Quality Assurance VS Quality Control (QA VS QC): What’s the Difference?

<div id="toc_container" class="no_bullets">Table Of Contents<ul class="toc_list"><li><a href="#Introduction">1 Introduction</a></li><li><a href="#Types_of_Software_Bugs">2 Types of Software Bugs</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Implementation_Bugs">2.1 1. Implementation Bugs:</a></li><li><a href="#2_Specification_Bugs">2.2 2. Specification Bugs:</a></li><li><a href="#3_Absent_Specification_Bugs">2.3 3. Absent Specification Bugs: </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#What_Causes_Bugs_in_Software">3 What Causes Bugs in Software?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_RegressionInjection">3.1 1. Regression/Injection: </a></li><li><a href="#2_Inadequate_Testing">3.2 2. Inadequate Testing:</a></li><li><a href="#3_Communication_Gap">3.3 3. Communication Gap:</a></li><li><a href="#4_Improper_Planning">3.4 4. Improper Planning:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#How_can_Software_Bugs_be_Prevented">4 How can Software Bugs be Prevented?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Test-Driven_Development_TDD">4.1 1. Test-Driven Development (TDD):</a></li><li><a href="#2_Continuous_Integration_Continuous_Testing_CICT">4.2 2. Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT):</a></li><li><a href="#3_Behaviour_Driven_DevelopmentBDD">4.3 3. Behaviour Driven Development(BDD):</a></li><li><a href="#4_Specification_Review_and_Management">4.4 4. Specification Review and Management:</a></li><li><a href="#5_Clear_Communication">4.5 5. Clear Communication:</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Why_are_not_all_Software_Bugs_Preventable">5 Why are not all Software Bugs Preventable?</a><ul><li><a href="#1_Effort_Tradeoff">5.1 1. Effort Tradeoff: </a></li><li><a href="#2_User_Immunity_to_Bugs">5.2 2. User Immunity to Bugs: </a></li><li><a href="#3_Team_Structure_and_Dynamics">5.3 3. Team Structure and Dynamics: </a></li><li><a href="#4_Software_Patch_Releases">5.4 4. Software Patch Releases: </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="#Conclusion">6 Conclusion</a></li></ul></div>
<h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>



Creating a bug-free software is hard, to the extent that it seems like a myth. Bugs in software represent the discrepancy between the expected and actual behaviour of the software. Although it&#8217;s unrealistic to make software bug-free, efforts can surely be made to minimize the number of bugs in software through various prevention and detection techniques.&nbsp;



Prevention techniques are the ones that can be used to prevent bugs from occurring in the software. Detection techniques are the ones that can be used to detect the bugs that exist in the software. As bug detection can happen only after the bugs begin to appear in the software, detection is a costlier technique than prevention to minimize the bugs in software.



Let us discuss the major types of software bugs, factors causing them, and how to prevent them.



<h2 id="types-of-software-bugs">Types of Software Bugs</h2>



Software bugs can be broadly classified into 3 major categories:



<h3>1. Implementation Bugs:</h3> Bugs introduced during the implementation of software can be classified as implementation bugs. These bugs don’t exist in the requirements and design phases of the software but get introduced when the corresponding specifications are implemented in the code. Therefore, these can also be termed as coding bugs.



For example, consider the login page for an application. According to the specification, a valid username may contain alphabets and numerals. During implementation, the developer allows the use of symbols in the username along with alphabets and numerals.&nbsp;



These are the most common types of bugs prevailing in software and can be prevented to a large extent. 



<h3>2. Specification Bugs:</h3>Bugs introduced at the time of creating specifications for software can be classified as specification bugs. These are the bugs that get introduced when technical specifications for requirements and design are created.&nbsp;



For example, according to the specification, if a user enters an incorrect password, the error message “Incorrect Password!” should be shown to the user. As per the standard security guidelines, the error message in this scenario should be “Incorrect Username or Password!”.



 If a naive developer, who doesn’t know about standard security guidelines and practices followed in software products, is tasked with implementing the specification and he/she unknowingly goes ahead and implements the behaviour as mentioned in the specification, then the bug occurring here is a specification bug.



Such bugs, if not caught early, can impact the product development cycle. 



<h3>3. Absent Specification Bugs: </h3>Bugs that get introduced in the software because workflows and use-cases related to them were not considered during the creation of specifications can be termed absent specification bugs. These are the bugs that arise because nobody thought they could happen or would be needed when the specifications were created. </li></ol>



For example, the specification for a website doesn’t talk about supporting HTTPS. Therefore, it is assumed that HTTPS support is not needed for the website.



