Quality as a Compass in Software Development

In software development, planning is fundamental, which is why estimates are made, both in terms of effort and financial investment. In this article, we will take a closer look at this concept through software quality, shedding light on the role Quanter plays as an estimation tool.

In order to test quality, test cases have to be performed, which determine whether the software will work or whether bugs will be detected. The time it takes to design the cases and run them is what we estimate (as well as the cost in terms of team dedication). At the same time, we also estimate how many test cases will have to be defined and how many bugs should be found in each phase.

Software quality is not simply the absence of bugs, it goes far beyond that. It also takes into account other implicit conditions that must be met, such as efficiency, security, integrity and consistency, among others.

Testing, testing and more testing: the QA scenario

The software development team has to perform a series of tests:

Unit Testing:
This is done at the same time as each separate piece of software is built.

Integrated Testing:
The built elements are tested by interacting with each other.

UAT (User Acceptance Test) support:
User Acceptance Tests. These tests are performed by the end user to say that the software is OK and they accept its delivery. Here the effort of the software development team is counted (prepares the environment for the business team to test), but not the testing by the business team.

Quanter estimates these tests as a whole, as these tests are included in the estimate of the development of a project that is obtained through Quanter. This is because they are activities within the development lifecycle, necessary to build the software.

In addition, Quanter calculates, on the one hand, the effort needed to define and execute test cases for the QA team and the business team in UAT. And on the other hand, the number of test cases and defects expected in each of them. This is known as Testware.

So, what is the Testware that Quanter estimates?

In addition to the above values in the Testware module, Quanter is responsible for estimating the UAT testing effort to be performed by the user (not by the development team). And it estimates the effort that a team external to the development (called, for example, QA team) performs in some additional tests before reaching the UAT tests.

Defect Numbers: A Quality Indicator

This metric serves as a thermometer that measures the health of the software. For example, if you expected 10 bugs and only discover 3, it could mean a smooth development or, on the contrary, a lax review process.

Another example, this time within the UAT team: if 3 bugs are anticipated, but 20 are discovered, it is a red flag. This could mean that the team did not do adequate testing earlier, and is now about to release software with more potholes than a mountain road.

In essence, the number of defects works like a GPS that recalculates your software development path. If expectations and actual findings differ significantly, it acts as a warning signal, prompting a re-evaluation of the development path. It serves as a customer-centric indicator, allowing stakeholders to assess whether the development team is meeting the promised standards.

In conclusion, when faced with the challenges of software development, remember that quality is more than just an important word. That is, while compiling code, let accuracy prevail.