What Is Quality Engineering – a Buzzword or the Future of QA?
The drastic contrast of opinions on quality engineering (QE) is fascinating. Some think it’s a revolutionary approach to software development. Others consider it a fancy term for an amalgamation of quality-related roles. Accenture describes it as the adaptation to the current demands and expectations for digital products. So what is a QE?
The thing is, software development isn’t universal. Each company tailors its experts and processes to set business goals. Even the same position can mean different duties in various firms. The one aspect that will never shift is that quality is the priority for any successful project. The rest is for you to decide, and we hope this article will help you do it.
What is Quality Engineering?
Quality engineering involves designing and using smart processes and tools to prevent problems and defects. By building quality into the creation process, it aims to deliver top-notch products or services that meet and exceed customer expectations.
Without overcomplicating the term, QE develops, operates, manages, and maintains quality practices.
Isn’t QE the Same as Quality Management?
At its core, QE is quite similar to quality management (QM). In IT, the terms are often blurry. So the best way to explain the difference between QE and QM is that:
- QE focuses on quality processes.
- QM focuses on outlining quality processes.
In other words, QM includes:
- Determining a quality policy.
- Creating and implementing quality planning and assurance.
- Improving quality control.
So, it works by establishing the foundation and grids for quality procedures within a company. In contrast, QE centers on the structures on top of that foundation, i.e., quality realization via appropriate technologies, tools, and metrics.
So, QM defines quality, and QE implements the necessary techniques to achieve it. The two become a duo that levels out and streamlines the inner workings of software development to reach envisioned and elevated results.
Objectives of Quality Engineering
QE is proactive in nature. It strives to maintain efficient and effective production processes and ensure the product meets business and customer expectations by:
- Optimizing product quality by implementing strategies for quality assurance in software development.
- Improving software quality by setting up manual and automated testing throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).
- Embedding automated tests (functional, integration, E2E, performance, load, API, and more) into development pipelines and creating productive bug resolution.
- Taking a holistic approach to software quality and shift quality testing.
- Improving agility, productivity, and ROI by integrating software quality engineering into workflows.
- Implementing quality checks throughout the SDLC to ensure the quality of the software product from the beginning, minimizing potential losses caused by defects.
- Using quality models like ISO/IEC 25000 and methods like the Goal-Question-Metric (GQM) approach to define quality objectives and measure software quality.
As you may have noticed from the above, QE is about the “hows” of software development:
- How to implement quality assurance strategies to optimize the product?
- How to set up manual and automated testing services to improve the project?
- How to embed optimal automated tests and resolve potential issues?..
Components of Quality Engineering
Quite a few new practices have appeared in software development. You are well familiar with Agile, DevOps, CI/CD, shift left testing, and the rest of the efficiency bunch. Now, excellent user experience and supreme quality are becoming standards (not achievements).
So what should companies do to distinguish themselves? The “obvious” answer is to redefine quality. As noted in a few of our articles – quality is subjective and can always be improved. And that’s the reason for QE’s sudden boom. It aspires to elevate quality to new levels by fusing it with each SDLC aspect.
Quality Planning
QE defines quality goals, strategies, and standards for the software development process. This involves:
- Understanding customer requirements.
- Setting quality objectives.
- Establishing a roadmap for achieving them.
Process Design
QE engages in designing the software development process in a way that incorporates quality checks and measures throughout the entire lifecycle, e.g.:
- Defining coding standards.
- Selecting testing methodologies.
- Determining deployment procedures.
Quality Assurance
QE also implements activities and techniques to ensure the software development process follows the defined quality standards. In practice, this means conducting:
- Regular audits.
- Reviews.
- Process assessments.
Automated Testing
QE utilizes automated testing (AT) tools and frameworks to perform various types of tests, such as unit, integration, and regression testing. By tailoring the AT strategy, quality engineers can:
- Detect defects early.
- Secure consistent testing across different builds.
- Increase team productivity and efficiency.
Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD)
QE will also implement CI/CD pipelines to automate the integration, testing, and delivery of code changes. Smart CI/CD realization will lead to:
- Frequent releases.
- Increased reliability.
- Reduced manual errors.
Defect Prevention
QE is also responsible for identifying the root causes of defects and taking proactive steps to prevent them from occurring in the future. This may involve:
- Process improvements.
- Developer training.
- Code analysis.
Performance Engineering
QE seeks to optimize the software for performance and scalability. These are achieved via:
- Load testing.
- Stress testing.
- Tuning the application to handle various user loads efficiently.
Security Engineering
QE can integrate security measures throughout the development process to identify and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities in the software, thus advancing:
- Secure coding.
- Product safety.
- Team cybersecurity skills.
User Experience (UX) Engineering
QE also focuses on the usability and user experience of the software to ensure it meets customer needs and expectations. So it’s involved in:
- User testing and feedback.
- Usability testing and heuristics evaluation.
- UX design collaboration.
Data Analysis and Metrics
Probably one of the most important aspects of QE is collecting and analyzing relevant data. Where the goal is to:
- Measure and track software quality metrics.
- Identify trends.
- Drive continuous improvement.
Feedback Loop
Lastly, QE establishes a feedback mechanism to gather user insights and continuously improve the software based on their needs and preferences. So QE serves as the bridge between stakeholders and customers and:
- Conducts customer surveys and interviews.
