How Business, Development and QA Can Work Together to Get the Project Completed

Comprehending and Satisfying Stakeholder Requirements

As QA/Testers, we often become absorbed in our roles, disregarding the expectations of others. It’s crucial that we recognize and address the demands of all parties involved, illustrating that their interests align with ours.

More precisely, what do these requirements entail and how do they affect us?

Additionally, your organization may operate in isolated compartments, where interaction among stakeholders is discouraged and tasks are simply transferred, or follow an Agile methodology that fosters better communication, or adhere to DevOps standards where responsibilities overlap and necessitate mutual understanding.

To start with, let’s posit that everyone possesses the required skills and self-assurance to excel in their respective domains, be it in Development, Business, or QA.

Varied Goals We All Have

What Developers Are Looking For?

Developers aim to efficiently wrap up their tasks and move on to the subsequent ones. An array of pending tasks constantly draws a developer’s focus.

Such tendencies often drive developers to concentrate on resolving small, simple bugs as it smooths their work process and pleases their superiors due to the reduced number of unresolved bugs.

Expectations of Developers from QA

Developers count on QA to draft thorough bug reports with accurate data, allowing them to save time by conducting preliminary investigations and supplying precise details. This facilitates the developers to concentrate on addressing the bugs rather than wasting crucial time determining their origins.

When developers spend substantial time and effort trying to replicate bugs with vague details, their work is compromised, leading to delays in the bug resolution process. Ensuring that bug reports are comprehensive and explicit can help enhance the productivity of developers.

Recommended read => Building a Robust Relationship Between Developers and QA

The thoroughness of QA in managing a well-structured bug database can save developers time. Including references to related bugs or links to affected pages can facilitate solving multiple problems at once, while avoiding duplicate bug entries prevents unnecessary confusion and wasted efforts.

In case of copying or duplicating bug entries, it’s crucial to verify each field to stop the spread of erroneous or confusing data that could hamper the progress of development.

Accurate incorporation of bug details by QA can significantly expedite the development process. Detailed instructions for bug reproduction and a clearly defined scope (like “affects all devices”, “specific to IE”, “caused by CTRL-V”) enable the efficient resolution of bugs.

Moreover, attaching log files can accurately pinpoint the bug, while screenshots can visually demonstrate the issues. If possible, providing the bug fix directly in the report can save developers significant time if they can access the relevant code.

To avoid confusion and unnecessary rework, the “Expected Behavior” section should be deduced from clearly stated requirements rather than random assumptions or inconsistent specifications. Consulting with the Business team to verify any changes can save developers additional efforts.

Developers Appreciate Concise Bug Reports

In conclusion, these practices enhance the effectiveness of our roles.

Rather than holding a grudge against Development for scrutinizing our work, we should value their critical contribution to ensuring smoother operations. Development appreciates the bug discoveries, even though they might express frustration humorously. They are well aware that bugs are present in the system, waiting to be detected.

Common Objectives of Development and QA

Both Development and QA aspire for rapid bug resolution that does not bring forth additional issues. They crave well-stated specifications that detail the expected logic and performance for seamless development. Meeting project deadlines, as predetermined, also remains of paramount importance.

Identifying shared goals promotes a sense of camaraderie and cooperative collaboration. As a team, we push the Software Development Life Cycle ahead, and our combined efforts facilitate this process. Nonetheless, it’s vital to remember that not all bugs require immediate attention in the current or subsequent releases.

QA’s role comprises detecting and documenting bugs, with bug prioritization and inclusion in releases determined by others. Some bugs might be too trivial, infeasible to resolve, or simply low-priority. Deciding such scenarios should not be left to QA’s discretion alone.

Business Goals to Aim At

Business’s purpose is to fulfill the requirements of stakeholders seeking transformation. Moreover, they strive to stick to promised delivery timelines, frequently set without complete information. Business banks on the commitment of all team members to ensure the project’s successful execution.

For this, it’s necessary to understand how both Development and QA operate. Information about any extra resource requisites or team leave/vacation plans facilitates better resource distribution.

Expectations of Business from QA

Business anticipates speedy bug detection by QA, assuring the creation of a top-quality product ready for launch. They understand that QA’s role goes beyond mere functional validation to encompass adherence to requirements and prompt delivery of features.

Although QA and Development shoulder the responsibility of addressing all bugs, Business chiefly focuses on new features and a select set of high-priority bugs. Business puts priority on deciding the contents of the subsequent release and delivering it timely, knowing that QA has the power to halt release due to unresolved issues.

Business maintains a comprehensive view of all projects, considering future releases, which extends beyond the narrow focus of single project details held by QA. It’s crucial to communicate to Business that project specification details drastically influence delivery timelines as they are deeply committed to meeting expected completion dates.

In response, Development and QA gain from Business making definitive decisions about project specifics in a timely fashion, allowing them to begin their tasks without delay.

Eventually, results may necessitate schedule modifications, certain elements being pushed to future releases, or the deployment of hotfixes or incremental releases to deliver final components.

It’s crucial for Business, Development, and QA to convene and acknowledge shared goals. Discussing the requirements necessary for the release aids Business to finalize specifications derived from these necessities, assisting in estimating the completion period.

QA and Development engage in dialogues, seeking clarification and fine-tuning estimates based on evolving specification details. Flexibility to modify specifications over time is recognized, often leading to additional code alterations and scenarios.

Recommended read => Anticipation of Clients from Software Testers

Shared Aims We All Have

Primarily, we all aspire to concentrate on our tasks and wrap them up swiftly. Obstacles created by other stakeholders prove counterproductive, while actions facilitating progress are welcomed. Understanding that these sentiments are mutual among all involved parties helps us extend support to each other throughout the journey.

Business, Development, and QA are united by a common goal – triumphant completion of the project. To achieve this, clarity must be encouraged, awareness of each other’s needs must be developed, and effective communication to meet those needs must be employed. We all depend on each other to fulfill our respective roles and enable the overall process.

The key resides in collaboration to reach the shared aim of prompt project execution and relishing in the synergy thus generated.

Concluding Remarks

We share more similarities than differences, and acknowledging this can greatly simplify our professional lives. By concentrating on questions and issues that unite all stakeholders, we can comprehend what others expect from us and how we can ask for what we need from them.

About the Author: Douglas Fink, associated with QualiTest, has journeyed through various roles such as a developer, business associate, SQA, and technical writer. He also enjoys creating crossword puzzles and palindromes.

Kindly share your thoughts and experiences about what developers, business, and QA look for. We welcome your comments below.