Security vulnerabilities in products are a classic example of such bugs. The security aspect is generally not considered during the initial phases of product specifications and may get missed in later phases until someone starts seeing the associated risks and raises alarm.&nbsp; 



<h2 id="what-causes-bugs-in-software">What Causes Bugs in Software?</h2>



Following are some of the common factors which cause software bugs:&nbsp;



<h3>1. Regression/Injection: </h3>A regression/injection is known to have happened when a new code change impacts the existing code in an undesirable manner, like a side-effect. This means that until the new code change was made, the software was working as expected but after the new code change, a bug has been introduced in the software.&nbsp;



Regressions/Injections are common when:



i. Teams are working with large and complex codebases of legacy products.ii. Teams are working in a disjoint manner such that they are not aware of how the modules they are working on may impact each otheriii. Product design is not clean enough to avoid side-effects in the code.



Whatever be the reason, regressions/injections pose serious challenges to the quality of a product and surely need to be prevented.



<h3>2. Inadequate Testing:</h3> If the software has not been thoroughly tested during its development cycle, there is an increased likelihood of bugs being left undiscovered in the product. These bugs would eventually be discovered by the end-users, raising concerns about the quality of the product.



This lapse in testing could be due to various reasons such as:



i. Lack of appropriate testing procedures for the product.ii. Shortage of experienced testers in the team.iii. Lack of time and resources needed for testing.



These bugs can surely be prevented from reaching the end-users by addressing the factors leading to inadequate testing.



<h3> 3. Communication Gap:</h3> Specifications depict the thoughts and vision of the people creating them. Any gaps in communication among people creating the specifications would eventually find their way in the specifications created by them.



These gaps in specifications can give way to miscommunication, assumptions, and conflicts leading to bugs. If some scenarios were not considered during creating a specification, expected behaviours for these scenarios would also be missing in the specification. 



This lack of information in the specification creates the opportunity for the development team to make assumptions regarding the expected behaviour for these scenarios. 



As assumptions are the first step on the path that leads to the difference between the expected and actual behaviour of a product, new bugs can get introduced in the product.



Sometimes, it may happen that different specifications or different sections in the same specification have conflicting expectations for the same use-case or scenario. 



Since development teams working on implementing these specifications may only refer to the sections relevant to them, such conflicts may be hard to catch early paving the way for bugs.&nbsp;



<h3>4. Improper Planning:</h3>Not considering scenarios that can impact the product later reflect poor planning. Such lapse in planning could also be due to a lack of relevant expertise in the team.



For example, if there is no security expertise in the team, it’s easy to miss on the planning of security-related efforts.&nbsp;



Improper planning may result in a lack of crucial components/modules in a&nbsp; product which may put the whole product at risk later.



<h2 id="how-can-software-bugs-be-prevented">How can Software Bugs be Prevented?</h2>



Following are a few techniques that can help in preventing software bugs:



<h3>1. Test-Driven Development (TDD):</h3> TDD encourages creating failing tests for the feature/product before developing the feature/product. As the development for the feature/product reaches completion, the test cases begin to pass, validating the expected behaviour for the feature/product.



If tests are created before the feature/product, the likelihood of a feature/product reaching its end-users untested is greatly reduced. TDD can serve as a powerful technique to prevent bugs arising due to inadequate testing.



<h3 id="2-continuous-integration-continuous-testing-cict">2. Continuous Integration Continuous Testing (CICT):</h3>



CICT emphasizes that every code change integrated into the central code repository should be automatically tested with predefined test cases. Thus, continuous testing is possible only when <a href="https://testsigma.com/automated-testing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="automated testing (opens in a new tab)">automated testing</a> is implemented and integrated with CI/CD system. 



To achieve CICT for a product, it is crucial that the test automation system is integrated with the build system of the product.



Having a CICT pipeline for the product makes sure that any regressions/injections in the product are caught as soon as they are introduced. This saves a lot of time and effort that is otherwise spent in tracking down the changes that caused the regression/injection.&nbsp;



<h3>3. Behaviour Driven Development(BDD):</h3>BDD encourages the use of a Domain Specific Language (DSL) for communication between and within teams. Using DSL helps in reducing miscommunication among stakeholders.



When BDD is used, tests can be created in a simple text language like English which makes it easy for everyone in the team to participate in creating and reviewing tests without getting into the nitty-gritty of code syntax. 



