In the present highly competitive business landscape, organizations must furnish high-quality products and services to their end-users. Nonetheless, despite rigorous testing and quality control measures, defects and bugs can still arise in software and applications, causing delays, frustration, and potential financial losses.
Old-school testers can attest to how the widespread adoption of Agile and DevOps methodologies has significantly redefined software testing and development procedures. In the Waterfall method, performing sequentially in silos didn’t require developers and testers to be on the same platform for interaction or collaboration. The overall method was sluggish, and gradual up-skilling was a usual scenario.
Nonetheless, emerging innovative technologies have entirely transformed the market scenario and have changed the business landscape. This has made it imperative for organizations to be on top of the heap. Incorporating lean principles into software testing, especially automation testing and development processes has become increasingly prevalent. These principles, such as managing workflows and implementing Just-in-Time (JIT) systems, focus on delivering products more efficiently and deferring commitment. These principles are being used in various forms, such as iterative approaches to development, disciplined project management processes, and quicker feedback loops.
As a result, organizations must cultivate vigorous collaboration between developers and other teams to efficiently address these defects. This blog will explore the significance of collaboration with developers in defect resolution and how it can usher in more efficient and effective solutions.
Let us go.
DevOps: Fostering A Culture of Collaboration!
The inception of software occurs through the harmonious collaboration and integration of multiple teams, with special emphasis on the development and quality assurance teams. Usually, these teams share an ambivalent relationship and face a tough time having a sense of harmony and coordination with each other. Nonetheless, there are efficient methods to solve this issue and maintain the required balance within the teams to attain the best outcomes.
The concept of DevOps embodies a culture or methodology that fosters the seamless collaboration between software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). This process helps to diminish the length of the SDLC (software development lifecycle) with more rapid delivery. The DevOps process focuses on integration, communication, and collaboration. Prominent organizations prioritize the DevOps culture in their projects due to its ability to effectively reach the desired outcome. By fostering seamless collaboration between teams and adopting a strategic approach to the development and software testing process, this methodology proves invaluable in achieving efficiency and success.
How Can You Collaborate With Developers To Solve Defects?
The development of a software/product entangles a diverse set of people from various departments. Nevertheless, the two most crucial ones are the testers and the developers. They are liable to give life to the software/product. A persuasive alliance of the two entities can give birth to seamless software.
Here are some advice for improving collaboration with developers to solve issues:
Establish Open Lines of Communication
Communication is pivotal to attaining successful collaboration among teams. This is especially true when it comes to resolving defects in software. The relationship between the development team and the quality assurance team is based on the way they work. Nonetheless, a lack of clear communication can cause myriad issues during the procedure. The software development lifecycle (SDLC) is reliant on both teams. Besides, the successful implementation of a development strategy depends heavily on effective coordination, which, in turn, necessitates open and efficient communication channels.
Make your Tasks Visible
Here, in this context, mentioning making your tasks visible implies getting the work noticed by other members of the team. When collaborating with multiple teams, it is crucial to effectively communicate and inform the other teams about your assigned tasks. This ensures transparency and facilitates smooth coordination among all involved parties.
The development team may not be aware of the tasks assigned to the testing team and QA team. Likewise, the testing team and QA team may not be aware of the work assigned to the development team. This may lead to assumptions, which may further usher to confusion, and waste of time, resources, and efforts. Henceforth, it is crucial to follow the workflow procedure and share details and updates within the teams. This will lead to better coordination, improved outcomes, and swifter delivery of the product.
Make ‘Quality’ the Common Goal
Regardless of the specific team involved, the product or software requiring development and testing remains unchanged. Both teams are interdependent on each other for their work. Hence, their goal must be the same. The development team must focus not only on creating any product but on developing a product of the highest quality with minimal defects.
Similarly, the QA team should not simply aim to complete their testing but should prioritize tasks and conduct testing in a manner that ensures the delivery of a high-quality product. This way the goal of both the team becomes delivering ‘quality’ products and not just fulfilling the tasks. This will also improve the collaboration between the teams and guarantee the delivery of high-quality software.
Embrace BDD and TDD
Business Driven Development places a strong emphasis on the identification and description of behaviors that directly contribute to achieving desired business outcomes. These depictions are accessible to developers, testers, and domain experts. The requirements and features are then penned collaboratively by developers, quality analysts, and business analysts, providing a way for teamwork.
The utilization of Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) in conjunction with Test Driven Development (TDD) and Unit testing techniques enables developers to effectively deliver user stories that align precisely with the business necessities. This assists developers and testers in coordinating and collaborating to attain the suited outcome. Developers possess a comprehensive understanding of the coding requirements, facilitating them to discern what should be included or excluded in the code. This proficiency aids in mitigating the risk of defect leakages during subsequent phases.
Take Feedback Positively
The process of software testing is vital in assessing and enhancing the efficiency of a product. By executing thorough testing, you can pinpoint functional gaps or deficiencies and implement required improvements. This clearly implies that issues will pop up that need to be resolved accurately and in a timely manner.
Nonetheless, feedback from the testing team or the development team should always be taken positively and in a constructive way, as the goal is to attain efficient and quality software. Furthermore, it is paramount that both team members learn from the defects and work for the next one.
Embrace Shift-Left Approach
The implementation of the shift left approach permits seamless collaboration between testers and developers from the project’s inception. This proactive approach facilitates ongoing discussions regarding test coverage, anticipated results, and strategies for enhancing every aspect of the application. The primary emphasis is on prioritizing the integration testing phase and conducting it as soon as possible in the development process. Both testers and developers have the capability to collaboratively determine which tests developers can execute during the development process and which ones should be solely handled by testing professionals.
In the context of “Shift Left Testing,” where the goal is to detect and address issues earlier in the software development process, cloud testing platforms like LambdaTest can be positioned as a valuable tool to support this shift left approach.
“Shift Left Testing” aims to identify and resolve issues earlier in the software development lifecycle. LambdaTest empowers software testing teams to achieve this by offering a range of features and capabilities designed to streamline testing activities and promote early issue detection.
LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform to run manual and automated tests at scale. The platform allows you to perform both real-time and automation testing across 3000+ environments and real device cloud.
Cooperate to Resolve Defects
The most vital and final element of collaboration is cooperation. It implicates working together to attain a common goal, which is resolving defects. The testers team needs to cooperate with the developers’ team to resolve defects. This can be done accurately by sharing the resources, knowledge, and skills. Both teams should be adaptable and flexible, willing to adjust the testing approach according to the defect resolution. Furthermore, both teams should be collaborative and supportive, offering help or assistance if required. They should also be accountable and transparent, reporting the testing results and feedback accurately and honestly.
Cross Train Developers and Testers
Engaging in brief periods of cross-training can prove to be beneficial. This approach offers a valuable opportunity to foster collaboration and enhance teamwork. By facilitating knowledge exchange, developers can impart foundational coding principles to testers, while testers can provide insights on test suites and strategies to developers. This can help testers to better communicate their spottings to the developers. They can also fix minor bugs themselves.
Likewise, with better proficiency in the software testing process, developers will be able to document better code for the product. They can also perform some fundamental tests themselves, alleviating the workload of the tester.
Conclusion
Coding and testing are complex tasks to do. Hence, you should expect the QA, development, and testing teams to be dedicated and enthusiastic towards attaining their goals while paying respect for the same. However, it is essential that you utilize these best practices and help your team members work in collaboration to attain their common objectives. There will be numerous ups and downs in the process. However, maintaining a strong interconnection between team members will pave the way for optimal outcomes in the long run, resulting in a high-quality product and an exceptional customer journey.
