Software testing teams should align their efforts better with business objectives, thereby altering the purpose and place of QA teams within financial services firms.
At least, that is what PractiTest Management co-founder & Chief Solution Architect Joel Montvelisky argues.
“If I asked you if you are willing to drive at night during a storm with weak headlights, I’m 100% certain that all of you would answer ‘no’ because you understand the risks and potential consequences,” Israel-based Montvelisky wondered.
“Why then, in a fast-paced DevOps environment, do many firms choose to release software with a testing team that is not focused on the most important business challenges, risking their user experience and customer satisfaction?”
Time constraints
Montvelisky, who is also an executive at the global Association for Software Testing, stressed that the modern software testing world is full of challenges, including time constraints, continuous pressure to release faster and communication gaps.
“However, the objectives of QA remain the same: to provide visibility on product quality with accurate projections of project completion timelines,” the tech insider writes in Forbes.
“In simple terms, will we – QA teams – be able to release on time and meet expectations? These goals are strongly tied to high-level company objectives and directly impact business success.”
“For the QA team to become an impactful business unit, it must be awarded the recognition it deserves, and not be treated as a ‘niche’ side team.”
– Joel Montvelisky
He went on to write that, in the traditional software development lifecycle, QA was the final step before software deployment.
“This model of having a dedicated ‘testing phase’ at the end of the release cycle mostly involved detecting bugs, sending them back for fixing and then retesting for verification. All of this back-and-forth loop created a lot of redundant work, many regressions and constant delays.”
Today’s methodology
Fast forward to today’s modern development methodologies, Agile and DevOps, where the approach to software testing has shifted.
“It’s not just about sniffing out bugs; it’s about ensuring quality throughout the development lifecycle from early development stages to production,” Montvelisky pointed out.
“The first thing required from testers today is to change their working mindset.”
“Instead of thinking narrowly about bugs, start thinking holistically about quality. Then, they’ve got to ask the right questions to figure out which tests really matter and conduct a risk assessment to prioritize the areas and features to test,” he said.
“The first thing required from testers today is to change their working mindset.”
– Joel Montvelisky
For instance, testers may want to prioritise stories where bugs found may take longer to fix or, even better, work earlier on the stories that are most important in the current sprint.
“This way, if late testing will affect stories, they can make sure these stories are the ones that will be the least important for the business overall,” Montvelisky went on to say.
Finally, for the QA team to truly shine as a spotlight and become a highly impactful business unit, it must be awarded the recognition it deserves, he argued.
“Testing teams should be treated as a valued and integral part of the software development process rather than a ‘niche’ side team. It is also important to share information from relevant stakeholders with testers so they’re aware of the bigger picture and business objectives,” Montvelisky wrote.
“This collaborative approach enhances the team’s understanding of business needs and ensures that testing efforts are aligned with higher objectives and expectations,” he concluded.
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