This flexibility and transparency in creating and reviewing test cases can help a lot in reducing bugs occurring due to communication gaps between and within teams.



Testsigma is a unified test automation tool that has taken test automation to a new level by allowing automation in simple English. To know more about <a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">Testsigma click here</a>.



<h3>4. Specification Review and Management:</h3> As the scope for the product evolves, so do specifications related to it. The dedicated effort may be required to review and track the updates happening in specifications. Early catching of any updates in the specifications which may lead to a potential conflict, can help in preventing bugs later in the implementation of the product.



<h3>5. Clear Communication:</h3> Open and clear communication among teams and team members can help a lot in highlighting absent/conflicting scenarios in specifications. If every team member is encouraged to communicate about use-cases or scenarios that they think are missing/conflicting in the specification then, such issues can be identified much quickly and early.



Encouraging teams to seek inputs from relevant stakeholders and brainstorm for the possible expected behaviours in cases of missing/conflicting specifications can help in reducing bugs arising out of assumptions made for implementation.



<h2 id="why-are-not-all-software-bugs-preventable">Why are not all Software Bugs Preventable?</h2>



Despite various prevention techniques available, bugs still find their way in products. There can be multiple factors for this, such as:



<h3>1. Effort Tradeoff: </h3>At times, you might need to choose between preventing bugs and evolving the product for new user groups, technologies and business domains.
With limited resources at hand, prioritizing bug prevention over new product features and updates may not always be a good business decision.



<h3>2. User Immunity to Bugs: </h3>Unless the bugs in the product make it really hard to use from a performance and stability perspective, users understand that bugs do exist in software and a bug-free software is not a realistic expectation.



<h3>3. Team Structure and Dynamics: </h3> Some of the bug prevention techniques might not work for you depending on your team structure and dynamics.



<h3>4. Software Patch Releases: </h3> If a critical bug in the product has made its way to the end-user, you know it’s not the end of the world and there is an option to provide a patch release or an early next release.



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



It is always good to prevent bugs whenever possible. It saves a lot of time and effort later. But as discussed above, despite best efforts, some bugs might still find their way in the product. And it&#8217;s alright as long as these bugs don’t threaten user loyalty of the product.&nbsp;



A software with lots of features but poor stability and performance is as useless as a stable and highly performant software that doesn’t have enough features to achieve user workflows. To choose between preventing bugs and adding more features to the product, you need to find the right balance between the two.&nbsp;

Techniques To Prevent Software Bugs

Selenium Vs Testsigma |  Which is the Best Automation Testing Tool?

Cucumber vs  Testsigma : Behaviour Driven Development Compared

How to Document Bugs and Issues so your team draw the greatest benefit from them

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Common testing mistakes made by beginners Testsigma

Common Software Testing Mistakes Beginners Make & How To Avoid

Remote work has been steadily gaining popularity for some years now. According to an article published by <a href="https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/remote-work-statistics/#gref" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">smallbizgenius</a>, in 2019, the number of people who work from home has increased by 140% since 2005.



Now, most of the population is working from home. For most of the companies that had not adapted work from home before, this time has been an eye-opener. Many companies including the big ones like Twitter, Barclays, Mondelez are allowing employees to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/01/major-companies-talking-about-permanent-work-from-home-positions.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">continue work from home</a> indefinitely. as there is a wide range of tools that support organizational productivity, allowing employees to work remotely. From employee onboarding software to training tools, everything is geared to <a href="https://snacknation.com/blog/human-resources-management-software/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">make workforce manageable</a>.



Here, I am sharing a some remote working tips that I have learnt in my five years of remote working experience that could help you make your work effective personally and professionally.







<ul class="list_style_disc"><li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Follow a routine: When we go to the office, the routine comes naturally to us. While in the comforts of home, it can become a tough task. Having a routine in place will not only <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2015/10/the-psychology-of-daily-routine-7-reasons-why-people-who-do-the-same-things-each-day-tend-to-be-happier-than-those-who-chase-adventure/">keep you in a better mood</a> but your teammates will also know the right time to contact you.



You may have to put in conscious efforts to keep up a routine till the time it becomes a habit for you. Read here to know <a href="https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/18-tricks-to-make-new-habits-stick.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">how to make new habits stick</a>. A general rule of thumb to make a habit stick is to repeat it for 21 days without fail.



