A Holistic QA Mindset: It's More Than Just Finding Bugs

It's frustrating when you receive vague bug reports from clients' QA teams, isn't it? As a tester, you want to provide the best possible feedback to your development team, but when you're faced with reports like "Videos are of bad quality" or "The buttons are not displayed" without any further information, it becomes a guessing game that wastes precious time and effort for everyone involved.

Picture this: you're diligently working on ensuring the quality of your application or website, and suddenly, you receive a bug report that simply states "Videos are of bad quality." Now, what does that mean exactly? Are the videos pixelated, not playing at all, or suffering from buffering issues? Without specific details or steps to reproduce the problem, you find yourself scratching your head, trying to replicate the issue on various devices and browsers, hoping to stumble upon the root cause.

And it doesn't end there. Another report comes in, saying "The buttons are not displayed." Again, no steps to reproduce, no mention of the operating system or device used, no console logs - it's like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. You spend more time guessing which OS they used, what might have caused the buttons to vanish, and the PM might even reach out to the QA team for clarification, further delaying the resolution process.

What is important to realise is that this guessing game doesn't just burden the developers; it affects the QA too because the ticket won't go to the dev team before your confirmation of the reported issue.

What should you do as a QA professional to ensure the process is swift and painless?

Let's picture this: you stumble upon an issue where images are failing to load on a website. Your first instinct might be to report the problem and move on, leaving it to the developers to figure out what went wrong. But wait! What if I told you there's a more proactive and productive way to tackle such issues?

Example 1.

Imagine that instead of just reporting the problem, you took the initiative to try out various test cases. To troubleshoot the problem, you can start by checking the internet connection, verifying the image URLs, reviewing permissions, and ensuring the console is free of any bugs related to image loading. So, you checked the HTML and discovered that the image paths were incorrect. Eureka! Now, you have a clear understanding of the root cause, and you can effectively communicate this to the developers, saving them time and effort in investigating the issue.

This is the essence of a holistic QA approach. It's not just about identifying bugs; it's about testing a multitude of scenarios, understanding the behaviour of the application or website under various conditions, and digging deeper to uncover the reasons behind the issues. By doing so, you become an indispensable partner to the development team, providing valuable insights that can lead to quicker resolutions and an overall better user experience.

Example 2.

Imagine you are testing a web application, and during your initial run-through, you notice that the "Sign Up" button doesn't seem to be responsive when clicked.

However, with a holistic QA mindset, you decide to delve deeper into the issue. Here's how you could approach it:

1. Reproduce the Issue: First and foremost, you need to ensure that the issue can be consistently reproduced. Test the "Sign Up" button multiple times on different devices and browsers to see if the problem persists.

2. Check Browser Compatibility: Test the button's functionality across various browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) to see if it behaves differently. Sometimes, certain functionalities may work well on one browser but not on others due to compatibility issues.

3. Analyse JavaScript Errors: Open the browser developer tools and check for any JavaScript errors in the console when clicking the "Sign Up" button. These errors could provide vital clues about what's going wrong.

4. Test Different User Inputs: Try various user scenarios when clicking the "Sign Up" button. For example, submit the form with valid and invalid data, leave some fields blank, or use special characters in the input fields.

5. Examine Network Activity: Monitor the network activity in the browser developer tools to see if there are any failed requests or unusual responses related to the button's functionality.

6. Investigate the HTML and JavaScript Code: Inspect the HTML structure of the button and the JavaScript code responsible for its functionality. Look for any syntax errors or incorrect event bindings.

After conducting a thorough investigation, you discover that the "Sign Up" button is not functioning correctly due to a JavaScript error. The issue occurs when a certain combination of special characters is entered into the form fields. The JavaScript code responsible for validating user input doesn't handle these characters properly, resulting in the button failing to respond.

Now armed with this knowledge, you can provide a detailed bug report to the development team, including the steps to reproduce the issue, the browser and device used, the error messages from the console, and the problematic user input that triggered the error.

Now, you might be wondering, why is this approach so important? Well, there are several reasons why embracing a comprehensive QA process is beneficial:

1. Faster Bug Resolution: When you thoroughly test the application or site and provide clear insights about what causes an issue, developers can swiftly focus their efforts on fixing the root problem rather than spending time on trial and error.

2. Enhanced Collaboration: By actively participating in the QA process, you bridge the gap between testers and developers. Instead of playing a blame game, you establish a collaborative environment where everyone works together towards a common goal: a high-quality product.

3. Improved User Experience: As you uncover and resolve issues through extensive testing, you contribute to creating a seamless and user-friendly experience for the end-users. After all, the ultimate goal of any application or website is to provide value and satisfaction to its users.

4. Early Detection of Systemic Problems: A holistic QA approach allows you to identify patterns and potential systemic issues that might not be apparent with only a surface-level bug hunt. This early detection can prevent future complications and save significant resources in the long run.

So, how can you implement this approach in your testing routine? Here are some tips to get you started:

• Think beyond the obvious: Don't just look for glaring bugs; explore different test cases and edge scenarios to understand the application's behaviour thoroughly.

• Take notes for your steps during testing: Document your observations and insights as you perform tests. This will help you organise your findings and see the patterns.

• Communicate clearly: When reporting an issue, provide a detailed explanation of the problem and the steps you took to reproduce it. This will empower developers to tackle the problem efficiently.

So there you have it, folks! QA is not just about finding bugs and reporting them; it's about exploring, testing, and investigating to uncover the root cause of issues. Embrace this comprehensive approach, and you'll not only save time for developers but also contribute to building outstanding products that delight users. Happy testing!