Bridging the gap between Devs and QA

With the landscape of software development evolving, one of the keys to success lies within the cross-collaborative efforts between software testers and developers. Both have crucial roles and completely different approaches to problems.

To build on this foundation, it’s essential to explore strategies that ensure alignment between these two groups, fostering a cohesive and productive workflow.

To help us understand this better, we spoke with Arif, our Head of QA, who shared valuable tips on how testers and developers can work more closely together.

A Collaborative Culture

The traditional approach, where development and testing worked separately and testing was merely an afterthought, is a thing of the past. Testing should now be integrated as early as possible, with testing principles embraced by everyone involved in the development lifecycle – not just the testers.

Shared Responsibility and Accountability

If all team members, irrespective of their primary role, take ownership of quality assurance, it nurtures a healthier, and more proactive development ecosystem. This shared accountability transforms every bug found and fixed into a collective team victory, as it underlines the importance of teamwork in achieving excellent results.

Knowledge Sharing and Cross-Training

To truly cultivate this collaborative culture, it’s essential to bridge the gap between developers and testers through knowledge sharing and cross-training. Whilst both are experts in their respective fields, gaining insights into each other’s processes can significantly enhance the overall quality of the project.

By understanding the challenges faced on both sides, developers can improve their code quality by anticipating what testers will scrutinise. Vice-versa, testers can write more effective test cases by grasping the coding practices behind how the application has been programmed to behave, thus identifying issues more efficiently. Ultimately, both roles develop a more holistic view of the development process leading to a better appreciation of each other’s work and a stronger sense of shared accountability.

During these knowledge-sharing sessions, some key topics to cover might include:

• Testing methodologies
• Unit testing: a way to test individual components using a piece of software code that can be logically isolated in a system. It usually utilises mock data to simulate other parts of the system. This approach can help with early detection of problems, improve Test-Driven Development (TDD) and reduce uncertainty with code updates.
• Integration testing: Unlike unit testing, where individual units are tested in isolation, integration testing focuses on the interfaces and interaction between units. It aims to detect issues that may arise when different components interact, such as data inconsistencies.
• Coding standards and best practices
• Tools and technologies used in development (front-end and back-end) and testing (automation framework)

Understanding Requirements

Developing a shared understanding of client requirements and customer expectations will highlight the importance of the teams’ efforts and impact. This will ensure these requirements and expectations can prioritise bugs and fosters an alignment between team members.

The BDD (Behaviour-Driven Development) approach ensures development is fulfilling functional specification and vendor certification requirements. A TDD (Test-Driven Development) approach ensures tests are created before development begins, ensuring testing is a priority. This leads to more stable and robust software, as development is built to pass predefined tests. By intertwining and utilising both BDD and TDD approaches, we can cultivate a mindset that is attentive to the needs of the software and the processes behind it.

Planned Training/Events

Working and training together will lead to significant skill development across both departments. Both teams will be aware of the latest trends and technologies being utilised by one another thus leading to confidence and job satisfaction in their role. This can be further expanded with cross-collaboration team-building events such as social outings. Events like a hackathon, allow team members to strengthen their bonds, gain knowledge and get involved with activities they would not normally do as part of their role.

(Photo: One of our FX teams working during our latest hackathon event.)

At FX Digital, we pride ourselves on team members encouraging a collaborative culture. Project stand-ups are not just PMs to talk to the team but serve as a playground for developers and QAs to discuss issues and ideas. We’ve also incorporated “3 amigo” sessions in some of our projects, to facilitate discussions between developers, QAs, and designers/product owners when planning new features. This collaborative approach ensures a thorough understanding of implementation, user stories and specifications. Finally, we reach out to the client to confirm the team’s understanding of the requirements and ensure alignment with their expectations.

Conclusion

Fostering collaboration between developers and QA is crucial for project success. Integrating testing early, embracing shared responsibility and promoting knowledge sharing can lead to improved code quality and efficient bug identification. Utilising BDD and TDD approaches ensures alignment with customer expectations and client requirements. Planned training and collaborative events like hackathons enhance skill development and group synergy. Ultimately, these strategies and approaches should help empower teams to produce higher-quality software and achieve greater project success.

In the end, collaboration between developers and QA isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential.

For those looking to enhance their knowledge on QA practices, we recommend reading other articles written by FX Digital, like how you can overcome common QA hurdles, and why you should separate quality engineering and quality assurance.

Connect with us today to explore how our experts can help you implement these strategies and how FX Digital can help you bridge the gap between Developers and QAs.

We hope the reads inspires you and furthers your knowledge on how to optimise QA processes.