Software Quality Assurance (SQA)

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What is Software Quality Assurance?

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) refers to the set of processes and activities part of the development cycle designed to evaluate and improve the quality of digital products like apps and websites.

For example, any errors in online banking platforms could make the customer believe the website isn't secure enough, damaging the bank's reputation. Take the sign-on button, for instance. What happens if the user enters the wrong credentials? What happens if they leave a field blank? Through software quality assurance, companies in the financial services industry can test elements such as the sign-on work button look and work how they’re supposed to. And the same can be said for any digital product, no matter the industry.

The main goal of quality assurance in software development is to ensure that digital products function correctly no matter the device or operating system customers are using in order to meet or exceed their expectations. To do so, software quality assurance encompasses various processes and techniques focused on improving the software development cycle to prevent, identify and solve errors before release.

Quality assurance software testing activities typically include analyzing and validating software requirements to ensure they are complete, consistent, and testable. They also involve developing a comprehensive test strategy, test plan, and test cases to verify and validate the software. Finally, they involve executing tests, tracking and fixing errors, and conducting code reviews to identify potential errors and ensure code meets the project standards.

Benefits of Software Quality Assurance

Accelerate development and time-to-market

Software quality assurance activities like test planning and test automation help streamline the development process. By ensuring software quality and minimizing defects, these activities accelerate software release, reducing time to market.

Reduce maintenance costs

Incorporating testing early in the development cycle allows software quality assurance engineers to catch errors before they escalate. This proactive approach decreases the need for extensive maintenance, minimizes technical debt, and reduces costs associated with fixing critical issues later.

Enhance user experience

Quality assurance also focuses on ensuring that the user experience design meets the user's standards and expectations. This means performing several types of testing to ensure that a product is intuitive, easy to use, visually appealing, and consistent.

Achieve higher brand loyalty

Software quality assurance allows companies to ensure their digital products meet all their customers' needs and requirements. Delivering a high-quality product increases customer satisfaction and loyalty, which can result in higher market share.

Ensures regulatory compliance

Quality assurance practices help companies to develop software that complies with industry standards, regulatory requirements, and best practices. This allows organizations to prepare for audits and certifications, ensuring quality and compliance standards adherence.

Boost team efficiency

Companies that leverage artificial intelligence for quality assurance enhance the efficiency of their teams, allowing test automation engineers and other roles involved in the testing process to spend less time on repetitive tasks and devote more time to strategic and complex activities.

Software Quality Assurance - Globant approach

Globant’s experience as the trusted quality partner of the most dynamic technology companies for over 15 years and its commitment to helping businesses deliver high-quality products to meet consumers' needs brought MagnifAI to life.

Teams using MagnifAI take their software quality assurance from weeks to minutes, experiencing a 56% reduction in task completion time, a 45% increase in testing frequency, a 4x faster manual test case creation, and an increase in productivity on an average workweek of 15%.

If you are looking for a partner who can help you leverage artificial intelligence to ensure that your digital products meet and even exceed your customers' needs, integrating an AI-powered software quality assurance solution into your existing testing strategy and tech stack can help you accelerate your time to market, all without having to compromise quality or change the way you work.

More about Software Quality Assurance

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How to improve the software quality assurance process?
Improving the software quality assurance process involves implementing automated testing to increase efficiency, adopting continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD) for early defect detection, and using agile methodologies to enhance collaboration. Investing in regular training for QA teams ensures they stay updated with the latest tools and practices. Additionally, leveraging AI and machine learning can optimize testing strategies and predict potential defects. Continuous monitoring and measuring of QA metrics help identify areas for improvement, ultimately leading to higher-quality software and increased customer satisfaction.
Why is quality assurance important in software development?
Quality assurance (QA) is crucial in software development because it ensures the software meets specified requirements and functions correctly. QA aids in detecting and resolving defects early in the development cycle, minimizing the risk of expensive errors and the need for rework. It enhances the overall user experience by ensuring the software is reliable, efficient, and user-friendly. Additionally, QA enhances customer satisfaction and trust, as high-quality software is less likely to encounter issues. Ultimately, effective QA practices lead to more stable and maintainable software, contributing to the long-term success of a project.
What does software quality assurance do?
Software quality assurance ensures that software meets specified requirements and standards by systematically monitoring, evaluating, and testing the development process. SQA activities include reviewing requirements, designing test plans, executing test cases, and identifying defects. The goal is to detect issues early, enhance the overall quality of the software, and guarantee it is reliable, functional, and user-friendly before release. By maintaining rigorous quality standards, SQA helps prevent costly errors, enhances customer satisfaction, and supports the delivery of high-quality software products.
What is the difference between software testing and quality assurance?
Software Testing and Software Quality Assurance (SQA) are both crucial elements of the software development lifecycle, yet they fulfill different roles.

Software Testing is a specific process that involves executing a program or application to find defects. It concentrates on assessing the software's functionality, performance, security, and usability to verify it meets the specified requirements and operates correctly. Testing can be manual or automated and encompasses various types, such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing.

Software Quality Assurance (SQA), in contrast, is a more comprehensive concept that encompasses all activities dedicated to maintaining the quality of the software throughout the entire development process. SQA is proactive and process-oriented, focusing on improving the processes used to create a high-quality product. It involves methodologies, standards, and procedures such as code reviews, audits, and adherence to best practices, in addition to testing.

In summary, while software testing is a subset of activities focused on identifying defects, software quality assurance encompasses a comprehensive approach to prevent defects and improve the overall quality of the software product.