10 Steps to setting up the QA Area

Hello guys, today I will post about some steps that you can follow to create the QA area from the scratch.

1 – Make questions like:

• Do you have any written scenarios ?
• Who is writing the scenarios and in what phase ?
• QA team will need create its own scenarios, what phase may the team do that ?
• Who will need to look the scenarios, just QA and dev area ?
• Who will run the tests DEV and QA only ?
• How the application is working ?
• What are the critical scenarios ? Like, what are the scenarios which will crash the functions/app/process ?
• What are the most used scenarios (Like create an account…) ?
• What are the scenarios which are more unstable, like if you change a simple thing you will need to test this scenario every time ?
  • What are the most repetitive tests ?
• Do you need run the regression everyday ? before every release ? (regression tests, exploratory tests, monkey tests, stress tests, performance tests) every time after a push ? (smoke tests)
• Do you have a QA environment ?
• If you are in a mobile/web project, remember to make these questions:
  • What are the most used devices/browsers/OS ?
  • What are the most unstable devices/browsers/OS ?
  • What are the most used versions on these browsers/OS ?
  • What are the most unstable versions on these browsers/OS ?
• If you are in a mobile project:
  • The app is hybrid, native or web app ?
• If you are in a web project:
  • Is this site responsive ?
• Do you have a process of QA, like SCRUM, Kanban ?
• If you find a bug in a task, do you return the task or create the bug to be fix separately ?

2 – Understand what will be first priority and until where you will reach (Like performance tests, integration ui tests, etc…), so you can have a big picture of the project

3 – Remember that if you are using BDD, it is just 3 layers (Don’t expose your code)

4 – Decide what are the scenarios that must be in the regression (Priority).  What are the most repetitive tests ?

5 – Use tags for all the type of scenarios, like smoke, regression, iOS, android, manual. Even manual tests should be in the features inside the automation project

6 – Don’t use too many complex steps in your scenarios

7 – Try to re-use steps so you don’t need waste time

8 – Use examples

9 – Regression tests – Automated tests

• Choose the tool, do a POC with different frameworks
  • On this POC, choose the most simple and important scenario (E.g. Create an account)
• Considerate the language which the developers are using (You never know when you will need help)
• Distribute the right level of tests between unit (70%), integration (20%) and manual tests (10%) – new functions
• Include the Automation in your development
• Decide if you need to create the automation project in the same or separated project
• Use CI since the beginning
• Decide what must to have in the report
• Choose a good report from the beginning
• Structure of Scripts. Create or follow a Code Style Guideline

10 – Form a team of automation and equality the level of knowledge. Make some meetings to prepare people in your team to use the tool with wisdom.

I think it’s pretty much this. Sorry guys if I forgot something… If I remember anything else I will update here. Thank you ! Feel free for comments and your opinion always ! See you next week !