For me, personally, having a fixed sleep time and wake up time helped to schedule other tasks better.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Work when you are the most productive: If you have been working for some time, you would know what hours of the day are most productive for you.Some people feel most productive in the silence of the night while some feel most productive in the early morning hours. Any time when you are able to <a href="https://www.timedoctor.com/feature-employee-monitoring" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> get your work done </a> without distractions is the best time. Try to get the most important tasks of the day done during these hours.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Take breaks: <a href="https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-reasons-you-should-stop-working-long-hours-today.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Working continuously for a long duration</a> is actually known to reduce productivity. So, instead of trying to do all the tasks in one go, try to break your work time into chunks of smaller duration.For eg., you can work for an hour on one task then take a break for 10 minutes, check your <a href="https://napoleoncat.com/blog/instagram-dms/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Instagram DMs </a> or listen to music, and then work on another. Or you can pick some other duration depending on your tasks and personal suitability.</li>



Taking regular breaks lets your brain and body relax and also gives you the opportunity to spend some time with family at home or friends on a call.



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Every day, have a plan of what tasks you will accomplish. Before you go to sleep, jot down the tasks for the next day, so when you wake up the next day, you know where to start. This way, you will be able to be productive as soon as you start your day. Also, you can use the RescueTime time management tool or check out some <a href="https://timingapp.com/blog/rescuetime-alternatives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RescueTime alternatives</a> to plan your work ahead and keep track of your working time.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 30px">Do other tasks when you are not at your productive best: Checking emails is one task you can do at this time. You can schedule reading them at the end of your workday or just before you take a break or do some household chores.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Take up only what you can manage: This point is especially for those who try to juggle many things at once. We are humans and even if we work 24 hours a day, the number of things we could accomplish is limited.



The best solution is to keep a list of tasks you need to do with priority assigned to all of them. Do the most important tasks first, including the tasks you need to take care of at home.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Don’t hesitate to delegate: There will be some tasks that you must do but there will be some that you can easily delegate to others. Delegating tasks also helps you focus on the important tasks.</li>







<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Have a place where you can work without disturbance: After routine and task management, the workplace plays the most important part of your work life. When you are in your workplace, you know you are supposed to work and, there are fewer chances of you getting distracted. Thus it becomes important that you plan on investing in setting up a workplace at home.To begin with, you can <a href="https://www.thespruce.com/small-desks-4155171" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">set up a mini DIY work station</a>.Checkout <a href="https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/get-to-work-13-diy-workbenches-craft-counters-and-potting-tables-47343#diy-bookcase-bench" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">some unique DIY workbenches ideas here as well</a>.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Minimize distractions: For me, the biggest distractions are social media websites and apps. I open the phone to check one notification and then get stuck going through all the updates. This could also mean that while I was sitting in my workplace, I was not being productive and I end up spending a longer duration for the same task.



To keep myself away from any distraction and to be my productive best when it matters, I try to keep my phone away from me whenever I am working. Eventually, I stopped feeling the urge to check the phone now and then.



For some people, this distraction could be Netflix. A solution could be to plan for your work to be completed at a fixed time every day. At that time, you can switch on your Netflix and go binging without any guilt of not giving your 100% to your work. Know what distracts you from your work and keep away from it during work hours.</li>



Communicate: Being remote, communication is what suffers the most. So, you will have to be proactive to chase away any delays due to a shortage of communication. The best way is to communicate with the risk of over communication. One solution to enhance communication when working remotely is using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ringcentral.com/us/en/blog/what-is-ringcentral/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RingCentral</a>, a communication platform that provides messaging, <a href="https://trueconf.com/blog/reviews-comparisons/video-conferencing-software.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">video conferencing</a>, and phone systems, among other features. When you are working remotely, people cannot see you working. They also won’t know if you are available or not. Communicate this beforehand.



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Communicate: Being remote, communication is what suffers the most. So, you will have to be proactive to chase away any delays due to a shortage of communication. The best way is to communicate with the risk of over communication.</li>



When you are working remotely, people cannot see you working. They also won’t know if you are available or not. Communicate this beforehand.



If you have a doubt, ask. If you find some valuable information, share. If you feel like talking, ping someone. This way, you will also be able to bring your water cooler conversations to your home.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Never guess or leave anyone guessing: If there is someone who needs to know the status of your task, don’t wait for them to ask. Ping them and let them know the status. If you are dependent on someone’s tasks, don’t assume their status. Just ask them.



This is also a perfect time to start using a collaboration tool like Slack, Asana, Trello etc to avoid any gaps in communication</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Have patience: With remote work, also comes work time flexibility. People work according to their own schedules. What could be a suitable time for you to work might be someone else’s time to feed their kids.



