Communication is important in any career or area of life. But in the world of QA, it’s even more essential. Testers have to communicate with people at all roles and levels of the company. And on top of that, QA is at the front line when it comes to finding bugs and user experience issues — all of which need to be communicated well. It’s hard to understate the importance of effective communication skills for QA testers.

Read on to find out how to follow best practices for communicating anything and everything as a QA Engineer.

Communicating Bugs

Writing bug reports alone requires all kinds of communication skills. (Learn more about Best Practices for Reporting Bugs.) But even after you’ve created a bug report ticket, the bug-related communication doesn’t end there. It’s also good to follow these practices:

• Sound the alarm for showstoppers. A showstopper bug means that it must be fixed immediately. For example, maybe the mobile app is crashing every time a user logs in. When you spot something like this, you’ll want to go above and beyond filing a bug report ticket. While that should be your first step, once you’ve done so, it’s time to make sure your team is aware. Continue reading →

Not everyone wants to work from home. Some prefer to work in an office, surrounded by coworkers. (Extroverts, anyone?) But many people do their best work from home, or would like to give remote work a go. Do you have the right set of skills and home environment to excel at telecommuting? Find out if you have the traits you need to work from home.

What Traits Do You Need to Work From Home?

1. Being a self-starter. When you’re the only one in your “office,” you’re in charge of time management. Managers can still have a high degree of oversight via Slack, emails, and calls, but it’s up to you to supply the motivation for jumping into the right task at the right time.

2. Communication skills. Further, proactive communication skills, and knowing how to find the right balance. When you work remotely, communication is more important than ever. While everyone needs some “heads down” time to focus on getting work done, it’s important for clients and coworkers to be able to reach you in a timely manner.

It’s also important for you, as the remote worker, to proactively provide updates. You’ll want to take into account the needs of your client or company culture and adjust messaging accordingly. When you have a well-oiled process, it can be just as – if not more – smooth as an on-site team. Out of all the traits you need to work from home, communication is at the top of the list. Continue reading →

Many aspects of the typical Agile QA process are meant for long-term engagements with regular releases. But unlike a typical company, which might have the QA team testing the same app or site for years at a time, digital agencies cycle through projects regularly. Because of this, they have unique needs when it comes to QA testing.

So how do you implement a QA process that’s optimized for creative agencies without sacrificing quality? Check out our list of QA recommendations for digital agencies below! (Looking to hire QA testers for your creative agency? Read more about our QA testing services for digital agencies.)

QA Recommendations for Digital Agencies

Hire freelancers. QA contractors usually have experience working on multiple short-term projects at once, which is perfect for digital agencies. Freelance QA testers are also self-managed, and accustomed to shorter ramp-up times on projects. When you find a good contractor, you can simply send the project link or build and let them work their magic.

Hiring a QA freelancer also works well with digital agency budget and commitment requirements. Instead of permanently employing someone at 40 hours a week, you can hire a freelancer on an hourly basis as needed. Continue reading →

Anyone who does QA testing for a mobile app or website will likely interact with one or more developers. QA’s role is to report problems with a site or app, while developers are in the position of fixing the issues. Because of these dynamics, it’s essential that the developer and QA relationship is friendly and robust.

Teamwork

Typically, communication between developers and QA will take place throughout a project or Sprint (in an Agile QA process). At the beginning of a Sprint, QA might have questions about features, data, or end point information. During the middle of testing, QA will find issues and file bug reports for developers. And at the end, developers and QA will work together to make sure the release launch happens smoothly. None of these steps can succeed without strong teamwork between both groups.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

In order to have a healthy process and great end product, the developer and QA relationship should be one of mutual respect. In this vein, it’s important for QA to avoid bringing blame into any bug reports. When bugs are reported in a judgmental way, it’s natural for developers to feel personally attacked. After all, it’s their code – so if QA is communicating problems in a condescending manner, it can be feel belittling. Continue reading →