Every team says they have a QA process—but what does that really mean? A bunch of test cases in a spreadsheet? A checklist before release? A test plan no one reads?
In reality, good QA processes are less about strict rules and more about creating structure that supports quality thinking. These five are the ones I’ve found most useful—simple, repeatable, and flexible enough to adapt as projects (and teams) evolve.
Top 5 Key QA Processes
1. Adaptive Test Planning and Strategy Development
- Process: Develop flexible test plans and strategies tailored to the project’s context, focusing on high-risk areas and adapting as the product evolves.
- Why it matters: A dynamic strategy ensures QA efforts remain relevant and effective, even as requirements and risks shift.
- Key Practices:
- Use risk-based prioritization to focus on critical workflows.
- Treat the test strategy as a living document, updated iteratively.
- Plan for a balance between exploratory testing and automation.
- Example:
A QA team working on a fintech application updates their test strategy mid-sprint after learning that regulatory requirements have changed. They reprioritize tests to focus on compliance-heavy features like data encryption and transaction logging
2. Lightweight Test Design and Management
- Process: Focus on creating high-level test ideas, charters, or checklists instead of detailed manual test cases, leveraging automation for repetitive tasks.
- Why it matters: Reduces time spent on documentation while encouraging creativity and adaptability in testing.
- Key Practices:
- Use exploratory charters to guide exploratory sessions.
- Automate repetitive tests for regression and validation.
- Maintain minimal but essential documentation for critical workflows or compliance.
- Example:
Instead of writing exhaustive test cases for a new e-commerce checkout feature, the QA team creates a checklist covering key scenarios such as coupon validation, multiple payment options, and cart abandonment, allowing testers to focus on exploration while automation handles standard flows.
3. Context-Aware Defect Management and Reporting
- Process: Identify and report defects with actionable details, emphasizing context and collaboration with developers to prioritize and resolve issues efficiently.
- Why it matters: Clear and meaningful defect reports enable faster fixes and informed decision-making.
- Key Practices:
- Focus on defect storytelling, including user impact and reproduction steps.
- Collaborate with developers to triage and prioritize defects based on risk and severity.
- Track defect trends to identify systemic issues.
- Example:
While testing a mobile banking app, QA reports a defect with the title, “Critical – Transaction Duplication Error,” including clear reproduction steps, logs, and potential user impact. This allows the dev team to fix the issue efficiently and prioritize it appropriately.
4. Continuous Test Execution with Automation and Exploration
- Process: Execute tests continuously during development, using automation for predictable scenarios and exploratory testing for creative risk discovery.
- Why it matters: Combines the efficiency of automation with the adaptability of human testers to uncover critical issues quickly.
- Key Practices:
- Automate regression tests, repetitive checks, and key integrations.
- Perform exploratory testing sessions to find edge cases and unanticipated risks.
- Continuously evaluate and refine automated scripts to align with evolving product needs.
- Example:
A QA team working on a SaaS product integrates automated smoke tests into the CI/CD pipeline to catch critical failures early in the deployment process. Meanwhile, testers perform exploratory testing sessions during staging releases to identify usability and integration issues across multiple third-party APIs.
5. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Improvement Loop
- Process: Analyze escaped defects and inefficiencies in testing to identify root causes and implement improvements in tools, processes, and strategies.
- Why it matters: Prevents recurring issues and ensures QA evolves with the product.
- Key Practices:
- Prioritize RCA for high-severity or frequently recurring issues.
- Use retrospectives to identify gaps in test coverage or process inefficiencies.
- Implement changes iteratively, focusing on measurable improvements.
- Example:
After a critical production issue is reported where users were unable to reset passwords, the QA team conducts an RCA session. They discover that edge cases around email throttling were never tested, leading to an improvement in their test coverage strategy.
Why These QA Processes Work
- Flexible and Context-Driven: Designed to adapt to changing requirements, risks, and team needs.
- Efficient and Value-Driven: Avoids unnecessary documentation and focuses on impactful testing efforts.
- Balanced: Combines the strengths of automation and exploratory testing, ensuring comprehensive coverage without sacrificing creativity.
- Actionable: Provides specific practices managers and teams can adopt immediately.
🧩 Let’s wrap it up
Which process keeps your QA team running smooth—even under pressure?
I’d love to hear what’s worked (or hasn’t) for you in the comments.