So, If you ask someone a question, give them time to return back to you. Meanwhile, you can work on some other tasks.</li>







<li style="padding-bottom: 30px">Stay visible: If there are group conversation, participate in them. And, always communicate your work status to your manager.</li>







<li style="padding-bottom: 20px">Talk to people: Even though you are working remote, you are part of a team. Being part of the team, you should know your team members and your team members should know you. So, whenever a situation comes where you can talk about yourself or ask about someone, act on it swiftly.Strengthen your <a href="https://krisp.ai/blog/virtual-team-communication/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remote team communication </a> to ensure productivity.You should also ping your team members individually sometimes to just build up on those friendships that you might be otherwise missing by not going to the office.</li>



<li style="padding-bottom: 50px">Take care of yourself: To end the article on the most important note, all the remote working tips above would work for you only if you take care of yourself too. So, take out time for your hobbies, spend time with your family and friends. Have an ergonomic chair for a good posture. And do something to be happy every day.</li></ul>



If you are a tester, we also compiled some tips for <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/make-testing-remote-friendly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="making testing remote-friendly (opens in a new tab)">making testing remote-friendly</a>.

15 Remote Working Tips From Experience

Here&#8217;s a quick QnA session with the one and only witty and sharp, Ajay Balamurugadas.



Ajay is an esteemed speaker, conducts multiple training sessions, learning activities, and testing initiatives. He is always ready to help and suggest thoughtful ideas(no doubt why people call him the &#8220;idea guy&#8221;!) 



Ajay leads delivery at Qapitol QA, a QA services&#8217; company that topped the<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" GTR Leaderboard (opens in a new tab)" href="https://gtr.agiletestingalliance.org/leaderboard/" target="_blank"> GTR Leaderboard</a>.



Here&#8217;s what we discussed.



Do you have a different strategy for your automation and your testing? Or one strategy to rule them all?



Automation and testing should not be compared. It is like comparing physics and science, baking, and cooking. Automation is part of testing. You need to check if certain things are as expected and a tool can do that faster. That is where automation will help.



There are certainly other areas and aspects of testing where it helps if you have a tester test, explore the application. You choose automation (tools) or humans based on what would help you achieve your mission, save time and cost (in that order most of the time).



How can manual testers and automation engineers complement each other when testing?



We need to first get rid of the terms &#8211; manual and automation engineers/testers. Maybe, let us call everyone testers &#8211; some specializing in functional testing and some good with automation tools.



We should understand the goals of testing &#8211; discover information related to the quality of the product. I recommend everyone read <a href="https://twitter.com/QualityFrog/status/1225540826916368388" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">this thread</a> by Ben Simo where he highlights how automation can help in testing.



What do you think is important for any team that is already working on automation or planning to start?



All the automation that is done should help everyone in the project. Imagine you have built the best scripts but no one is using it, what is the use? So, use automation not to replace testing as some claim, but to enhance the powers of testers



People say they can only know the maintenance cost once they have put the tool to use for some time, what scenarios should we keep in mind to get to know these sooner?



Discuss internally, use the trial version on the real project, ask people who have already used the tool. Do not think short term. See how you would use the tool for your projects in future.Analyze the costs throughout the cycle.



What factors can help a team decide if they are mature enough to adopt automation?



If you answer No to any of the following four questions, I would say &#8211; wait, maybe you are not ready yet.



<ol style="padding-bottom: 30px"><li>Are you and the product, development teams in sync about the release cycles and the changes?</li><li>Does everyone understand the current pain points and feel that automation can help remove the pain points?</li><li>Do you have the buy-in from the management?</li><li>Do the teams have the freedom to choose the tool for automation?</li></ol>



Are there scenarios when automation is not a solution? Can you give us an example?



Any team where automation is done just to prove that people are working on automation, trying to automate everything, automating the incorrect things are all examples where automation is more harmful.



One scenario where I think automation should be used to execute scenarios but used to help in other activities is when the product is undergoing a lot of changes, frequently.



Please do not automate if all the teams are not in sync about the value of automation else you will waste a lot of time and money.



To reduce learning costs, what would you say is better &#8211; a tool that has a good support team or a tool that has a good forum presence?



The ultimate goal should be achieved. The team should be able to learn the tool quickly. It could be through the support team sometimes and sometimes by a good forum presence. My personal preference is the forum presence for open source. Support is not always available and I would learn quicker from someone who has gone through the struggles similar to mine. 



