For many people, seeing the words “quality assurance” and “fast” in the same sentence just doesn’t make sense. After all, isn’t quality assurance the slow, deliberate process of locating and fixing bugs that holds back your app’s release?
QA testing might often be viewed by developers and stakeholders as a process that delays release, but it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right practices, QA testing can be a fast process that lets you bug test your app and release it the way it should be, without delay.
The key is creating great practices that allow you to focus on finding and eliminating bugs, all without holding up release. Below, we’ve listed the five best QA testing practices to speed up your quality assurance process and release your app fast, all without compromising on quality.
Focus on fixing the most frequent, debilitating bugs first
One of the most effective ways to speed up the QA testing process is to focus on the 20% of bugs that affect 80% of users. Using usage data, you can observe which parts of your app are used the most frequently to pinpoint the bugs that are most likely to affect end users.
In a mobile app environment, you can use Google Analytics for Mobile Apps to work out which parts of your app to prioritize for QA testing. You can also apply the 80/20 rule to variables like browser and device type, prioritizing the browsers or devices that are used most frequently.
There’s no such thing as a bug-free app, and glitches exist in even the most thoroughly tested code. By focusing on the 20% of bugs that affect 80% of your users, you can reduce the rate at which users experience quality assurance issues with your app after its latest release.
Create your release criteria with a focus on new code
You’re preparing to release an app that mixes new code with old. Which part of the product is most likely to have quality assurance issues? By creating most of your release criteria around the new code in your app, you can focus on the code most likely to need extensive QA tests.
Your release criteria plays a huge role in determining the scope and focus of your QA testing, making it essential to clearly define which parts of the product need the most extensive tests before release.
Build your release criteria around the newest code being added to your app and you’ll reduce the total amount of testing that needs to be carried out, speeding up the pre-release QA testing process.
Form dedicated teams for each aspect of testing
If your priority is speed, creating dedicated teams for each aspect of testing (from QA testing to performance and security) allows you to reduce the total amount of time spent on testing your app prior to release.
While the app is unstable, get the QA testers to work. As it becomes more stable and bugs are ironed out and rectified, have the security testing team carry out a thorough review. After you’re certain it’s safe and secure, run dedicated tests to assess your app’s performance.
Each of these testing steps is vital for releasing a secure, functional app, and each step requires time. However, with dedicated teams for each step of the testing process, you can optimize QA testing and get your app’s next release out sooner.
Stay as close as possible to all relevant test environments
Throughout the testing process, it’s important that you stay as close as possible to two different test environments:
- The hardware and software your developers use
- The hardware and software your end users use
The first saves you from dealing with time-consuming internal disagreements between QA and development, where both insist they’re right about a specific bug or issue. The second insures your app is thoroughly tested under production conditions, preparing it for use by end users.
Before you launch, run a regression testing cycle
By this point, you’re almost ready to release your app. You’ve tested and fixed the biggest, most common bugs. You’ve created an accurate, actionable release criteria. You’ve set up dedicated teams for each aspect of testing and you’ve tested using the right test environments.
The final step is to run a regression testing cycle. Now that your new code is cleared, go back to test the old, unmodified code to ensure there are no significant issues. Re-execute old tests and check that they return the same results, with a clear plan based on the scope of the new code.
Regression testing is one of the most important aspects of pre-release QA testing, since it’s far from uncommon for one fixed bug to introduce several others. Only once each part of your app’s code is greenlit is it time to ready it for release.
Is your app QA tested and ready for release?
From developers to end users, no one likes buggy software. If you’re in the process of building a mobile app, use our on-demand crowdtesting service to speed up your QA testing process and get your app ready for release faster.
