Future strategies in software quality engineering

Embedding quality into everyday practices makes organizations more flexible against industry changes

Preeti Puppala – Manager, Software Quality Engineering (V&V) Validation Verification at Clario

Quality is of critical importance in the Software Technology industry. In addition to regular testing practices, organizations should monitor data collection and analytics by embedding quality checks into software testing and digitalization. Embedding quality into everyday practices promotes regular data checks that make organizations more sustainable as they face rapid changes and challenges in the industry. 

Why should organizations embed Quality Engineering (QE) through a digital transformation project? 

Digital transformation is the convergence of information technology and operational technology. QE plays an integral part in the success of a digital transformation project. Organizations must intelligently link and analyze data to gain valuable insights for fast and confident decisions, while ensuring the data of users and employees are safe and secure.  

QE is important in multi-layered security testing implementation, which is pivotal to establish a safe transformation for employees’ and customers’ data. QE is a major stepping stone in every organization, starting with ease of usability to ensure security and privacy. Incorporating QE standards within operations leads to an application’s positive user experience, data integrity and compatibility across various platforms. 

How do organizations embed a culture of quality through digital transformation?  

A quality-first culture is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of a function or department.

Therefore, digital investment and responsibility must be balanced across teams by leveraging a results-driven culture to manage, accelerate, and sustain digital transformation by embedding quality at every hand off. 

‎Quality governance is extremely important, and stakeholders at all levels (e.g., business analysts, solutions designers, developers, project managers and maintenance teams) are responsible, as it provides assurance of compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and continuous quality improvement, while enabling the risk and issue escalation process. 

Additionally, for an organization to evolve with future readiness, it must be customer-centric. Embedding quality through engineering and digital transformation can enable organizations to cater to unfolding customer needs and deliver excellent customer experience. As organizations continue to advance technologically, leadership should be conscious of the principle that digital transformation is business evolution. Organizations’ success is driven through innovation and quality by people and culture, not only technology and processes. 

What does an optimized Software Quality Testing Infrastructure look like?  

Test optimization makes the test process less time-consuming and more cost-efficient without compromising the accuracy of the results. When the process is implemented correctly, QE teams get the best out of their testing efforts and deliver consistent results. Here are a few elements of test optimization: 

• Identify any defects in the early phases. Involving QE during the development phase will save money and deliver a higher quality product in the long run. 
• Create a precise and valuable test suite. Ensure your testing infrastructure meets your requirements and uses the right framework, tools and methodology. 
• Conduct reviews and inspections at regular intervals. Peer reviews and inspections are essential in having an optimized infrastructure.  
• Practice proper use of automation. Ensure the use of exceptional coding practices and remember that automation is not always needed. 

What three aspects of digital transformation should QE professionals be involved in? 

Growth-oriented, autonomous digital enterprises deliver value with competitive differentiation enabled by agility, customer-centricity and actionable insights. Organizations must meet technological changes, while remaining available to customers.  

To be successful, organizations must develop new operating models that enable key technologies to deliver excellent customer experience, support enterprise DevOps team, apply automation wherever feasible, drive database business outcomes, and safeguard the organization through adaptive cyber security. Security and privacy are important aspects of IoT networks that firms must consider when preserving data integrity, especially when IoT devices are used in health and technology applications. 

This blog is a follow-up to Preeti’s video series with the Business Technology Network (BTN). To watch her interviews, click here. 

Written by

Preeti Puppala 

Manager, Software Quality Engineering (V&V) Validation Verification at Clario