Role of Quality Assurance in Software Development Life Cycle

If you have you ever heard of Quality Assurance (QA) in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)?

Then you must know that a good Software Development Life Cycle process involves QA in every stage. From planning to implementation, to testing, to deployment and maintenance. The QA role is fascinating… as they do more than just testing and can play a key role in all aspects of developing a successful software product.

Are you looking to learn more about the role of quality assurance (QA) in the software development life cycle (SDLC)? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re a software development beginner or just looking for a refresher course on QA in SDLC, this guide has something for everyone! 

What will you learn in this post?

We’ll start with a quick brief of SDLC, and quality assurance, then explore everything there is to know about QA’s role in SDLC and how it works within each step of the development process. 

So, let’s get started!

What is the software development life cycle?

SDLC, or software development life cycle, is a set of phases used in project management to provide a common understanding of the Software Development Best Practices . Beginning with a feasibility study and requirements elicitation, it describes the stages of software development. It ends with maintenance of the finished application. Software development life cycle models translate business ideas and requirements into features and functions that meet business requirements.

What Is Quality Assurance in SDLC?

Most people may assume that QA only comes into play during the testing phase, however its role in SDLC is much more robust. In particular, quality assurance (QA) is an essential part of the whole software development life cycle (SDLC). It provides assurance on how to best approach developing a high-quality product that meets its design specifications, quality standards, is bug-free, and is fit for the purpose it’s intended for. 

Additionally, QA can play a critical role in each phase of the SDLC: planning, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance. This section explains this in detail.

The Role of QA in Planning

In the planning phase of a software project, Quality Assurance is responsible for making sure that the project meets all quality requirements, such as scope, budget, timeline, and compliance with standards. QA can also review user requirements and analyze them to determine if they fit within the scope of the project. This helps ensure that expectations are properly set at the beginning of a project, and that resources are allocated appropriately.

Quality Assurance is responsible for creating detailed plans to guide the development process.

Executing tasks, such as creating test plans and preparing documents outlining processes and quality assurance specifications.

Additionally, QA can reduce risks by proactively identifying potential issues before they arise and mitigating them early on in the process.

The Role of QA in Implementation

QA ensures that quality standards are met and maintained during the development process, and even more so when it comes to implementation. It involves documenting the process, creating and running tests, and ensuring all quality requirements are met. QA not only helps to reduce the risks of errors and improves the quality of the project in this phase, but it also allows for better maintenance and support opportunities early.

Here’s a quick rundown of the role QA plays in the implementation stage:

Code Reviews

QA engineers are responsible for performing code reviews to ensure that all software components meet quality requirements. This includes evaluating coding techniques and ensuring that code meets industry standards.

System Integration Testing

QA engineers also make sure that each software component integrates correctly with other components. System integration testing involves running tests on multiple components at once to ensure proper compatibility and performance.

User Acceptance Testing

User acceptance testing (UAT) is performed by QA engineers in order to ensure that the system fulfills user requirements as specified in development documents. UAT involves running tests on specific user stories written by technical writers.

The Role of QA in Testing

Quality assurance (QA) in testing may seem obvious. However, QA does much more than just “test” during the testing process, while giving significant time to creating test cases and bug-reporting tasks, with a focus on evaluating the product or service against specific standards of quality. 

QA focuses on various aspects, such as functionality, usability, reliability, performance, and compliance with industry standards. In order to ensure that the requirements of the application are met before it is released to its users. 

To execute these tests effectively:

QA teams typically use automated testing tools to identify any issues with functionality early on in the development process.

Check for possible conflicts between different components, and compare the application’s performance against similar applications available in the market

Conduct user experience (UX) tests to ensure that appropriate user convenience.

Make sure the product meets all necessary regulatory or industry-specific codes and compliances before it goes live.

The Role of QA in Deployment

In deployment stage QA ensures that all the elements of specific Custom software development and its properly implemented, tested, verified, and deployed. This allows the product to be released with confidence and without any issues or bugs.

QA also performs a number of activities, such as:

Ensuring all tests have been successfully completed.

Verifying all required components of the product have been deployed properly and accurately.

Troubleshooting any issues or bugs, identified during testing or after deployment.

Performing regression tests to ensure no unintended changes were made during the deployment process.

These activities help ensure the success of the product release and allow for a more seamless transition from development to deployment. Moreover, teams can feel relaxed knowing that their products will be released confidently by implementing the best quality assurance practices during this phase.

The Role of QA in Maintenance

Maintenance is the process of keeping a product up-to-date and error-free. This is where it’s critical to have QA involved—they can help ensure that any updates don’t introduce new bugs or glitches into the software. They can also provide essential feedback on the impact of these changes, and whether they’re meeting customer requirements and expectations for Application Maintenance Services.

QA’s role in maintenance includes:

Verifying software updates to confirm they are working properly

Testing changes to make sure they are as expected

Identifying potential problems with updates

Following up with customers to ensure they are satisfied with changes and updates

Documenting all issues related to releases, so that future versions can be improved upon accordingly.

By investing in QA during maintenance, companies can be sure their products remain reliable and bug-free for customers for the long haul!

Conclusion

Quality assurance is an essential element of the software development life cycle! By understanding the role of QA in software development, developers and other project stakeholders can properly plan, implement, test, deploy and maintain their projects. 

As a result, businesses can ensure their products are of the highest quality and that users are getting the best experience possible. With the help of quality assurance, businesses can give their customers the confidence that their products are effective, reliable, and secure.

Are you interested in improving the quality of your software?

Soluzione offers quality assurance and end-to-end maintenance support services tailored to meet your unique needs.Call us today and work with a QA-centric group of software developers with years of experience delivering high-quality products to clients worldwide.

For more information, reach us at @solzit