Software Quality Assurance vs. Software Testing: Which Does Your Business Need?

By: Sean Cummings

December 26, 2022

Software Quality Assurance vs. Software Testing: Which Does Your Business Need?

When a software development team nears the completion of a project, there’s still more work to be done. Software quality assurance testing is a crucial part of quality management, and it comes in many forms.

Throughout the software development life cycle, testing should be an integral element of iteration. From quality control to integration testing, every step of the process should include feedback about the quality of the end product.

There’s no doubt that in today’s rapidly advancing software environment, testing on numerous fronts is absolutely essential. Such quality measures will help ensure a project’s successful implementation, enabling growth and boosting profits. With so many terms about testing software, it can be unclear what you need.

Do you need quality assurance testing or quality control? Let’s reveal the answer to that question.

Steps in the Software Development Process

One aspect of the software development process that should never be overlooked is quality assurance and software testing. By initiating the testing process from the very beginning, quality objectives can be met with increased accuracy and in less time.

The appropriate process includes quality assurance, quality control activities, and later, acceptance testing. For the sake of brevity, let’s focus on two of the key steps in the software development cycle—QA and software testing.

Quality Assurance Testing

Throughout the product development process, quality assurance tests help identify bugs and glitches. These issues are often more significant in nature than the minor ones that usually crop up later in the software testing stage.

This exploratory testing method of software engineering makes it possible to adhere to the highest quality criteria from start to finish.

The best quality assurance strategy is one that covers functional testing for multiple devices and platforms, helping to maintain quality regardless of the end user’s machine.

QA engineers run the appropriate tests to gather statistical data, helping reveal possible defects before the project progresses further. This helps avoid costly code modifications later in the development process.

Software Testing

You’re probably familiar with the term beta testing, also referred to as user acceptance testing. This form of software testing comes later in the software development cycle, usually, once most of the bugs have been fleshed out through quality assurance processes.

By gathering the feedback of real users, this method of software testing can help reveal outlier issues that might be tough to see otherwise.

When a software application product release is on the horizon, this is often the testing phase that a project’s success hinges on. This is why acceptance tests are ideal for honing the final product before deployment across the entire company.

Why You Need Both Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Improved Efficiency of Employees

Ensuring product quality is critical to employees performing their jobs in an efficient manner. If software negatively impacts system performance, delays in workflows can result in increased labor costs.

Quality assurance testing and software testing work hand in hand to prevent this issue before employees are given access.

Prevent Missed Project Deadlines

When bug fixes either don’t work or create even more bugs during development, it’s a struggle to avoid missing the mark on delivery dates. By running integration tests and performance testing, quality standards can be upheld while remaining on schedule.

Being able to efficiently deal with bugs is one way a quality assurance team can help developers avoid missing project completion deadlines.

Contact Laminar for All Your Software Testing Needs

The best software testing services company starts with the best team. At Laminar Consulting, our QA and software testing team stops at nothing to ensure every client’s software is bug-free, meets business objectives, and provides end-users with a superior experience.

Our proactive process for testing is how we continue to deliver exceptional results for the organizations we work with.

No matter your software platform, Laminar offers software testing services that will help you achieve your company’s quality objectives. To get started, contact us at 888-531-9995 at Laminar Consulting today!

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