In cases of commercial tools, you can be confident of a better support system that will guide you from onboarding to first tests to solving any problems and helping achieve your goals. With commercial tools, I prefer the support teams. 



It is a new challenge today. When everyone is remote and maintaining quality, how to stay demonstrably productive at this time?



Staying demonstrably productive is a wrong goal to chase. Be productive. That is enough.



At the start of the day, communicate to your team about the tasks you are targeting for the day. If any change in priority is needed, the team will let you know.



At the end of the day, highlight what was achieved and what is the plan for the rest. Do communicate a lot and agree upon catch up times.



Do you have any tips for effective testing at these testing times?



Anytime, everytime, work on your skills and do justice to the CTC you take home.Do not lie to self.



Now we are in 2020, how far have we come in terms of testing? Also, do you think AI is the future of testing?



Patterns repeat. Those days, people were chasing Selenium. Now they are chasing AI. The chase continues. Very few have dedicated their lives to learning testing in depth. AI is the future? Ha, ha. We will test applications based on AI but AI might not be the future so soon. It will take time. The chase will continue for the next big thing. We are forgetting that we are dealing with people at the end of the day and very few can predict what people want.&nbsp; 



At the same time, this is the time where we have so much data and computing power to analyze and predict with reasonable confidence compared to the past. People are already building applications that are heavily powered by AI and testing them brings out interesting challenges for the software testing community.



Let us enjoy the journey!







Check out Ajay&#8217;s latest book at&nbsp;<a aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://leanpub.com/50mistakes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.leanpub.com/50mistakes</a>&nbsp;that discusses 50 software testing mistakes of his career and find out more testing resources from him at <a href="http://enjoytesting.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Enjoy Testing</a>.



Ajay is very approachable and always willing to give advice. Hit him up on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ajay184f">Twitter </a>and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajaybalamurugadas/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">LinkedIn</a>.



Thank you Ajay for sharing your thoughts with us 🙂

QnA with Ajay Balamurugadas

Why test data management is so important-Testsigma

What Is Test Data Management? | Importance & Best Practices

Time suddenly took a U-turn and did when we least expected it. While just some time ago, millions of people were travelling across the globe, now we are forced to stay at home for our good.



If expert opinion and news analysis are to be believed, remote work is expected to become the new norm at least in the near future.&nbsp;



We need to equip ourselves to better adapt to the situation in the best way possible.



In this article, we have compiled some tips for remote QA testing teams to keep testing effectively.



1. Communicate



With teams working from physically different situations, the aspect of remote working that has the most impact is communication.



Schedule a short meeting daily to plan the work and practice sharing work status with your team. Make sure every team member is involved in it. A good practice is to share a summary of the discussion in case someone misses to join.



It is important that a remote QA testing team provides timely feedback. For testing specific tasks, always communicate the completion status on time when possible. A better way to do it is to update your teams on the progress of your work using a test management tool. Team members can access and check the status of the tasks anytime, anywhere. This will be particularly helpful if their tasks are dependent on yours.



2. Make your testing reports clear and concise



Some part of a tester’s daily activity will always involve reporting. Whenever a bug is found they will be logging bug reports. When executing test cases, they share execution reports. The execution reports will also be of different types &#8211; for eg. functional testing reports, performance testing reports, regression testing reports, release certification reports.



To make the reports useful while working remotely, they must highlight the issues and convey the test behavior. This prevents any to and fro between people to understand what the reports mean. This also helps teams to stay productive while working remote.



3. Automate workflow where possible



Depending on the type of project you are testing, and the role you are in, you would have a lot of workflows already automated or many might be pending.To improve the quality of remote testing work, try to automate the processes that would help other team members perform better.For example, having an automated CI/CD workflow where after every check-in, a regression test suite is executed automatically will save testers and the developers a lot of time.



4. Reduce potential blockers and individual dependencies, where possible



With remote work, all team members cannot be available at the same time. Keeping this in mind, individual dependencies should be removed as much as possible. For eg, if there are test automation scripts or test cases &#8211; they should be hosted at a location that is shared with all. The hosted locations and folder structures should be easy to understand and communicated to all beforehand.



5. Enable selective access to the testing machines on need-basis



There are organizations where testers need access to different machines and servers for testing. These machines could be hosted on the cloud or hosted in the organization’s headquarters within a private network. To keep the security intact, enable access to these testing machines and environments with the people that need to access it. Make sure to not share any potentially sensitive files/data on these machines.



