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There are various types of testing and many quality assurance techniques. You can choose from methods ranging from manual testing, through unit tests, functional test, to end-to-end tests. Each testing technique brings additional value to the project and improves its quality. Some of those techniques are also confused or misused.

Quality Assurance Specialists are inseparable members of agile development teams. Yet, for many, their role is quite vague. It is usually associated only with testing developers’ code. While this is true to a large extent, there is also much more to what QAs can bring to your project team. Realizing this will allow you to better understand how development teams in Netguru work and see the role of quality assurance more clearly. Here are some not so obvious benefits of having a Quality Assurance Specialist in your project.

Every project – be it IT or any other field – requires some planning and documentation. How much product planning and documentation you will require depends on the project’s type and scope. A good and comprehensive documentation doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but does the old adage “measure twice and cut once” is right for your project? Or is the agile way the right way to go?

When delivering a final product, you might find yourself facing a tight deadline. The project has to meet certain specifications and the client’s requirements, and it needs to be free of bugs. In the midst of all that, end users are often forgotten. Users are going to have a bad time using your product if their needs are not taken into account during the development phase. This can, in turn, result in a product that is difficult to use and prone to human error. People tend to blame themselves for obstacles and errors they encounter using a product. This is quite unfortunate but mostly avoidable. See how you can avoid it. 

Okay, so you’ve decided to build a top-notch Android app. Great! The Android market is constantly growing, although it’s not easy to find success there. The first problem that you will face even before going to the market with your product is… testing. Which is an extremely difficult process, as the Android market is awfully fragmented. How to approach this and not fail even before your product’s debut on Google Play? Read our short guide on how to efficiently test and debug your Android application.

Code review makes your code stronger, reduces the risk of overlooking major bugs and supports the culture of feedback. The process constitutes an inherent part of best practices in web development, so skipping it in your projects might be a big mistake. Luckily, it can be easily and effectively conducted thanks to numerous automated code review tools that are available on the market. Don’t get overwhelmed by the number of providers! With our in-depth analysis, you’ll find a solution to fit your needs.

I have to admit that during my nearly one and a half year at Netguru my automated testing skills have not always been consistent. I struggled to make my tests modular, easy to write and easy to maintain. Nonetheless, learning some good DRY habits, Page Object patterns and reducing the amount of multitasking significantly reduced the effort I have to make in order to write manageable and clean tests.

Improving your website doesn’t end at employing the best staff to implement your vision. Sometimes you need to listen to the voice of the people. This is where optimization testing comes in. Let’s dive into that subject to learn what it is and how it can help you.

Here comes the next part of our blog post series about our favourite QA tools! After the presentation our favourite screenshot tools, we continue the discussion on the Chrome extensions which make our never-ending hunt for bugs more productive and efficient. The tools we present below are small and light-weight, but they will make a big difference for your workflow. All the extensions are completely free and for you to install in your browser!