In most of the previous blogs, we have discussed the importance of testing in general. But to implement this process as a crucial step before a launch, it's important to imbibe testing deeper into an organizational structure. For that, founders and CEOs need to ensure to build an effective testing culture in a company.
By now, most members of the QA team have realized the incredible transformation software testing[Testing Software] has brought to the IT industry. Automation testing has been preventing bugs from slipping through the cracks for quite some time now. Adding and testing new functionalities delivers more value to customers which means more ROI for the company.
It won't be an overstatement to say that implementing testing across the entire development life cycle almost guarantees a qualitative output. However, most firms are used to performing testing in a way that has a certain level of dependency on different teams when it comes to the environment and test data setup. They are also treated as somewhat individual processes which lead to bottlenecks.
If you pay close attention, it's easy to notice challenges or delays in a Software Development Lifecycle. Most of the time you might have re-considered the implemented testing methodologies or other related processes. But have you ever thought about how things would go if companies focused on building an effective testing culture as a whole? In this post, we are going to take a look at how to build an effective testing culture and the different viewpoints of founders and CEOs of testing companies. Let's take a look.
Importance of Building an Effective Testing Culture
- Testing suffers when organizations majorly scatter software creation responsibilities across extremely disjoint things. While it's more or less a kneejerk reaction, it isolates testers and compromises effectiveness. On the contrary, in an effective testing culture, the responsibility is collective.
- For example, creators often have a strong desire to make their creations succeed. The same goes for developers as a part of the testing culture. Since they are the ones creating these systems, supporting them becomes easier. This way, teams won't have to move massive batches among development and testing teams. A single unit of talented individuals with varying expertise would reduce ambiguity and implement customer feedback without delays.
- It's time we realize that merely teaching the whole part isn't enough. In a culture of testing, it all comes down to direct applications to actual projects that offer a real demonstration and build confidence among all team members.
How To Build an Effective Testing Culture
- ImpactQA’s founder and CEO JP Bhatt mentioned the tremendous scope of software testing in an age of highly appealing digital transformation. He leverages high-class tools and effective techniques with his expert testers unit to accelerate the conventional quality assurance standards for generating unmatched deliverables.
- In fact, one of the crucial reasons why his company has a double edge in the market is due to the coexistence of blockchain testing and AI testing within the community. The fact that they’re adopting NextGen technologies including an effective testing culture is a huge reason for their outgrowth as testing industry leaders. On that note, let's take a look at how to build an effective testing culture.
Curb Isolation and Silos
- Ranga Reddy, Co-founder and CEO of Maveric Systems highlights the importance of effective testing culture by saying, “Our company understands that in this age of advanced technology, development and Quality Assurance cannot exist in the exclusive silos they have been operating in so far.”
- Sometimes, isolated testers lack the capabilities or insights for testing on a lower level that's not a unit level within the application. Think about it. Is it a smart move considering that this is where most of the effective verification takes place? Since developers have a deeper understanding of the application and the code, there’s no reason why testers shouldn't directly work in amalgamation with the development team. Why not just coalesce their expertise and let them work right alongside each other?
Lay The Right Foundation
- The foremost challenge during creating an effective testing culture is to lay the correct foundation for the same. It starts with enhancing your QA team's skill set. not only should they know how to work with test automation but they should also so I understand what goes behind building an application. At the same time, they need to have an understanding of how testing adds value to the functionality.
- Some other processes testers should have a tight grasp on include infrastructure as code (IAC) and Continuous Integration. To further improve the skill set of your workforce, train manual testers that are already on board along with hiring testers and engineers with relevant skill sets.
- Demonstrating value in testing goes hand-in-hand with laying the correct foundation. To avoid a massive gamble, educate your team and take the leap to test automation as soon as possible. When you demonstrate value of automated testing and leverage expertise, you can quickly bring your workforce to proficiency and the new culture. Besides demonstrating, directly help other team members to apply what they have learned.
Don't Focus Too Much on Mandates
- Mandates might lead up to a large number of tests, but no one can guarantee that every aspect is going to be useful. In fact, it's time to let go of the myths that useless tests are harmless. After all, if a test isn't helping, in some way it's hurting. Such tests are an addition to the code which increases maintenance responsibilities. Is the long-term confusion worth it?