6. Use secured tools



Now when people have no other way than to work remotely, people are also using various tools for making remote work easy. They could be <a href="https://trueconf.com/features/collaboration/instant-messaging.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">messaging apps</a>, meeting apps, task management tools, or collaboration tools.



 Though it&#8217;s good to use such <a href="https://callhippo.com/blog/business/productivity-tools" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tools for better productivity</a> and reduced communication barriers, ensure that your tools are always secure. You need to keep yourself and your internet self safe and secure.



If you have not already, you should think of investing in a test management tool that allows you to host and manage your manual &amp; automated test cases, test execution reports, and analysis.



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<a href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Testsigma </a>is a unified test automation platform that allows you to:



1. Automate test cases on the cloud.



Testsigma allows you to automate test cases in simple English via NLP. These test cases are created and hosted on the cloud and can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, anytime.



2. Execute test cases on a cloud-hosted test lab that has 1000+ screen sizes to test on.



Testsigma has an in-built test lab with all the latest devices and browsers that you might need to test on. It can also easily integrate with BrowserStack and Sauce Labs.



3. Get comprehensive execution reports and access them anywhere anytime.



The execution reports are created keeping the most important stuff highlighted and the needed references attached which prove to be useful for testers as well as managers.



4. Easily integrate with other CI/CD tools you might be using.



If you have an already set up continuous integration/DevOps workflow, Testsigma can integrate seamlessly with it.



5. Debug your failed test cases on the cloud.



Testsigma attaches screenshots, video recording of test execution and logs to execution reports. It also supports pause and play of test cases for better debugging experience.



Testsigma offers On-Demand Automation Expert Services &nbsp;to address complex situations and growing requirements. The dedicated expert will work with you remotely and in the time zone you are comfortable with.



We are in tough times. Some of us could seem better than others but the fear of the unknown is worrying us all. So, let&#8217;s understand each other and have empathy for each other too, every moment of the day. If someone is not available, let&#8217;s understand and ask them when they will be available instead. In place of calling for a meeting without any notice, ask for time when they are comfortable and then schedule a meeting. If people don’t turn up, it&#8217;s ok.Make everyone feel inclusive and comfortable. Respect and appreciation might be something that might be needed more frequently in these times.



Know More: <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/tips-to-overcome-remote-testing-challenges/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tips for Remote Testing</a>

Make Testing Remote Friendly with Testsigma

Make Testing Remote-Friendly

Why DevOps is Important for Modern Businesses

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” &#8211;&nbsp; a famous quote by Hellen Keller is very much valid even in current times, especially in the context of teamwork.



The relationship between any two people is considered good when communication between them is healthy. And on the same lines, a team is able to work ‘together’ better when their communication is strong.



The testers in a software development team will be understood better if they are able to convey the software testing information and insights properly. In this article, we will discuss how to improve communication in a team from the perspective of testers.&nbsp;



Below are 7 ways that testers can communicate software testing insights better: 



1. Establishing Channels For Cross-Functional Communication Communication in a small team is usually not a challenge because one-on-one interaction is easy and simple. But as the size of an organization grows, the communication channels become complex in nature. Sometimes team members lack the know-how of sharing their knowledge with the right people and the communication gap widens.



This may lead to multiple people working on the same thing at the same time, which could also lead to a loss in productivity and ultimately revenue.&nbsp;



The solution is to establish proper channels for collaboration. A short meeting daily to plan the work and the practice of sharing work status with everyone proves helpful in avoiding such situations.&nbsp; 



One communication tool that all the team members use to communicate with each other is also useful. Slack and JIRA are some tools that companies use and have proved to be valuable.



2. Well-defined Reports



	Information related tasks and daily status is one aspect of communication. Another aspect is reports. Testers do many big tasks that can only be understood if they are followed up with well-defined reports. Test execution reports for example.



Testers execute a high number of test cases, for multiple features and for multiple releases. Sending reports, to concerned people, for each of these according to the timeline and goal of testing will make the testing process transparent for the team. Other team members can also pitch in their suggestions to improve the processes.



Typically, The test execution reports should include the objective of testing, testing scope, test results metrics, types of testing performed, test environment &amp; tools, and conclusion.



