Few Insights to Better Quality 

Here are few tips  that most of us as QA’s know, but at times we take them for granted and forget to practice them

1. Proper Analysis of Requirements beforehand: Analyzing the requirements by a QA testers should be a mandatory practice inherited by companies globally. we as testers  should be able to raise a flag in advance to the client that capturing the requirements properly would enhance the usability of the application/system and also detect some defects early which will be less costly than when the implementation has een done. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean we should not cater the business requirements already on ground. Instead, we will in enhance or suggest a better way in implementing their requirements. This would mean, that the QA team should be well versed with the current trends in the markets as well as have strong domain knowledge.
2. Maximize the Test coverage to the fullest:  After the requirements have been finalized and signed-off, the QA team should be able to visualize the application being implemented. While identifying the test scenarios/conditions, we must be careful of covering the entire application leaving no bit untouched. You can do a test matrix to make sure that all requirements are covered and test conditions developed for both positive and negative testing where and when applicable. Changes to the requirements if needed can be handled in this stage reducing the cost which would have incurred if the requirements were to be changed after the implementation.
3. Precise Test case preparation with rigorous review is a must:Test case preparation is always observed to be the most critical stage of any project. It basically reflects the derivable under test. Test cases should always be detailed with each step captured for each test scenarios developed. The test case should include each navigation step, and expected results. All test cases developed should be traced/mapped to a requirement. After successfully mapping the requirements to the test cases, one should follow the naming convention decided unanimously by the entire team. The main reason to follow this is to maintain uniformity and avoid duplicity. Test cases must also include test data wherever mandatory details are required i.e. data like login details or mandatory field so as to fulfill the scenario under test. The review process is also a key factor here. This can be achieved either by regular review meetings with the entire testing team or one can also opt peer review as a practice. This goal here is not to find faults in test cases written by peers, but to cross check on the test case coverage and make sure all team members are aligned . Any deletion, addition or modification needed should be made with the consent of the test case owner. This will also help the entire team have an overview on all the test cases written by the team.
4. Adopt Proper Test Execution Process: During the actual test execution process, the tests should be executed based on the testcases developed and actual results captured appropriately.
5. Accurate defect management and Reporting:Defect management is not only about raising quality defects. Testers must always take note that defects can be as low priority as incorrect font size and should be logged. Never should we as tester under estimate any defect. Defects raised must always be carefully linked to appropriate test cases. They must contain the test steps during execution to reproduce the defect by developers. Each defect should also be captured as screenshots and attached to the defect where necessary with appropriate priority assigned to it. These raised defect must be visible to all the testers to avoid duplicity.It’s always a good practice to analysis the defects raised, simply because they help us in taking preventive regression measures.Hope these were helpful, please feel free to add your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section below