At first glance, we can divide the modern application development industry into 3 specific segments namely, the development phase, the testing phase, and the production phase. During the early years, all these phases were conducted separately and then incorporated together to create the final application. However, the developers realized that it not only massively slowed down the development process but also affected the app parameters.
So companies started using modern practices like automation testing and agile methodologies to integrate all the stages of application development. Quality assurance testing is another important parameter that helps maintain the utmost level of user satisfaction and app responsiveness.
With this article, we are going to explain how application developers can incorporate vital quality assurance principles and practices into their daily work routines and habits. We will also analyze some of the most important benefits that app developers can utilize by this practice.
Reasons for Implementing Quality Assurance Practices
Before implementing the QA testing practices, the app developers must analyze the modern application development industry. This is because modern apps have hybridized a lot to incorporate various modern principles and end-user requirements. For instance, a current app can be accessible on multiple devices like smartphones, tablets, and even desktops. Similarly, a single app can be used to serve multiple purposes simultaneously as it can access different elements at the same time. However, due to all of these complexities, various bugs and errors can arise during the application testing process. So app developers must use advanced processes to counter these errors.
Moreover, the hybrid infrastructure of modern applications also has a crucial effect on the placement and functioning of all the user interface elements present in the app. We can define the UI as a compatibility layer that allows all the end users to communicate with the application infrastructure and perform their actions. Therefore the developers and testers need to deploy proper quality assurance testing measures and guarantee the stability and functionality of the app UI in all instances. The following parameters will justify the incorporation of modern QA testing practices for a stable application infrastructure:
Implementation of Customer Satisfaction: Since the implementation of quality assurance practices and principles has a crucial role in improving the quality of the application, we can say that it helps the app developing companies elevate the standards of customer satisfaction after app production. It also helps to control various analytic parameters like user bounce rates and user retention rates. Thus, the use of proper QA test cases helps build and expand a loyal audience.
Integration of Cost Reduction Practices: Proper use of quality assurance testing helps the app developing companies to massively reduce defects, reworks, and other inefficiencies that might be present in the core infrastructure of the application. Therefore, it helps save a lot of company time and resources in the long run as the developers do not have to roll back the application to the development phase during app debugging. Moreover, the application developers can also use this excess time to develop other creative features that can be integrated into future versions of the app.
Scope for Continuous Improvement: The proper implementation of quality assurance principles encourages application developers and testers to adopt various process refinements and product improvements. Therefore quality assurance test cases help to foster a collective goal of app innovation and a competitive mentality. These factors are highly crucial for maintaining the position of an app development company in this competitive segment of the industry.
Adhering to the Market Stands and Compliances: While implementing quality assurance test cases, the app developers can also integrate various market standards and compliances with the use of QA certifications. These certifications ensure that the application provides the utmost content quality and security of user information. So, we can say that the use of QA practices and principles helps app companies avoid major lawsuits or legal trouble.
Incorporating Quality Assurance Principles into Project
Incorporating QA principles into daily work routines is critical to ensure the reliability and quality of the project. To assist all the software developers, project managers, or QA professionals with this process, we have mentioned some of the most efficient steps that can help them incorporate QA principles into daily app development projects:
1. Analyzing the App Requirements
● Firstly, the application developers need to understand the requirements for the app development project. For instance, they must understand the application intentions, the target audience, and the standards of the app-developing company. The app developers must also remember that the development tools, dependencies, and programming languages will also have a decisive role in this process.
●Based on these parameters, the quality assurance testers can customize the test cases and incorporate them into the development life cycle for the app.
2. Defining the Standards for Quality Control
● The next step in this process is for the quality assurance testers to define the standards for quality control that will be implemented in the application development and testing process.
● It is very important to clear the criteria and standards that will be followed during the work. It should include defining the intentions for a successful outcome and all the metrics that the company will follow for measuring the quality of the final application.
3. Setting the Goals and Objectives
● Now, the quality testers have to specify quality objectives and goals for the application testing process. These goals can be related to security, performance, functionality, or any other aspect. The testers need to understand that specific goals for an app development project will massively rely on the type of application that they are currently working on.
4. Planning and Documenting
● While trying to incorporate quality assurance principles into the testing project, developers must work on a QA plan that will outline the processes and methodologies for quality control.
● The application developers and testers should also document this plan to provide a reference for themselves and the team. Using this document, the app developers can also have a reference for tracking all the errors that have been present in the previous versions of the app.
5. Automating The Repetitive Tasks
● Modern quality assurance test cases consist of multiple repetitive test instances. By manually conducting these test cases, the app-developing companies will waste a lot of valuable time and resources. So, the companies must try to automate the repetitive tasks and use human resources in other areas like exploratory testing and visual testing.
● The integration of automation testing can help improve the efficiency of the quality assurance testing instances. This is the process of automatically initiating the test instances using various testing parameters that can allow the system to emulate human interactions. The primary goal of automation testing is to verify the stability, usability, and ease of user interaction on the application infrastructure. While implementing automation testing, the app developers can also deploy various customizations to manage the testing instances as per the requirements of the app development project.
● This addition of automated QA testing will also allow app-developing companies to keep track of all the vital events that are being implemented in the testing process. However, it is very important to remember that the initial integration of automation testing is an expensive process. So the app-developing companies must have enough revenue resources to justify this transition.
6. Adapting and Improving
● The modern application development industry goes through a series of changes almost frequently. So, while implementing quality assurance testing, the app developers must ensure to incorporate all these changes in the development environment and adapt to them. This factor will help them to maintain the standards and quality of their application to keep the company's position in this competitive segment.
● The app companies can also conduct frequent awareness campaigns, seminars, and workshops to spread the required knowledge about healthy quality assurance testing practices. Moreover, it is also important to design effective training sessions so that the developers can polish their skills and understand the specific requirements based on their niche in QA testing.
7. Staying Focused and Organized
● As we already mentioned earlier, the modern quality assurance testing process consists of thousands of different test cases that the developers must implement individually. so the quality assurance testers need to remain focused and organize the test cases based on their priority. This practice will also ensure that at least the basic structure of the application is functional even in a worst-case scenario.
● The app developers must remember that the exact strategy for quality assurance testing and its integration will vary depending on the requirements of the application and the preferences of the company and the developers. So it is crucial to consider these factors before implementing the final Test plan.
8. Use of Modern Testing Resources
●To properly integrate modern quality assurance principles, app developers can use various cloud platforms in the application testing infrastructure. This is because using cloud platforms, the app developers can deploy real device testing using thousands of real devices that are present on multiple remote servers. Moreover while implementing cloud testing, the app developers can access the testing infrastructure from anywhere in the world. These platforms also provide access to multiple outdated devices for further boosting the compatibility of the application.
● Various modern cloud platforms like LambdaTest allow app developers to integrate artificial intelligence for better organizing and orchestrating the test instances. Using this platform, it is also possible to access additional features like live activity logs, tracking all the critical bugs with the native bug tracker, and importing the QA test instances from multiple reputed automation frameworks.
The Conclusive Views
Considering the standards of the modern app development market, application developers need to incorporate efficient quality assurance measures with their testing principles and development habits. It is also important to understand that automation testing will continue to become one of the most important parameters of the modern application development and testing industry. So, app developers should put sufficient effort into learning more about the features of test automation and incorporating them into their development practices. Lastly, analyzing the requirements of the target audience will allow the developers to learn more about their requirements and customize the application’s features accordingly. These are some of the most important practices to build a positive brand image and maintain the company's position in this competitive market.