- But when a company culture is focused on a more amalgamated approach, responsibilities are shared. This leads to more valuable tests, thanks to the clarity on the benefits of specific test cases. That's why, you should always avoid mandates such as code coverage, number of tests, test-driven development, and so on. Some techniques are best left to the judgment of skilled professionals.
Offer Support, Space, and Trust
- Learning new techniques is just the tip of the iceberg. The main barrier is to apply these in practicality. As we already know, any big change can be highly uncomfortable. Some people take more time to adapt and that needs an extra boost of motivation along with a sense of security.
- Since this culture shift is going to be a big change for developers, it's important to provide them and other team members the required support and space to adjust. Instead of rushing learning with overloading schedules, create a realistic pace. Eliminate as many unnecessary practices as you can. One example is the manual documentation of already automated test cases.
- Offering your team the flexibility to learn and leverage their knowledge to experiment goes a long way. It's crucial to implement this during their work hours instead of overloading them with extra shifts. Work hours are when employees are dedicated and dutiful. Take the time to encourage more innovation and help employees improve. Besides motivating and inculcating efficiency, it's vital to reward an individual or a team that learns new skills and successfully applies them. Additionally, when building an effective testing culture, it is also important to find a tech co-founder who can bring expertise in the latest technologies and help implement them in your testing processes.
- Frequently reflect on what works and what doesn't. Simultaneously encourage every team member to offer their insights, findings, and cherish victories. Most importantly, trusting both developers and testers after proper training and during implementation fosters positivity in the work culture. So, just as you trust doctors with your life, start trusting developers and the QA team with your software!
Goal-Oriented Communication
- It's important to know exactly what you aim for while building an effective testing culture. Cement to your goal and bring your entire workforce on board. Speaking of which, leaders are responsible for communicating what testers actually do which is why it is very important to develop communication skills for leaders. Bust any misconceptions or myths regarding their responsibilities.
- Crystal clear communication eliminates assumptions and it's important to make other teams realize how they can work in collaboration with testers. One way is to highlight the concept of continuous testing and testability throughout the project.
- When you build a strong passion for testing culture within an organization, you can share it through conference talks, webinars, and so on. Online communities of developers and testers can play a crucial role in keeping your employee morale high.
- I have noticed that when the foundation of the entire workforce’s focus is the outcome, effectiveness in testing goes hand in hand. For instance, if everyone knows the desired business outcome, instead of being told what they should do, they can themselves decide what's necessary and discuss the parameters to come up with a solution. For example, if an employee has to design tests on the basis of outcomes, discussing test expectations would be more direct and less time-consuming.
Summing It Up
It's safe to say that we have passed the phase where the importance of testing was underrated. With the realization that testing is a crucial part of the SDLC, it's time to crank it up a notch. The need for this massive cultural transformation is undeniable and inevitable. Instead of thinking of testing as a standalone process, it's important for changing the company culture and making testing an integral part of it.
Building on that, communication is the key to a collaborative testing culture across an organization. Also, remember that building a culture is an ever-evolving process. While it's important for the teams and individuals involved to let the culture grow on its own, implementing effectiveness calls for regular reflection on the scopes of improvement. To completely incorporate testing as a culture, you might even need to realign your original vision and use good practices and shared practice communities to reinforce updated knowledge.
Think about it this way. Something that used to take months, a company with an effective testing culture can complete in weeks. This will obviously save massive time and resources which you can allocate for the development of the organization. It all comes down to honing the achievements and pushing yourself further to improve and maintain the effective testing culture you’re about to build. Choosing right testing platform is also vital for your organization to build a effective testing culture. Cloud-based testing platform like LambdaTest can help build a effective testing culture for your software testing requirements. It offers live-interactive and automation testing of browsers and apps across 3000+ browsers and OS combinations. You can also leverage its Appium testing feature to automate mobile apps across real Android and iOS devices.
We’re more than happy to address any concerns you have regarding the testing culture below. Drop your own thoughts and insights on the same in the comments section.
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