Why Testing is Not Quality

To sum it up in a nutshell, testing is an activity to be done to measure quality. Quality is part of a much bigger picture and the definition of it can differ from business to business.

In this article, we will discuss in more detail, the definition of quality, where testing fits into it, and who should be responsible for quality.

What is software testing?

In its simplest form, software testing is the process of evaluating and verifying that a software product or application does what it's supposed to do. It’s a way of validating quality.

Traditionally, software testing has been carried out by separate teams from development, and towards the end of the Software Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC).

Issues can often arise from this old-school approach. Defects are often found at the latter stages of a project or product development and usually threaten go-live, with errors made in the earlier stages of the SDLC now being much more time-consuming and costly to rectify.

Roq would always advocate a ‘Quality Engineering’ approach, in which quality is considered at each stage of the SDLC, from inception onwards, leaving you less open to surprises later in the process. After all, if you don’t build quality in from the start, it will not be there when you come to validate/test the product. We discuss the definition of Quality Engineering, and our top tips for increasing the quality of your software in our recent blog.

 What is quality

Quality is delivering capability to end-users/stakeholders that provide the function that they expect and need. It’s all about meeting business expectations.

Quality can differ depending on the business in question and depending on the project or product being developed. It depends on what your business needs at that moment in time. What quality looks like should be agreed upon at the beginning of each project or product lifecycle and benchmarked against at every step of the journey.

The look, the feel, and the function of a piece of technology, along with your non-functional requirements such as security and performance are all a part of software quality. Quality is everything, and quality should be everyone's concern.

 Who is responsible for quality?

The answer is simple. Or it should be. Everyone.

Everybody should be responsible for quality, but the truth is that ‘test teams’ or ‘quality assurance (QA)’ are often handed the sole responsibility, because of the old-fashioned outlook on testing that we spoke about previously.

With a true Quality Engineering mindset, the culture of an organisation alters to ensure that everyone is responsible for quality, and it’s considered at each stage.

But why should quality be everybody’s business? Roq Founder and CEO Stephen Johnson, speaks about this in his recent blog.

What is Quality Engineering (QE)?

Quality Engineering is a more holistic approach than the traditional view on testing, that embeds quality into every stage of the process, from the very outset.

QE is not just about finding bugs; it's about preventing them. This way, any defects that could derail the product or project are identified much earlier in the process and are easier to rectify.

This more comprehensive approach enables organisations to reduce costs, accelerate time to market, and build high-quality products that meet and exceed customer expectations.

We’re not saying that ‘testing’ doesn’t need to happen, that would be silly. What we are saying is that testing needs to happen earlier, and more often, as part of a larger Quality Engineering mindset.

To summarise:

• quality can mean different things to different businesses, but should always be agreed on before product/project inception

• testing is a way of validating that your product aligns with the pre-agreed definition of quality for that specific project

• test early, test often

• everybody should be responsible for quality

If you’d like to discuss any of this further or want to chat about how Roq’s Quality Engineering services can support your business, please reach out – ask@roq.co.uk