During a software development lifecycle (SDLC), there might be situations that can lead you to scenarios like, “it’s the defect from the developers’ end that the product’s feature is not working” or “what are these testers up to? We have got no clue about the process!” Building software is hard and you have to work with many team members and individuals to achieve it. We are going to look at how DevOps can help with Collaboration in Testing to improve the quality of your software.
DevOps – A culture that promotes collaboration!
Birth of a software takes place with the coordination and integration of various teams, but the two most important ones are the development team and the quality assurance (QA) teams. These teams often share a love-hate relationship and face a tough time to have a sense of balance and coordinate with each other. However, there are various efficient ways to solve this problem and maintain the required equilibrium within the teams to achieve the best results.
A culture or a method that promotes the collaboration of software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). This method helps to reduce the length of the SDLC with faster delivery. DevOps method focuses on communication, integration, and collaborations. Leading organisations focus more on the DevOps culture for their projects as it helps to efficiently achieve the end goal, with smooth collaboration between teams and a strategic approach to development and software testing process.
Top 4 ways to promote collaboration among QA and Development teams:
Development of a software/product involves a diverse set of individuals from varied departments. However, the two most important ones are the developers and the testers who are responsible to give life to the product. An effective alliance of the two can give birth to a flawless software. Here are the four most efficient ways to make QA and development collaboration successful:
- Communicate effectively:
To achieve successful collaboration among teams, communication is the key. The relationship between a QA team and development team is based on their working pattern. However, if there is lack of clear communication between them it can cause various problems during the process. The software development lifecycle is dependent on both the teams. Moreover, a development strategy can only work with coordination, which in turn requires a smooth flow of communication.
- Make your tasks visible:
Here, mentioning about making your tasks visible means getting your work noticed by others. When working with different teams, it is important that you make the other teams aware of your tasks. A development team cannot know by themselves about the tasks of a qa and testing services team, and it is likewise for the others. Hence, this would lead to assumptions, and it then will lead to confusion, wasted resources, time, and efforts. Therefore, it is imperative to follow the workflow process, share every update and details within the teams. This way it will lead to better coordination, enhanced outcome, and faster delivery of the product.
- Take feedback positively:
The software testing process tests a product, discovers functional gaps and improves its efficiency. Consequently, it clearly means that problems will arise, and they need to be solved. However, when the feedback is shared by the development team or the testing team it should always be considered positive and constructive. The end goal for both the teams is to achieve quality and efficient software and thus feedback will be shared, and necessary changes must be made. However, it is crucial that each of the teams learn from these defects and improve for the next one.
- Make ‘quality’ the common goal:
Whether it is the development team or the QA team, the product/software that needs to be developed and tested remains the same. The teams are different, but their work is completely interdependent on each other, and thus their goal must be the same. For the development team, their task should not just be to develop any product but a product that has maximum quality with minimum defects similarly for a QA team it is not just about completing their testing but prioritising the tasks and testing in a way that a quality product can be delivered. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the common goal for the teams is ‘quality’ and not just fulfilling their tasks. This will also enhance the collaboration between the two teams and ensure delivery of a high-quality software.
Things to remember:
Coding and testing for a product are complex tasks to do. Therefore, you should expect the development and the QA and testing services teams to be enthusiastic and dedicated towards achieving their goals whilst paying huge respect for the same. However, it is necessary that you use these best ways and help your teams to work in good collaboration to achieve their common goals. There would be many ups & downs on the way but holding onto each other will make way for better results in the end, leading to a flawless product and a delightful customer experience.
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