Who is a Software QA Engineer?
QA in Software QA Engineer means Quality Assurance. Now as the term states, software quality assurance engineer is an engineer who ensures the quality of software before it is made available to the users. To make sure that the software sticks to the benchmarks set by the development company, the quality assurance engineer monitors each stage of the software development process. The working of new software should be checked by a software quality assurance engineer before releasing it in the market.
What is the job of a Software QA Engineer?
A software quality assurance engineer is involved in a number of jobs such as software design, source code, configuration management, program testing, etc. In order to not let these tasks become overwhelmed and to maintain control over the project, the quality assurance engineer will break up the entire process into goals like activities, abilities, verifications, measurements, etc. The quality assurance engineers should also be able to check that the product is not only released according to the guidelines of the company but also reaches the market at the time defined by the company. Along with that, he/ she should work with all the departments closely to make sure that the project is completed within the estimated budget as delays can prove to be costly.
Software testers are quite different from Software quality assurance engineers. A Software tester tests the parts of code at different stages of development while a software quality assurance engineer looks over the whole development process that includes product testing from beginning to end. The software quality assurance engineer is responsible for the quality of the product and the product’s delivery to the market at the scheduled time.
Skills that a software quality assurance engineer must have
- Teamwork: There may be more than one quality assurance engineer present in a software development team. Also, there will be programmers and individuals from other departments. So, the quality assurance engineer should know how to work with the team professionally. He/She should be able to understand others’ goals and objectives and provide solutions to problems whenever necessary.
- Communication Skills: The quality assurance engineer should have the skills to communicate efficiently with all those involved in the software development process. Telling people that they have done something wrong in which they invested their time and effort is quite difficult. So, the quality assurance engineer should know some tactics through which the teammates could understand that they have done a mistake and a solution to the problem can be found.
- Time Management: When you work with a team, you need to adjust your deadlines according to other teammates’ timelines. A problem can arise anytime related to the work of any of the teammates. Thus, the quality assurance engineer must be a good time manager to make sure that the product is delivered on time without any delay.
Software QA Engineer Duties
- Set up test trials using test automation software programs to find out bugs and errors quickly.
- Examine product functionality, user-friendliness, and content to ensure that the final product is delivered with the best quality.
- Simulate product performance to get output results from the product which can be later used for evaluation and comparing.
- Evaluate and compare the output results with desired outcomes as stated in the requirements and specifications by the customer.
- Figure out product problems using debug tracking systems and document them in order to make changes for improvement.
- Develop a protocol for repeated problems using the database to store the known problems or defects.
- Modify the product to solve defects or errors by themselves. Otherwise, inform the developers about the problem and ask for modification.
- Review product requirements and specifications in order to make sure that all the needs of the customer are covered and the product is fully functional.
- Analyze and provide suggestions to improve test strategies for better testing.
- Use a database to create reports and presentations using which defects can be analyzed.
Benefits of Software Quality Assurance
- The final software or product that comes out after rigorous and whole software quality audit is more efficient. Also, it avoids the amount of time required for testing and maintenance for those errors which could be avoided in the first place.
- Customer satisfaction can be hugely improved through quality control for those customers who do not have a good professional background and only need a certain tool.
- Software maintenance costs also get reduced by improving software quality as software maintenance is a big factor in the development and after delivery of the software.
- The total life cycle of the software is also reduced through a sensible software quality assurance approach.
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