When it comes to the software development process, QA testing plays a crucial role. Testers are responsible for ensuring every piece of code they develop in a specific project is bug-free and operates while aligning with technical and business requirements.
QA engineers must comprehensively understand database testing and each software development project. In addition, they must know what can go wrong in operating websites or applications.
They should update themselves with technical and digital innovations to know whether there are new bugs or threats for which applications must be tested.
Regardless of the QA tester’s experience, they naturally face challenges in their regular tasks. This article highlights the common QA challenges and suggests ways to resolve them.
What are the challenges that QA faces & how do we address them?
Last-Minute Changes to Requirements
It is pretty common for software development projects to experience last-minute changes to the requirements. While it can be frustrating for the entire software development team, testers are specifically affected the most.
They might have to redo the whole testing scope and run even the smallest changes to a codebase through multiple tests to ensure its stability and compatibility with existing codes.
Solution
Testers must expect that last-minute requirement changes will occur frequently. If any requirement changes at the end of the sprint, testers can consider running as many tests as possible within the available timeline.
Moreover, before starting a software development project, your company must specify that last-minute changes to the application might not be thoroughly tested within pre-determined deadlines.
Inadequate Information on User Stories
A tester’s primary job in the IT environments is developing test cases based on possible user journeys. However, this can only be done if QA testers have detailed information about user journeys.
Product owners must provide this information since they better understand what the application is expected to do and how users would most likely navigate it.
However, without clarity on user journeys, product owners fail to communicate it to the QAs, making it difficult for QAs to create test cases.
Solution
Testers can avoid such a problem by depending on their judgment. Rather than relying on product owners for detailed requirements and user stories, testers can think about high-level scenarios a user could face when using the software.
For instance, QAs can curate a set of likely user scenarios after studying the application concept instead of waiting for clarification for a specific feature.
Test Failing Under Real User Conditions
Sometimes, applications fail to function as expected under real-world conditions, regardless of the fact they passed the tests successfully in IT environments.
Solution
To prevent such a situation, it’s always advisable for the testers to test the applications on real devices and browsers to ensure real user conditions like push notifications, battery, bio-authentication, etc., are being considered for more accuracy.
Inadequate Experience with Test Automation
When it comes to software, integration, and API testing, testers must be technically competent. In addition, they are required to create scripts for UI automation tests using automation tools.
A tester only experienced with manual exploratory testing can face significant challenges in delivering speedy results.
Solution
Anyone looking forward to working as a QA tester should know programming languages frequently used to write test scripts, such as Java and Ruby. Moreover, even if a tester knows programming languages, he should be proficient with the right automation tools.
Bottom Line
Almost every QA tester faces the challenges mentioned above when performing software and database testing, no matter how skilled and experienced they are. Knowing the solutions to these challenges can make testers’ lives much easier.
In addition, incorporating the above-discussed solutions can help streamline your software development process, making it more valuable and time-efficient.
