# The Crucial Role of Quality Assurance in Software Development
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Chapter 1: The Necessity of QA in Software Development
Quality Assurance (QA) is not just an option; it is a fundamental aspect of software development. A lack of a structured QA process can lead to repeated disasters that may vary in severity—from minor hiccups to complete system failures. Allow me to share a personal experience from my own journey in IT that illustrates this point.
I was once part of an organization that had no QA practices in place. Developers were left to determine how much testing was necessary for each task, which often led to inadequate QA due to overwhelming workloads. I was the only one on the team who conducted any testing, and that was limited to my own assignments.
The situation reached a tipping point during client demonstrations, where each developer was expected to present their segment of the project. This was far from the enjoyable experience I had envisioned when I entered the field—rather, it felt like I was being dragged back into direct client interactions, which I had hoped to avoid.
During a company meeting, I boldly stated, “We urgently need a QA process; otherwise, we risk perpetual client frustration.” It was embarrassing when an application that functioned perfectly earlier in the day failed during the demo. There were no code freezes; at one point, a developer updated the code while the project manager was presenting, altering the website's appearance mid-presentation.
The response I received from my superiors took me by surprise. “If you believe you can save the company money, create a QA process and take charge of it,” they said. While the message was clear, the tone left much to be desired. It baffled me that they thought avoiding QA would actually cut costs.
I suggested we start with a minimal QA process and gradually enhance it, ensuring that the team wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. As I began to implement this, my supervisor insisted it should only apply to projects I was working on, which I followed.
I developed a straightforward checklist that outlined the application's core functionalities and acceptance criteria for new tasks. Unfortunately, the acceptance criteria were often not included in the tasks, so I had to rely on my best judgment—something that would have been easier had we had a Business Analyst, especially since we were lacking QA.
Each task deployed to the development environment was briefly checked to ensure its functionality, and the application underwent a smoke test before we moved on to the next task. A code freeze was established the day before demos, with a quick smoke regression test to confirm that everything was still operational. No code could be merged into the branch until the code freeze was lifted.
This added only a few minutes to our overall development time, but applications I worked on flowed much more smoothly than those without QA. Remarkably, productivity also saw a boost.
The Demo That Altered Our Approach
With the QA process in place, the project manager handled the demos, no longer requiring us to present since he was confident in the application's functionality.
Then came a pivotal moment. I was present during a demo for a client who had invested over a million dollars in development. Unfortunately, the application crashed during the call, leaving the client visibly upset. When the developer reverted the changes, it returned to a state that the client found unacceptable, creating the illusion that no progress had been made.
That debacle was the final straw for the client, who berated the team for a solid half-hour. They even threatened to switch to a different company and pursue legal action for the unfulfilled work they had paid for.
Following this incident, the company owner was understandably furious, questioning my boss about how such a failure could have occurred. That day, my boss resigned.
In discussions afterward, the project manager began to mention the QA process, bringing me in to explain the specifics. They were eager to learn more, realizing the financial implications of their past mistakes.
The next day, the owner approached me with a promotion offer, transitioning me from development to management. My first task was to mend the client relationship.
I rolled out the QA process for the team, ensuring that a code freeze was instituted before our next demo. I carefully outlined our work and walked the client through our new QA process. The demo was a success, and we were able to restore the client’s trust.
We then hired a QA engineer and expanded our testing efforts, implementing unit tests where feasible to automate some of the processes. We even brought in a Business Analyst to document requirements and acceptance criteria for each task.
Since that experience, I’ve prioritized QA in every organization I’ve joined. Communicating its importance to the team can be challenging, but actions often speak louder than words. Start small and gradually build up your QA processes, and you may eventually develop a dedicated QA team, leading to widespread recognition of its value.
Dino Cajic is currently the Head of IT at LSBio (LifeSpan BioSciences, Inc.), Absolute Antibody, Kerafast, Everest BioTech, Nordic MUbio, and Exalpha. He also serves as the CEO of MyAutoSystem. With over a decade of software engineering experience, he holds a B.S. in Computer Science and a minor in Biology. His expertise includes creating enterprise-level e-commerce applications, research-based software development, and sharing knowledge through writing.
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Chapter 2: Insights from the QA Journey
Understanding the importance of QA processes can dramatically improve client satisfaction and project success rates.
In this video titled "What You Need To Know About Software Quality Assurance," discover essential insights into establishing effective QA practices.
The video "ROLE OF QA IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES" delves into the significance of QA across various development methodologies and how it can enhance overall project outcomes.