According to GitLab’s 2024 DevSecOps Survey, 38% of startup downtime incidents could have been more easily prevented by automated tests. The same survey also lists increased automation as the top priority for increasing developer satisfaction and among the most important investment factors for new IT organisations. The conclusions are clear: software QA automation is no longer just a nice way to increase efficiency – for startups, it’s practically a matter of survival.
A critical bug, no matter how small or insignificant, may cost you your business. Those that are lucky not to lose customers will undoubtedly lose money. In fact, according to research done by IBM’s Systems Sciences Institute, post-release bug fixing may cost up to 100x more than if you caught it during development and testing. It’s clear that QA matters, especially for startups. Young companies cannot afford to lose users and tarnish their reputation the way other, bigger and more established companies may.
Software quality assurance is an integral part of pretty much every software development pipeline. However, it’s not the main focus or area of expertise for most teams out there. That’s one of the main reasons why outsourcing QA is such an effective solution for so many companies. With that in mind, choosing the right QA partner for software testing is an incredibly important decision that could impact the whole future of your project or company.
QA testing is a major part of a software development strategy, as it’s there to ensure software works as intended: securely, reliably, and bug-free. Many successful companies consider it indispensable. Still, others may find it unnecessary, often opting to skip QA in favor of investing assets into other parts of business development. And while it’s true that every business is singular and has unique needs, skipping QA often leads to an increase in post-release bugs, poor user experience, security risks, and ultimately damage to the brand’s reputation.
Testing software is a critical phase in the software development lifecycle. It’s how businesses ensure their software products are working properly, meeting all the user expectations, and have no critical defects. In other words, it’s a step no one wants to miss. But how long does testing typically last? In this guide, we will tackle the topic of QA timelines and deliverables, offering insight into the possible duration of testing. We will also dive deeper into the software lifecycle to see how testing works, the possible reasons why testing is delayed, and how to avoid delays altogether.
Automated testing is widely considered an excellent way to increase the efficiency of your QA pipeline. However, it’s also safe to say that not every testing process should be automated. Picking the right methodology depends on a variety of factors, ranging from project requirements and budgeting to issues of scaling. One of these important factors is timing. Deciding whether to automate your software QA is an important question, and it requires deliberation.
Software QA automation is all about using the right tools to make QA tests more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. With that in mind, picking the right tool for the job is crucial for any project that hopes to automate a part of its testing pipeline. Cypress, Playwright, and Selenium stand out as some of the most widespread and powerful automation frameworks for running browser tests. The choice between them often depends on the specific needs and goals of the project, such as its programming language, budget, and testing cases.
