Difference Between Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Through this article, we will try to understand the difference between software testing and quality assurance. Overall, software testing and quality assurance have the same focus on working on product quality. At first, we will discuss the two and then, we will discuss the differences.

Table of Contents

• Difference Between Software Testing and Quality Assurance
• What is Software Testing?
• Types of Software Testing
• What is Quality Assurance?
• Types of Quality Assurance Testing
• Software Testing and Quality Assurance: Which One to Choose?

Difference Between Software Testing and Quality Assurance

Parameters	Software Testing	Quality Assurance
Definition	The process of executing a system with the intent of finding defects.	A way to prevent mistakes and defects in the manufactured products and avoid problems while delivering solutions or services to customers.
Objective	To identify bugs and defects in the software.	To improve development and test processes to prevent defects from arising when the product is being developed.
Focus	Centers on verifying that the system meets specified requirements and finding bugs and issues.	Focuses on improving and optimizing the processes involved in the software development lifecycle.
Scope	Limited to the testing phase of the software development lifecycle.	Covers the entire software development process.
Activities Involved	Involves test case execution, bug reporting, and ensuring that the software behaves as expected.	Involves process management, setting quality objectives, and process optimization.
Bug Fixing	Identifying and reporting bugs.	Preventing bugs by improving software development practices.
Responsibility	Software testers are responsible for executing test cases and reporting defects.	Quality Assurance teams should ensure that processes are effective and efficient as per quality standards.
Outcome	Ensures that the software is bug-free and works as expected.	Ensures that the best practices and standards are followed throughout the software development lifecycle.
Software Development Life cycle	Evaluate the product during development cycle.	Processes and standards are applied through SDLC.
Quality Standards	Assess product's adherence to quality standards.	Establishing and maintaining standards throughout the process of software development.
Tools Used	Utilizes tools designed for test case management, bug tracking, and test automation.	Utilizes tools for process monitoring, project management, and process documentation.
Defect Detection	Defects are detected after software development.	Defects are prevented throughout the development lifecycle.
Timing	Performed after the software is developed and before it is released.	Ongoing throughout the software development lifecycle.

What is Software Testing?

Software Testing is a process, set of actions, or an activity intended to detect software bugs or errors and ensure that the software behaves as expected. Software or system components are executed using manual or automated tools for evaluating properties of interest. It is a testing process that involves evaluation and verification of software to confirm if it is doing what it is supposed to do. Through software testing, businesses can understand the risks associated with software implementation.

Types of Software Testing

The aim of the testing process is to determine the accuracy of the software under the assumption of a specific hypothesis. It detects software failures to identify defects. Through software testing, development costs can be reduced, bugs can be prevented leading to improved performance. 

There are different types of software tests that have different objectives:

1. Acceptance testing: Verifying whether the whole system works as intended. It is a software testing method to test a system for acceptability. In this method, the system’s compliance with business requirements is evaluated and verified if it meets the requirements. User acceptance testing, business acceptance testing, alpha testing and beta testing are different types of acceptance testing.
2. Integration testing: It is a software testing phase in which individual software modules are tested as a group. Integration testing evaluates the system’s compliance with specified functional requirements. It occurs between the unit and system testing. The objective of integration testing is to identify faults in interaction between integration units.
3. Unit testing: In unit testing, components of the software are tested to validate if each unit of the software code is performing as per expectation. Unit testing is performed by developers during the development of an application by developers. It is a type of WhiteBox testing. Developers can save resources if unit testing is performed properly in the early phase of development.
4. Functional testing: Functional testing is used by QAs to determine whether a software piece is working according to the pre-determined requirements. The testing process bases the test case on the specifications of the software component undergoing the test. Unit testing. Component testing, unit testing Smoke testing, Sanity testing, Regression testing, Integration testing, API testing and UI testing are some of the types of functional testing.
5. Performance testing: It is the testing process in which system performance is evaluated in terms of responsiveness and stability under the workload. Performance testing helps in examining speed, reliability, robustness and application size. This process gathers tests that can verify the application’s speed, correct size and robustness. Several indicators such as browser, network and page response times, server query processing time, CPU memory consumption and type of errors.
6. Regression testing: It is a testing method that tests existing software applications to ensure that a change or addition in software applications does not hamper existing functionality. Regression testing is a partial or full selection of executed test cases that are being re-executed to ensure that existing functionalities are working fine.
7. Sanity Testing: Sanity testing is a quick evaluation to check whether the produced material is rational or not. The testing helps in ruling out classes of obviously false results rather than catching every possible error. It is a brief run-through of functionalities of calculation, system, computer program and other analysis to ensure that methodology is almost working as expected.

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What is Quality Assurance?

Quality assurance ensures that appropriate processes and procedures are being adhered to so that the delivery of a product or service can be achieved to an agreed level of quality. It is a proactive process that prevents possible bugs during the process of software development. Quality assurance is integrated into the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and requires the involvement of the entire project team as well. The quality assurance process helps in improving the project team’s productivity by specifying requirements for both quality standards and the software development process. Quality assurance encompasses process improvement, adherence to software development standards, and implementing best practices such as code reviews and design reviews to ensure high-quality software products.

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Types of Quality Assurance Testing

Quality assurance testing helps in identifying errors and preventing future issues to promote growth. There are different types of QA testing such as the following:

1. Regression testing: Quality assurance testers ensure that the functionality of the software remains the same after the addition of a piece of code in order to assure that there is no disruption to the existing integration. 
2. Mobile testing: It focuses on testing performance and usability in cases such as during an incoming phone call, low battery or multiple applications. This is a different type of testing since mobile devices have different characteristics, memory storage and screen size. The challenges are altogether different in mobile testing. 
3. User Acceptance Testing: This is a type of quality assurance testing. Thus user testing allows developers can know about the unforeseen issues with performance and user experience. 
4. Data Conversion Testing: The conversion testing checks the functionality in the application and thus identify defects. It confirms that the compatibility between old and new systems is significant. 

Best Practices for Quality Assurance

1. ISO 9001 enhances quality assurance processes, ensuring effective management and customer satisfaction in organizations.
2. CMMI aids in achieving higher process maturity levels, crucial for software development quality assurance.
3. IEEE 823 outlines software quality standards, promoting software reliability and robustness.
4. Software quality standards and best practices are vital for meeting customer expectations and delivering high-quality software.
5. Embrace continuous improvement through best practices for effective quality assurance in software development.
6. ISO 9001 and CMMI adherence improves product quality and boosts customer satisfaction.

Software Testing and Quality Assurance: Which One to Choose?

Choose Software Testing If:

• You want to ensure that the software product is free of bugs and defects.
• Your focus is on verifying that the software meets specific requirements and expectations.
• You aim to identify and resolve issues within the software before it is released to the end-users.
• You are looking for a phase-specific activity that occurs after development and before release.
• Your goal is to validate the functionality, performance, and security of the software product.

Choose Quality Assurance If:

• You aim to enhance and optimize the entire software development process.
• Your focus is on preventing defects and issues from occurring during the development phase.
• You want to ensure adherence to industry standards and best practices throughout the development lifecycle.
• You are looking for a comprehensive approach that encompasses the entire development process.
• Your goal is to establish efficient and effective processes that contribute to the development of high-quality software products.