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Quality Assurance (QA) isn't just about catching bugs – it’s about ensuring a smooth, efficient release process that boosts product quality, reduces time to market, and keeps customer satisfaction high. Let’s dive into some best practices, from effective Epic and Story management to choosing the right tools, like TestRail, to streamline testing.
Objectives
The aim of a solid QA process is simple:
Increase efficiency and visibility across teams.
Control the release process to reduce surprises.
Faster release cycles by spotting issues early.
Minimize bugs in production by catching them at every phase.
Let’s explore how you can make this vision a reality through proven QA techniques.
1. Effective Epic and Story Management: Strategies for Optimizing Project Workflow
Breaking down large projects into manageable parts is key for efficiency and control. Here’s a roadmap for structuring and tracking tasks:
Epic Splitting and Story Management
Start by dividing Epics into smaller User Stories to keep each feature focused and manageable.
Each Story should have a clear description, and QA adds Acceptance Criteria (AC) and test cases within the Story for structured testing.
Child Tasks
Within each Story, create child tasks to assign work to individual developers. Once all tasks are complete, QA begins testing.
Bugs and Linkage
If bugs arise, create separate bug tickets and link them to the relevant Story or child tasks. This keeps everything organized and easy to track.
2. Story Testing Process: Ensuring Quality at Every Stage
Clear processes ensure that nothing is missed in the testing phase. Here’s how to structure the testing process:
Acceptance Criteria and Color-Coding
QA defines the Acceptance Criteria (AC) at the planning stage. For ease, we use color coding:
Green for passed ACs.
Red for failed ACs.
Orange for “Feedback required” – if something’s unclear.
Based on test results, Stories move to “Ready for Release” or “On-hold” if critical bugs need to be addressed.
A dedicated #PM&QA channel for real-time updates on failed tickets can streamline feedback loops and keep Devs in the loop.
3. Building a Strong Bug Reporting Structure: Tips for Clear and Efficient Issue Tracking
A structured approach to bug reporting means faster fixes and easier tracking. Here’s a recommended template:
Bug Description Format
Environment: Staging/production, OS, device, browser, screen resolution.
Steps to Reproduce: Detailed steps to replicate the bug.
Actual result: describe the actual result. What error is occurring? What is the current behavior?
Reproducibility rate: Describe if the bug is reproducible always or only on some occasions.
Degree of impact: describe the degree of impact (severity) of the defect on the interest of stakeholder(s) or customers.
Screenshot: A picture speaks a thousand words!
Expected result: describe how the application should behave. What is the desired result? What is the request?
Workaround: if applicable, describe a possible workaround to fix the bug. It helps to define the ticket priority
Link: it’s very important to link the issue with the right story, task, so it’s easier for the team to understand the context and also have a clear view about the status of the story. Assign also related epic.
Sprint: By default QA puts the active Sprint, so it’s visible in the Board. Note: Sprints can be named with a keyword related to the main feature that is being deployed, ie User Invoice -‘Part 1’, big features can be split in different Sprints deployment not to have long sprints
Fix Version: optional field, but is seen as a very helpful combination of Sprint with version. By default QA puts the current version*
When QA assigns a bug to the Product Manager, it’s categorized by priority:
Critical bugs go into the current version for immediate fix.
Low-priority bugs can be assigned to a future version or a “temp” version.
4. Efficient E2E Testing and Sanity Checks in TestRail: Best Practices and Tips
TestRail is our go-to tool for comprehensive test case management. It’s ideal for:
Managing End-to-End (E2E) test cases and Sanity Tests.
Organizing cases into test suites based on specific testing needs.
Integrating seamlessly with Jira for automatic bug status updates.
Offering detailed charts and reports on testing progress and issue tracking.
QA executes sanity checks before production releases to ensure critical flows are intact. For bigger updates, regression testing of existing features ensures no hidden surprises. At around $400/year, TestRail is an investment that pays off by giving teams clear insights and real-time bug tracking.
5. Optimizing Developer & QA Workflows in Jira: A Step-by-Step Guide
A clear workflow within Jira ensures smooth handoffs and keeps the whole team aligned. Here’s a quick breakdown:
For Developers
To Do / Backlog: New feature tickets are created and prioritized here.
In Progress: When a developer begins work on a feature, the ticket moves to this stage. The feature is deployed in a local environment, and the dev works on implementation.
On Hold: If Dev needs further clarification for a task or is blocked by some other dependency, he temporarily moves the ticket to On-Hold status
Ready for Release (DEV): When a ticket is completed and ready to be merged in Dev Environment
Dev Testing (*): After completing development, the feature is deployed in the dev environment, where the developer tests the ticket themselves. They add comments detailing their tests. (*sometimes, this process is also done by QA)
Ready for Release (Staging): If the developer’s tests pass, the ticket is moved to Submit to Staging for deployment in the staging environment.
Ready for Test (Staging): Once deployed in staging, the ticket moves to Ready for Test for QA. The QA team then picks up the ticket for testing.
For QA
In Testing Staging:
If QA testing is successful, the ticket is moved to Ready for Release (PROD).
Important stories can be moved to Product Review for a final revision by the PM before release approval.
If any issues are found:
Separate bug tickets are created and moved to the QA Failed column.
If bugs are critical/high or block testing on elements of the story, the story ticket is moved to On-hold until blocking issues are resolved.
Ready for Release (PROD):
After the feature passes QA testing or product review, it is marked as ready for release.
Before release, QA performs a final sanity test on all approved tickets.
Ready for Test (PROD):
After deployment to production, QA runs a sanity test and final tests on the tickets.
Done:
If the feature passes all production tests, the ticket is moved to Done, indicating that the feature is complete and stable in production.
6. Looking Ahead: Key Recommendations for Future Success and Optimization
Automation can take QA processes to the next level:
Nightly Automated Test Runs: Set up automated test suites for stable features, so issues are caught early, even for untouched code.
Pre-Release Automation: Run automated tests before each release, saving time and improving accuracy.
In Summary: Final Thoughts and Key Conclusions
A structured, tool-supported QA process leads to faster releases, higher quality, and happier customers. By following these best practices and leveraging tools like TestRail and Jira, you can drive your QA process to new levels of efficiency and precision.
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