3. Bug Reporting <a href="https://testsigma.com/blog/a-testers-guide-to-deal-with-missed-bugs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bugs are something that testers deal</a> with almost daily. Whenever a bug is encountered, it should be reported for timely action.&nbsp; The purpose of the report is to convey to the developers and the management the bug in short in the title. The test steps are to provide the reproduction steps if needed.&nbsp;



Bug reports should be constructed keeping in mind that the Developer or the Manager does not need to consult the tester to understand the bug or to furnish any other details again. 



An ideal bug report will include details of when it appeared and why.



For intermittent occurrences, the pattern of which it occurs, the different product versions, environment name, etc. It is a good practice to record a possible fix for the error if known, include screenshots, videos, and error logs where possible.



4. Removing Communication Barriers



If organizations really want the information to flow freely, it has to be easy, not just for the members who are working on a computer, but for those as well who are working remotely. By using third-party integrations such as Slack and Jira, all the members of different teams can share information from all corners of your organization and all across the world in an instant. The inclusion of <a href="https://www.appypie.com/connect/apps/slack/integrations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Slack integration</a> further enhances communication and collaboration capabilities, enabling efficient and effective information exchange.



5. Strengthen Important Messages



When a team grows beyond twenty members, the collaboration between the members decreases significantly, especially in teams that are in different departments, locations, and roles. This says that strengthening the goal of working together can improve team communication and collaboration to a great extent. It is important for the enterprise software teams having people in different departments, roles and regions to reinforce important messages with multiple teams. This could mean that the team managers highlight the important messages for the team or such messages are sent with an important tag.



6. Training of Developers and Testers



Developers and testers should learn from each other. Developers should help testers understand the code base and the testers should help the developers understand the test suite and the logic behind the test techniques used or followed. The training will help both the developers and testers to easily collaborate and share important software testing information and insights related to the testing as well as development more often.



Teams which are using Agile and DevOps workflows should use CI (Continuous Integration) tools such as Jenkins.&nbsp;



7. Effective Integration with CI/CD



&nbsp;The CI/CD pipeline should be implemented in such a way that if a test fails, the report should be sent only to the concerned developers to avoid the bombardment of emails to those member’s inboxes who are not concerned with it. Otherwise, receiving many emails related to CI/CD status multiple times a day might compel people to ignore the mails. Check out some <a href="https://hunter.io/blog/cold-email-tools/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cold email outreach tools</a> which will reduce your security and privacy concerns when it comes to emails. You could also check an <a href="https://snov.io/email-verifier" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email address checker</a> to verify addresses before sending the emails. 



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://testsigma.com" target="_blank">Testsigma</a> is an automated testing tool that is built after considering all above-mentioned strategies for improving communication between team members. Let’s see how:



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Testsigma generates custom reports with text logs, video recordings, screenshots that can be shared with different members of the team working at different levels according to the information they need. </li><li>Testsigma has a “Report Bug” feature which helps the testers in drilling down the test results to get more information for the root cause of the failure and file a bug into several integrated bug platforms such as JIRA. </li><li>Testsigma allows its users to share test results via email, manually or automatically. </li><li>&nbsp;Testsigma hosts all <a href="https://testsigma.com/reports" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="test execution reports (opens in a new tab)">test execution reports</a> on the cloud. It helps the users to view and analyse the test results for each test environment from anywhere, anytime so you can better identify what areas need focus and determine the reach of your test coverage.</li></ul>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>It ensures that the application runs on every OS, device and browser combination that is supported.</li> </ul>



<ul class="list_style_disc"><li>Testsigma also allows its users to share the software testing insights through the communication tool Slack. Slack is an amazing communication tool which is becoming highly popular among companies of all sizes. Screenshot of an issue, text and insights in other forms can be easily shared via Slack. </li><li>Testsigma has a test lab replete with the latest devices and browsers to support cross-browser and cross-device testing. Not only this, schedulers can be used to schedule test plan runs. </li><li>Testsigma is built to address the automated cross-browser testing requirements and allows for easy sharing and integration of actionable feedback instantly with the team. This ensures an uninterrupted user experience across all the browsers.</li> </ul>



Current IT industry is becoming more and more complex with teams being geographically dispersed, organizations moving to the cloud and teams opting for emerging methodologies such as Agile and DevOps. This ecosystem makes it more difficult to communicate and evaluate the software testing insights from the testing activities. 



With powerful reporting and analytics tools, Testsigma helps organize and share data easily and effectively. It allows the testers, stakeholders, and decision-makers to remain updated regarding the progress and results at any given moment.



All in all, Testsigma has put in dedicated efforts to make any result easily shareable with all necessary integrations.



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Top Ways to Communicate Software Testing Insights Better