Quality assurance refers to the guarantee that when a software application is used, it performs as expected without causing harm or error. And, as you\u2019d imagine, quality is the ultimate goal of every app in development.<\/p>\n
But what exactly are we referring to, when we say \u201cquality\u201d?
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At a minimum, a quality app is one that allows its users to accomplish their goals without anything going wrong. Their experience should be bug-free and have no unexpected behavior. Without great QA, you run the risk of releasing buggy applications and wrecking your company\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
Accomplishing this isn\u2019t only important for users, either. It\u2019s critical for app owners too. An app that has minimal bugs costs less to maintain and fix \u2014 you\u2019ll spend less money in maintenance mode and more time in development adding new features that help meet your business goals.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the hidden benefit of masterful QA. And it\u2019s why, at Cheesecake Labs, we view quality as way more than technical viability and functionality.<\/p>\n
Let us tell you more…<\/p>\n
At Cheesecake Labs, quality assurance isn’t only about finding bugs and fixing them \u2014 although we\u2019ll obviously do that too!<\/p>\n
Large applications are complex, and a lot can go wrong. Not everything bad will appear as a bug. Our QA team’s job is to find and resolve these issues, delivering a product that meets the needs of the client and the end user.<\/p>\n
Spotting and resolving bugs is just one responsibility of the Cheesecake Labs QA team though. In our house, QA has the same level of input to the total development process as designers and developers. They participate in each of a project\u2019s weekly meetings, are active in Slack chats and have a direct communication line with our customers. They’re there to make a meaningful difference in every part of the app development journey.<\/p>\n
Your QA team is also there to make sure your app meets all the business requirements. At Cheesecake Labs, QA operates as part of the \u2018Project\u2019 team \u2014 that is, they are active during every one of your product\u2019s design and development cycles, end-to-end.<\/p>\n
Quality assurance isn\u2019t an afterthought at Cheesecake Labs. Our QA team joins the project at the start of the Design phase<\/a> where, at this point, they\u2019ll learn about your company and the goals of your application.<\/p>\n Knowing this helps our QA team understand who your customers are, how they want to use your app, and how to deliver feedback that leads to great results. It isn’t always easy to prioritize features efficiently from the get-go. But since our QA team knows your app’s goal and what your users need, they can test your app to make sure the user interface functions well for everyone and provides that delightful experience.<\/p>\n Once we move out of the Design phase<\/a>, the QA team starts their work with the development team. As the development team releases your app’s early builds, the QA team will be there to test everything. They’ll perform functional and usability tests to make sure everything works as intended.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll use their findings to provide constant feedback to developers. This iterative approach helps your engineers deliver quality code and gets your app in-hand more quickly. QA will keep this focus on continuous improvement through both Development<\/a> and Optimization<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you ask us, there isn\u2019t one type of QA test that covers all the bases. If you want a quality application, you\u2019ll need several testing methods to get you there. That\u2019s why we\u2019ll apply a series of different approaches and test suite cases to your project, depending on its needs.<\/p>\n The QA tests we rely on vary from unit tests to end-to-end tests, and more in-between. But let’s look at three quality assurance tests that Cheesecake Labs uses regularly and why they add value.<\/p>\n A smoke test is rolled out when you\u2019re almost ready to release your app for further manual tests. You can think of it as a verification test to make sure everything is operating correctly.<\/p>\n Smoke tests contain a small set of manual tests that you run on each software build. These tests cover the most critical parts of your application \u2014 and if there are any significant issues with your software, these tests will find them.<\/p>\n Just because a feature is working now, doesn\u2019t mean it will continue working in the future. As time goes on \u2014 and more features are added \u2014 there\u2019s always the chance that previous functionality breaks when you introduce new code.<\/p>\n That’s where regression testing comes in; looking at previous features of your project when new builds are released. Your testers and developers will have created a set of test cases for those features, and those tests are rerun to make sure nothing breaks and old bugs aren’t reintroduced.<\/p>\n Your app features don\u2019t exist independently. Many parts of your app will need to communicate between the other parts, and integration testing helps isolate any issues.<\/p>\n An integration test looks at your whole application, from top to bottom. It tests both your frontend and backend code to ensure your entire app flows seamlessly.<\/p>\n These tests can happen in two ways: manual or automated. Manual tests are more often applied to the user interfaces for your software. These tests make sure your users see what you want them to see, so it\u2019s tough to automate that process.<\/p>\n Manually testing every part of a large application isn\u2019t always feasible, though. So that\u2019s where automated tests, like unit tests and UI tests, are added in.<\/p>\n Unit tests are applied to test small pieces of code in your product\u2019s backend; whether it\u2019s a function, module, procedure, or object, running an automated unit test will ensure everything\u2019s working as expected.<\/p>\n UI tests, on the other hand, are used to mimic user behavior. An automated UI test works through your app completing tasks as a genuine end user would \u2014 navigating workflows, validating buttons, inputting data, and so on. Performed automatically, this helps us test long customer journeys \u2014 and isolate issues \u2014 more quickly.<\/p>\n The entire Cheesecake Labs four-phase product development process is founded on collaboration. And while QA can be technical, we\u2019ll never work in a silo or isolation.<\/p>\n Our QA team will keep you updated every week. You\u2019ll know how many bugs we discovered and fixed, why those bugs occurred, and unexpected program behavior. Plus, when you work with our QA team from the very beginning, you\u2019ll get a program with fewer bugs and an app with all its major features working correctly \u2014 and that saves time for everybody!<\/p>\n Are you using Cheesecake Labs to create your app\u2019s frontend while you handle the backend code yourself? No problem!<\/p>\n Our team is more than happy to work with your in-house developers and have done this with many clients. We understand that issues can come up when working with two separate codebases \u2014 and that, in most cases, those issues will show up on the frontend of your app.<\/p>\n Should this occur, our QA team will work with your team to find any issues and resolve them. Your success is our success, so we’ll do everything we can to get to the root.<\/p>\n Building an app is a team sport. By bringing QA into the process at the Design phase, your testers, designers, and developers can stay on the same page. This is even more important in today’s world where much of the workforce has gone remote.<\/p>\n Your Cheesecake Labs QA team is also there to help create guidelines and documentation. Everyone will know what to do, they\u2019ll be aligned on your product vision, and can work seamlessly together to achieve your business goals.<\/p>\nMoving to development<\/h3>\n
The quality assurance tests your product needs<\/h2>\n
Smoke test<\/h3>\n
Regression test<\/h3>\n
Integration test<\/h3>\n
How does Cheesecake Labs make these tests happen?<\/h2>\n
Keeping you in the loop through QA<\/h2>\n
What happens if you create parts of your app in-house?<\/h3>\n
Let\u2019s prioritize quality, together<\/h2>\n