to understand business needs and change them as needed. Engineers and Product Developers strive to work through barriers of team hierarchies using DevOps models. Unofficial coordination between enterprises and employees is transforming into a mission-critical need with each passing day. QA professionals coordinate and collaborate with teams whilst maintaining quality as the main requirement. All while keeping teams and departments updated through the provision of instant feedback on the software performance.

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Stress on Built-in Quality

Extreme Programming and SCRUM are excellent instances of Agile methodologies and also lean processes in action. Such techniques stress on integrating quality into the whole Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). There are highly customized QA processes that stress on prevention of quality issues right from the start – for instance, Test Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming. TDD aims to avoid quality concerns by the writing of tests prior to writing code while Pair Programming focuses on prevention of quality issues by including two developers in the same programming task.  Agile methods aid in reducing the duration of every stage of the SDLC by developing software that is quality assured in fractional increments achieved through close coordination.

Aiding in the advancement of IT infrastructure

Since most infrastructure is presently based in the Cloud, easy deployment and scalability are more easily achievable. The world is shrinking in terms of distances involved in interconnectivity, this is because devices being produced this day and age are more intuitive, intelligent and also highly innovative. The Organization thus resort to innovative QA methods to ensure they are not left behind in the ensuing tech trends, stressing on quality the whole time the software product is being put through its paces in the SDLC. Progressive delivery and integration contribute directly to the comprehensive interconnectivity of all electronic devices.

Highly enhanced Bug-fixing

Any new release has bug-fixing as an integral part of it, with bugs showing up in data usage being the ones to focus on more. Tools such as Google Analytics can be very useful in detecting and mapping the ways in which end-users network, without the aid of load testing tools, making such measures useful for providing a wealth of information. QA stresses on accelerated rates for Bug-fixing as and when they are encountered depending on the bug priority. In a similar way, feedback is equally important along with listening to product customers. Using focused QA; bugs in the software product are immediately recognized and instantly fixed which in turn directly impacts the speedy delivery of software. This ensures users are satisfied which in turn builds brand value. If and when users discover bugs, such documented bugs can be prioritized in the future, speeding up future releases.

Increased scope for Security Testing

Almost every application and software product that is created is subjected to thorough security testing before product release. In the present day market, some, if not all customers can themselves recognize an issue in the code or overall product, this means the probability that the customer or end user can be put off by security vulnerabilities, especially with respect to a few particular platforms. Exclusive testing teams will be able to execute penetration testing techniques that will last a whole week, on the pre-existing stable versions of beta-version products and corresponding updates. Before testing the project team can be briefed about fresh features in upcoming versions and even product environments. Utilizing such information enables testing for security issues that try to penetrate the said system. Execution of security testing when applications are updated to cloud infrastructures is extremely important and will be able to be accessed by end-users all across the globe.

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Increased scope for Performance Testing

QA opens up opportunities conventionally inaccessible in the past few years to execute tests as and when the software product is deemed stable. To do this, the team or department will be explained about new versions and updates along with features in order to evaluate performance risks. Regression tests are sufficient when developer attempt to bring in new features that do not affect performance in any way. But, in the case, a newly planned and added feature is forecasted to affect the current performance of the product, convention dictates that developers write and run new performance tests. Performance testing is critical and most times can contribute towards a huge difference between the smooth operation of the application and a catastrophic systems crash. To achieve said testing, QA professionals can be asked to execute performance testing in the absence of test teams.

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Conclusion

It can be deduced by the far-reaching positive impacts that QA has on software product quality and the presence of QA in software delivery in critical in achieving great product quality. Organizations need to look into new and innovative QA trends and application to ensure they maintain an edge over their competition and develop a superior brand presence on a global scale.

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