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Category: Expert stories

Seven mistakes every tester should avoid in QA

Written by a Test Team Leader and emagineer Piotr Tuński, this article dives into seven key pitfalls within software testing. Discover how to steer clear of these traps, strengthen your strategies, and lead your team toward testing excellence.

Piotr Tuński, Test Team Leader, Koszalin

In today's article, we will delve into the software testing industry – namely, everything a tester should avoid. We will uncover seven aspects of QA that can harm your pursuit of excellent quality.

Discover the traps that await testers and how to avoid mistakes while leading your team towards the path of excellence in testing.

1. mistake: Ignoring the user

Testing teams become overly confident in their methods and techniques, and the metric results confirm this confidence. However, they lose touch with the real way users interact with the product, and the absence of actual user feedback becomes increasingly painful.

This might be the most dangerous pitfall of all because it is often not immediately noticeable. The problem becomes clear only when obvious errors start to appear, triggering alarms:

Project Manager: "Why didn't you catch this error?"

Software Tester: "I don't understand. All the results were within the norm. We passed all the tests."

It's time for a thorough change in your approach to quality assurance.

How to avoid: Even serious errors can yield the most important lessons. You need to adjust your approach. Your tests should reflect real user situations. Those responsible for software quality must have a full understanding of the product's functionality. Regularly communicate with users, gather their feedback, and draw knowledge from it to grow and avoid this.

2. mistake: Taking on all testing activities on your own shoulders

All aspects related to test creation and maintenance are concentrated in the hands of one person or a very small group, which is particularly problematic in the context of the entire team's size.

The consequences of this phenomenon are significant:

Bottlenecks in the testing process: Concentrating all testing-related tasks in one person or a small group can lead to delays and blockages in the testing process.
Excessive dependence on a small group: When the entire testing burden rests on a few individuals, there is a risk that the unavailability of these individuals may disrupt the entire testing process.
Increased risk of professional burnout: Individuals responsible for all testing tasks may experience heightened stress and pressure, increasing the risk of professional burnout.

How to avoid: To counteract these negative effects, it is essential to distribute testing responsibilities among a larger number of team members. Promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange among team members can significantly improve the quality of the testing process and the ultimate product quality. Investing in developing testing skills in various team members can help reduce the risk associated with a single tester's dependency.

Those responsible for software quality must have a full understanding of the product's functionality.

3. mistake: Excessive dependence on technology

In reality, most of your time spent on testing involves performing routine tasks, such as running automation or executing the same test scenarios repeatedly.

All of this is, of course, important and aims to automate the testing process, which is beneficial.

In practice, this means:

Concentrating on the continuous maintenance and execution of existing automation solutions.
The possibility of forgetting the fundamental goal - ensuring high product quality.
Potentially neglecting manual tests, which are extremely important.

How to avoid: It is essential to maintain a balance between automation and manual tests. Automation is meant to facilitate and expedite the testing process but should not become the sole objective. Do not forget about manual tests, which allow for a more holistic approach to product quality. Good maintenance of automation code and awareness of the testing pyramid is key to effective test management. Automation is a tool, not the end goal.

4. mistake: Comparing oneself to other projects

Often in the realm of Quality Assurance (QA), teams tend to compare themselves to one another, leading to competition. Even some leaders, instead of evaluating projects within the context of their individual needs, attempt to assess them solely based on the number of defects found.

This approach is unfair because each project has its unique challenges and specific quality requirements. They differ in terms of maturity, available resources, and target audience.

How to avoid: It's essential to emphasize the significance of the context of each project and its individual characteristics. Rather than focusing on competition, we should appreciate the successes of each team, even the smaller ones, and encourage greater collaboration and visibility between projects. Collaboration can yield better results than competition.

Good maintenance of automation code and awareness of the testing pyramid is key to effective test management.

5. mistake: The desire to find all imperfections

If your testing sessions disproportionately extend, and you find many small errors or cases that are generally of minor significance and often won't be fixed, you may be suffering from what's known as "Gluttony in Software Testing."

