Kazeem Razaq @K.Razaq / 5:00 PM EDT. May 20, 2022.
Quality Assurance (QA) engineers hold an important role in the software development cycle. Software testing is one of the crucial parts of the software development process, which allows the developers to fix bugs in software before it reaches customers. QA engineers help developers avoid colossal mistakes during coding and make sure the applications are bug-free before letting out for customers to use.
A QA engineer plays a vital and pivotal role in the success of a software and web application project - with testing being their primary responsibility. Hiring the right people and implementing their skills, expertise, experience and knowledge to effectively run and manage the testing phase of your project is the first step towards success. Here are some factors that differentiate Software Testing from QA.
Even though the two are commonly confused for each other, software testing and software quality assurance are not the same. QA engineers ensure that software quality meets the needs of the end-users. On the other hand, software testing is a process that helps to guarantee that the device, application and other features functions as it should. The following article will help you to learn more about the distinct differences between them.
There is a lot of confusion between software testing and QA engineer. Whether you're interested in becoming an IT professional or you have a desire to have a better understanding of how these two IT careers are similar yet different, the question remains the same. Knowing the differences can help you decide on what career path to take or help you choose if this industry is right for you.
Here area 6 major differences between software testing and QA engineering, but before that, let's talk about what software testing and QA is.
What is Software Testing?
Software testing is a process of verifying the functionality, compatibility and performance of a software product. It includes test case design, test execution and analysis of results. The purpose of testing is to find defects in the software.
Software testing is a process of verifying the functionality, compatibility and performance of a software product. It includes test case design, test execution and analysis of results. The purpose of testing is to find defects in the software.
There is much more to software testing than the traditional definition of testing: “checking whether a program or system conforms to specified requirements and finds errors”. It involves all aspects of quality assurance (QA) in one way or another, including defect prevention, detection and resolution; as well as test planning, test design, test development and test execution activities.
What is Quality assurance (QA)?
Quality assurance (QA) is a process of ensuring that a product has high quality before it is released to customers. QA activities include defining requirements, designing tests, executing tests and analyzing results. QA engineers do not just execute manual tests but they also study bugs found during testing and try to understand why they occurred.
A QA engineer is a professional who works with the software testing team and performs activities like identifying bugs, defects and other issues in the application. QA engineers are responsible for testing an application before its release to the market.
QA engineers are part of the development team - they ensure that the product meets the quality standards. He/she is responsible for testing different features of the product and reporting bugs and other issues. Software testing is a process of examining a software application against certain criteria and expectations. It helps in finding out if a particular application meets all the requirements or not.
Key Differences Between Software Testing and QA:
The difference between a software tester and a QA engineer is that the former is involved in testing while the latter is responsible for quality assurance.
The main goal of a software tester is to find bugs and other issues in the application before its release. On the other hand, A QA engineer ensures that the application meets all the requirements.
Software testing and QA engineering are two different professions and both of them play a vital role in the development process. While software testing is an integral part of the development process, QA engineers are responsible for ensuring that the product meets the required quality standards.
There are some major differences between software testing and QA engineering that you should know about. Let's take a look at them:
1. Software Testers focus on finding bugs, conflicts, and errors in applications.
They may also be required to identify any loopholes in the software or system that can lead to mistakes or failures. On the other hand, Quality Assurance engineers focus on ensuring that an application meets all requirements before being released into a production environment. They may also test if the system meets all standards set by an organization or industry standard such as ISO 9001 quality management standard (ISO).
2. Software testers usually work in groups called testing teams while QA engineers work individually.
Software testers work on their own or with one other person to check whether the application meets its functional requirements. On the other hand, QAs usually work in teams made up of both software testers and developers who collaborate together to test applications from different angles (functional and non-functional).
QA engineers usually work in teams - though they work with very small teams consisting of just one or two people other than themselves (such as a developer who develops software, for example). Testing teams have testers, technical writers, and developers who work together to make sure that their product meets customer needs as well as organizational goals and objectives.
3. It’s not just about finding bugs.
As an IT professional, you may have heard so many times that your job is only to find bugs in the application/product and not to fix them yourself. But this isn’t always true! Sometimes we have to fix a few issues on our own after reporting them to our team lead.
Testing vs Quality Assurance: Quality assurance (QA) is not only about finding bugs but it also ensures that the product meets the client's expectations by maintaining its consistency throughout its lifecycle.
4. Testing is more technical than QA
Software testing is mainly concerned with checking whether the software meets its functional requirements, whereas QA engineers test for non-functional requirements like performance, compatibility, security etc. In simple words, software testing is more technical than QA.
5. Permission vs Mandatory
Quality assurance is a mandatory process in any software development life cycle (SDLC), but testers have the right to refuse to do it if they feel their time would be better spent elsewhere such as debugging or improving the existing codebase instead of writing more tests which may not add much value at all (e.g., when you already have 100% test coverage).
6. Software Testing is a subset of Quality Assurance (QA).
The main goal of software testing is to ensure that the product meets user requirements and functions as intended. It involves validating that the product does what it was designed to do and does not have any major problems or defects.
Some bonus points:
Software testing aims to find bugs, while QA engineer aims to improve quality.
A QA engineer checks whether the coding standards are met while software testing checks whether they have been met or not.
A QA engineer also verifies if programming languages have been used appropriately while software testing verifies if they have been used appropriately or not.
A QA engineer may also check if coding has been done according to standards set by industry while software testing checks if it has been done according to standards set by industry or not. (For example: W3C validation for HTML pages.).
Quality Assurance Engineers are responsible for ensuring that software meets all requirements, while Software Testers check that the code does what it is supposed to do.
Quality Assurance Engineers work on ensuring that software meets its functional requirements, while Software Testers work on checking whether or not an application has bugs or errors in functionality.
Quality Assurance Engineers focus on making sure that a system complies with standards such as ISO 9000 whereas Software Testers focus more on testing whether or not an application works correctly according to its specifications or design documents.
Quality Assurance Engineers are responsible for making sure that software conforms to project standards such as CMMI Level 5 whereas Software Testers are responsible for making sure that applications work correctly according to their specifications or design documents.
Quality Assurance Engineers write test plans and strategies before testing begins whereas Software Testers write test plans after that.
So by now, you've learned that software testing is not the same thing as QA engineering. To be a good software tester, you don't necessarily need to be a good QA engineer. The two jobs are similar but different, and if you were getting confused by it all, we hope this article has helped dispel some of that confusion.
Both jobs can be challenging and fun in different ways, but they're also very different careers that require different skills, so future job-seekers may want to keep this in mind as they decide which one to pursue. At BusyQA, we offer exemplary online and in-class courses to help you become a better tester or QA engineer and be at the front of the pack. Join our next online training here.