- Reporting and tracking bugs.
- Gathering insights via usage analytics and data analysis.
In a way, QE functions from within, trying to cultivate quality (instead of “enforcing” it).
Participants of Quality Engineering
The term “quality engineering” presupposes the existence of a “quality engineer”. While such a role functions in other sectors, software development is special. Because one professional would perish before being able to carry out all listed duties.
Even if you try to find an adequate definition of a quality engineer, you will see explanations related to manufacturing, testing, or quality assurance. While in reality, QE is a process. And it involves numerous agents with distinct areas of expertise.
- Quality engineers who work to improve software quality by implementing manual and automated testing processes throughout the SDLC.
- Management and leadership who establish a quality culture within the organization and set quality objectives.
- Product and process designers who design products and processes that meet customer requirements.
- Quality assurance engineers (software testers) who implement manual and automated testing processes throughout the SDLC and embed automated tests of all types into development pipelines.
- Other assurance professionals who ensure that software products meet the required quality standards and specifications.
- Quality control experts who review existing processes, identify opportunities for reducing costs and increasing efficiency, investigate the root causes of problems, and implement corrective and preventative measures.
- Developers who work to optimize product quality by implementing strategies for quality assurance in software development.
This is more of an “official” list of the QE actors. But there’s no lesser role when it comes to quality. And we’d like to think that every person involved in a digital project is a part of it.
So Who Is a Quality Engineer?
Let’s conduct a quick experiment – analyze the first 10 definitions of a quality engineer.
- GetReskilled: “[quality engineers] test processes, monitor quality standards, create documentation, devise quality tests and define the criteria a test result should meet; some companies might call this role: QA Engineer, QC Engineer, Senior Quality Specialist.”
- SimpliLearn: “review existing processes in order to identify opportunities for reducing costs and increasing efficiency. As necessary, they investigate the root causes of problems, develop and implement corrective and preventative measures.”
- Indeed: “a person who works in the manufacturing, engineering or software industry. Their responsibilities include identifying errors in design before production and improving processes.”
- Betterteam: “ensure that a company’s products and processes meet established quality standards by identifying shortfalls, developing corrective measures, and implementing quality control systems.”
- Energy.gov: “work with manufacturers, developers, project managers and many others within each sector [of the wind industry]. They work with quality assurance and quality control teams to develop processes, test procedures and implement systems that ensure the products and processes fulfill quality standards, meet safety regulations, and satisfy client expectations.”
- Workable: “monitor and test the quality of products in industries such as manufacturing and automotive. They ensure compliance with standards, identify issues, recommend solutions, and create quality documentation.”
- MBN: “not only devise the [quality] system but also monitor it. In other words, they do both quality engineering and quality assurance work. In the software industry, for example, people commonly call them quality assurance engineers.”
- 4 Corner Resources: “monitor, test, and report on the quality of products. They also test systems and procedures to make sure they meet technical standards.”
- CK Group: “responsible for ensuring the overall quality of a manufactured product – that it is safe, reliable and meets customer expectations. They are also tasked with maintaining the production process by keeping it as efficient and cost-effective as possible, as well as fixing any potential issues.”
- Mabl: “embraces continuous testing, data-driven testing, manual and automated testing in a culture of quality to help software development organizations build faster while also improving the user experience.”
What Does a Quality Engineer Do?
While there is no unified definition for a quality engineer, let’s try and make one based on the above. So, a quality engineer is someone who:
- Locates design issues and improves production processes.
- Establishes testing procedures and documentation.
- Creates quality standards and metrics.
- Ensures adherence to industry guidelines.
- Develops solutions to improve existing workflows.
- Monitors the quality of the product.
- Communicates with stakeholders and departments.
- Builds a culture of quality.
Well, this professional seems to be a hybrid between development and QA teams’ roles. For now, you can think of quality engineers (in the IT sector) as an all-in-one specialist or wishful thinking – up to you.
What Is the Link Between Quality Engineers, QA Engineers, and QE?
You must be past the “What is QA engineer” stage, so let’s get straight to the difference between the terms and job positions. You may also have come across perspectives that compare quality engineers with QA engineers. A commonly highlighted distinction is that the former is ampler in its functions and deals with supervision/management of quality. While the former is “just testing”.
But let’s be realistic. Now, QA is far from being a simple software-checking mechanism. And QA specialists have become an all-encompassing part of SDLC, not its particular stage. With test-driven development, shift left approach, DevOps, DevQAOps, and Agile, QA experts are well on their way to transforming into elusive quality engineers.
That’s also why we never refer to our QA professionals as “testers” (a more standard term in the sector, perhaps). This concept has turned obsolete and doesn’t come close to defining the duties and impacts of this role on the software development processes and outcomes.
As for quality engineering, QA has its rightful place regarding:
- Defining software development processes.
- Regulating quality metrics and reporting.
- Conducting quality audits.
- Planning tests and testing strategy.
- Executing tests via appropriate techniques.
- Managing defects.
- Implementing continuous improvement practices.
And since QA services have such a powerful influence on a project’s quality, they will definitely not dissolve within QE.
To Sum Up
QE looks like a promising quality overhaul. It also appears to blur the lines between distinct software development roles. Instead, it favors the concept of a “hive mind” that puts quality first and actively collaborates to achieve excellence.