Striving to discover absolutely every flaw in a new project is like trying to literally catch all the fish in the sea. It's unrealistic and leads to unnecessary stretching of the testing process.

It's worth accepting the fact that there will always be errors, but it's crucial to focus on those that are most likely to be discovered and can impact the product's quality. Testing in an excessively perfectionist manner can lead to testing without a method, which doesn't contribute to skill development in this field.

How to avoid : It's valuable to impose time constraints on testing sessions. This will help refine testing skills. Start by looking for the most obvious errors and only then tackle more complex cases.

Don't overly concern yourself with what wasn't discovered during testing. It's important to trust the process and concentrate on the quality of testing rather than the quantity of errors found. Checking quality is essential, and excessive overthinking in testing can lead to forgetting the fundamental principles and objectives of the process.

6. mistake: Seeking the guilty

During stressful circumstances, we often succumb to the temptation to blame the entire team or specific individuals for serious errors. When problems become evident, fingers often point to those considered responsible.

However, it's important to understand that such situations usually have their roots in a combination of factors, such as tight deadlines, lack of detailed specifications, the absence of defined processes, or overly complex management software. Therefore, we should not stubbornly blame specific individuals because such an attitude is outdated and does not bring benefits.

How to avoid: Let's focus on the problems, not the people. Remember that every mistake can be an opportunity to improve our processes and achieve better results. We should learn from these situations. However, communication is equally important. Often, anger arises from a lack of understanding between our expectations and reality, so it's valuable to get to know our team's capabilities, maintain open channels of communication, and set clear and achievable goals.

Testing in an excessively perfectionist manner can lead to testing without a method, which doesn't contribute to skill development in this field.

7. mistake: Neglecting documentation

The testing team suffers from a lack of visibility regarding the tests conducted. Many features in the products are not adequately specified or even lack specified requirements. Furthermore, too few errors are tracked and reported.

Often, lazy testers focus only on validating existing test cases, neglecting the broader context of the testing process, including documentation. The absence of proper documentation can render testing activities invisible.

However, documentation is an integral part of the testing process. You conduct tests, observe results, and record your observations in test reports. It is through documentation that we complement specifications and precisely describe what is challenging to define unequivocally.

How to avoid : To increase the visibility of the testing process and provide a more comprehensive view of the tested product, it is essential to create test reports containing the following sections:

Test report sections

Test Objectives: Define the main testing objectives for a specific feature.

Feature Description: A brief characterization of the tested feature or product element.

Defects/Issues: Report any encountered problems, errors, or discrepancies if identified.

Test Steps: Detailed description of the steps that testers perform during tests.

Test Environment: Information about the tools, software, hardware, and network configuration used.

Expected Results vs. Actual Results: Comparison of anticipated results with actual test results.

Attachments: Links to screenshots, logs, documents, or other materials that may be useful for result analysis.

Error Priorities: Determine the urgency of reported errors.

Comments: Additional notes, observations, or conclusions related to the conducted tests.

Test Status: Information about the test results.

Recommendations: Suggestions for improvement and optimization.

Summary: General conclusions and plans for the future.

Test documentation is crucial for maintaining consistency, transparency, and completeness in the testing process. It also aids in effective product quality management and documenting testing activities. Well-prepared test reports are essential for efficient quality management and tracking the progress of testing work.

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Seven mistakes every tester should avoid in QA

1. mistake: Ignoring the user

2. mistake: Taking on all testing activities on your own shoulders

Those responsible for software quality must have a full understanding of the product's functionality.

3. mistake: Excessive dependence on technology

4. mistake: Comparing oneself to other projects

Good maintenance of automation code and awareness of the testing pyramid is key to effective test management.

5. mistake: The desire to find all imperfections

6. mistake: Seeking the guilty

Testing in an excessively perfectionist manner can lead to testing without a method, which doesn't contribute to skill development in this field.

7. mistake: Neglecting documentation

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