QA Solutions for 2023: How to Optimize Your Development Process
The end of the year is the best time to draw conclusions, prepare resolutions, and start planning. In business, it is usually about revenue, performance, achievements, and setting new ambitious goals. So as always, our team studied the trends in technology, analyzed the tendencies in our clients’ processes and decided to share several practical solutions with you.
Given the current economic crisis with inflation in full swing, a decrease in startup investments, an energy crisis, crypto winter, and a number of other challenges, businesses will likely look for ways to optimize their expenses and adjust software development processes to the harsh realities. What does it mean in practice? As a rule, the mentioned events are followed by hiring freezes, downsizing, and a slower pace of development.
But even under such circumstances, there is a way to maintain the high quality of digital products. So we’re going to tell you about three QA solutions that can help your business keep the pace of innovation.
#1. Ambi Testing
When a crisis strikes, quality assurance is among the first candidates for optimization in the software development process. Nevertheless, software testing is critical and should be covered by professionals. And we don’t write it for self-promotion – we see the difference our team makes in the client feedback.
One way to optimize the testing is to hire a full-stack QA engineer – an expert who can run both manual and automated testing. It works well on small projects with already stable core functionality and a pull of repetitive tasks.
For example, regression and smoke testing are the primary options for test automation. It is essential to check business-critical functionality after every iteration, and it often makes sense to free up some time by running such checks automatically. In addition, QA engineers admit that it usually makes sense to cover a part of functional, UI, and API tests by scripts. What is impossible to simulate in autotests and functionality likely to change is tested manually.
What are the benefits for business?
- By automating at least smoke and regression testing, a QA specialist can accelerate software delivery and free up time on other tasks – exploratory testing, documentation maintenance, further automation, etc.
- A team can optimize the budget by hiring one expert proficient in both manual and automated testing instead of two people working separately with manual tasks and automation. It also simplifies communication and management.
- A full-stack QA engineer knows what to automate because they’ve already prepared manual documentation. It saves setup time and streamlines the process.
Solution: Ambi Testing
Expertise: full-stack QA, manual & automated testing
Purpose: automate repetitive tasks & free time for manual QA
Suitable: for small projects with stable functionality
Results: cost optimization, streamlining releases
#2. Dynamic Teams
Tight deadlines are one of the frequent problems project teams face. A high workload is a usual story before holidays and major releases. In such cases, our company can help out by assigning a dynamic QA team. These are the specialists available at the moment and ready to work on a project for several days or weeks – enough to finish the planned work and meet the announced release deadline.
Working with a dynamic team can be a one-time or a recurring solution. In-progress alterations and team scaling are typical for a software product’s life cycle, and it’s great to have a team that can back you up. Our dynamic team has expertise in different areas and needs minimum time for onboarding.
What are the benefits for business?
- A client works with an expert team on-demand when the scope or tasks goes beyond the ordinary or there’s a need to speed up the release.
- The QA team can start its work quickly, as it already has the required expertise and needs minimum time for onboarding.
- There is no need to hire more people in-house, given that the load will return to normal, move the deadline, or release unstable software.
Solution: Dynamic Team
Expertise: pre-release testing, different industries and types of products
Purpose: meet tight deadlines and release software of proper quality
Suitable: for short-term cooperation before important releases, once or repeatedly
Results: cost optimization, streamlining releases
#3. Partner Networks
There are two more takes we’d like to share. Firstly, don’t forget that QA is more than just testing. And secondly, IT service companies often help cover a variety of requests, even if it is not their direct specialization. Now, in more detail.
Our team often assists with software requirements writing and project knowledge maintenance. Also, besides reporting bugs, QA engineers can share general suggestions on how to improve software products or processes. Over the years, our team has gained expertise in a list of areas beyond testing:
- IT recruitment;
- IT consulting;
- business analysis;
- and software development.
Still, there is a list of software services our team doesn’t cover. But we know who does. When asked about competitors, our CEO notes that he’s more willing to look for partners than rivals. “The IT market is vast, and there’s room for everybody. The resources companies spend to fight with one another, however, are limited. It can take too much time and money while making too little sense.”
So, now QA Madness has a list of parents who will be glad to work with new projects:
- an external Cyber Security Team;
- experts specializing in load testing;
- software developers with vast expertise;
- and blockchain specialists.
What are the benefits for business?
- A QA team/specialist that has been working with a specific product and team for a while already understands how to improve it and what expertise may be helpful.
- Managers spend less effort on looking for a reliable service provider since they don’t need to start the research from scratch and analyze a variety of candidates.
- A team can be sure of a provider’s expertise and reputation. It’s unlikely that a company you’re working with would recommend someone they don’t trust.
Solution: Partner Network
Expertise: a variety of tech services within a software development life cycle
Purpose: to find a trusted service provider with the needed expertise fast
Suitable: for projects that plan or start scaling and need to extend their teams
Results: streamlining the development process
To Sum Up
It looks like 2023 will be a challenging year for many businesses. Still, it seems that companies will keep investing in digitalization and move on with the tech initiatives (though probably taking a slower pace). We hope that tech advancement will continue and companies will accept a responsible approach to the quality of their software.