Testing Transformed: QA’s New Role in Digital Transformation – Part 2

This two-part post explores how Quality Assurance (QA) is evolving in the era of digital transformation. Key points include:

1. Digital transformation is a cultural shift, not just a technological upgrade
2. QA’s transition from perceived bottleneck to strategic enabler
3. New expectations for QA: automation, adaptability, and proactive insights
4. The shift towards cross-functional teams and T-shaped skills in QA
5. Strategies for QA professionals to build influence across the organization
6. Future trends in QA and how to prepare for them

In Part 1 we explored QA’s evolving role in digital transformation, shifting from a bottleneck to a strategic partner. It covered the growing expectations for QA, including automation, adaptability, and proactive insights, and emphasized the importance of cross-functional teams and T-shaped skills. Read to know more: Part 1: QA’s New Role in Digital Transformation

Collaboration with Business Stakeholders

Another critical aspect of QA transforming itself is how QA professionals work with their stakeholders. QA leaders must get used to the idea of being part of decision-making teams rather than solely execution teams. They also need to adapt & adapt to the new titles and roles that agile models and digital transformations bring. It is quite common for many agile models not to recognize specific test titles. For example, a title like ‘test lead’ in an agile team is no longer recognized as a stand-alone role.

As QA professionals should aim to build ‘soft influence,’ collaboration becomes a key tool. Let’s explore some examples (for inspiration) of how this collaboration can be effective in day-to-day situations. I’ve used a spectrum of examples to cut across industries and roles within an organization.

Again, do pause and think about your own situation and ways to apply the idea. My idea is not to give you a script, but something to get your creative juices flowing!

• Product Owner Partnerships: You’re regularly meeting with the Product Owner to discuss quality metrics and their impact on user experience. “I’ve noticed our latest feature has increased user engagement by 15%, but it’s also introduced some performance issues. Let’s discuss how we can balance functionality and performance in our next sprint.”
• Product Manager Collaboration: You’re working with a Product Manager on feature prioritization. “Based on our quality metrics and user feedback, I recommend prioritizing the checkout optimization over the new social feature. Here’s data showing it could reduce cart abandonment by 15%.”
• Customer Support Integration: You’re setting up regular syncs with the customer support team. “By analyzing common support tickets, we’ve identified top recurring usability issues. I’d like to propose some changes to our UX testing approach to catch these earlier.”
• Finance Team Collaboration: You’re working with the finance team to quantify the ROI of quality initiatives. “Our automated regression suite has reduced manual testing time by 40%, translating to a cost saving of $X per release cycle.”
• Marketing Team Alignment: You’re consulting with the marketing team on feature readiness. “While the new social sharing feature is functional, our usability testing suggests it might not meet user expectations. Here are some recommendations before we proceed with the marketing campaign.”
• Legal and Compliance Partnerships: You’re collaborating with the legal team on data privacy testing. “I’ve developed a test suite specifically for GDPR compliance for the ‘right to forget’. Let’s review it together to ensure we’re covering all necessary aspects.”
• Agile Coach Synergy: Example: You’re partnering with the Agile Coach to improve team processes. “I’ve noticed our Definition of Done lacks specific quality gates. Let’s work together to incorporate these quality checks, which will improve our first-time-right delivery.”

Think about all your key stakeholders – at least all the departments & leaders who have a stake in your product flowing into production. Include all the areas involved in the entire process – be it business decision-makers, customer service ops, finance, compliance, sales, etc.,
They may not appear to have an active role in your day-to-day functioning, but almost all of them have a role in building your influence in the organization.

Think of your world as a spider web. The more branches you build across your organization, the stronger your influence is (and you might catch even more bugs)!

Building Soft-Influence: more art than science

I hear you – “Yep, it is cool and you just write it on a blog. But how do I (insert your role here___) actually do it? Nobody listens to me”.
I would recommend a lot of books, but you already know what they are (if not, just Google it). Here are some of my tips:

• Start Small and Build Credibility: Don’t aim to change the entire organization overnight. Begin with small, achievable goals that demonstrate your value. For example, if you’re a QA engineer, start by improving the efficiency of your team’s testing process. Document the time saved and the increase in bug detection. Use this success as a springboard for larger initiatives. Success gets you more attention than you think!
• Speak the Language of Your Audience: Tailor your communication to your audience. When talking to developers, focus on technical details. With product managers, emphasize user experience and feature quality. For C-level executives, translate quality metrics into business impact and ROI.

Some executives need story-telling, and some others might need facts. Understand what works for your audience. Your ideas may be genius, but it doesn’t matter if your audience does not understand (nor is interested) in what you say.

• Be a Problem Solver, Not Just a Problem Finder: Instead of just pointing out issues, come prepared with solutions. If you identify a recurring bug, present a root cause analysis along with a proposed fix. This proactive approach positions you as a valuable contributor rather than just a critic. It might not be practical to find a solution to every problem you identify, but learn to communicate the impact & benefits (& read number 2 above).
• Build Strategic Relationships: Identify key influencers in your organization and invest time in building relationships with them. This could be senior developers, product owners, or even executives. Understand their goals and challenges, and look for ways to align your quality initiatives with their objectives.
• Leverage Data to Tell Your Story: Use data to support your arguments. For instance, if you’re advocating for more automated testing, present statistics on how it has reduced manual testing time and improved release quality in similar projects or companies.
• Be Persistent, But Patient: Change doesn’t happen overnight. If your ideas are met with resistance, don’t give up. Instead, try to understand the reasons behind the resistance and address them. Sometimes, you may need to wait for the right moment or refine your approach.
• Continually Educate Yourself and Others: Stay updated with the latest trends in quality assurance and digital transformation. Share your knowledge through informal chats, lunch-and-learn sessions, or internal blogs. Position yourself as a go-to resource for quality-related information. Also, focus on understanding your business. The more you learn about your business & your organization, the better you place yourself to tap the right opportunities.
• Show, Don’t Just Tell: Whenever possible, demonstrate the impact of your ideas through pilot projects or proof-of-concepts. For example, if you’re proposing testing tools, set up a small-scale implementation to show its benefits in real-time.
• Embrace Failures as Learning Opportunities: Not all your initiatives will succeed, and that’s okay. When things don’t go as planned, conduct a thorough retrospective, share the lessons learned, and use this experience to refine your approach. Remember, you’ll earn respect even if you try & fail but your heart is in the right place.
• Celebrate and Share Successes: When your initiatives lead to positive outcomes, make sure to celebrate and share these successes widely. This not only boosts your credibility but also helps in gaining support for future initiatives. And don’t forget to give credit to everyone who might have contributed.

Remember, building soft influence is a gradual process. It requires consistency, patience, and a genuine commitment to adding value to your organization. As you consistently apply these principles, you’ll find that your voice carries more weight, and your influence grows organically.

The Road Ahead: Are You Ready for the Future of QA?

Time moves fast with technology. A manual tester in a specific area could continue to be that for decades with just some updates/upskilling of tools & methodologies until now. But times are changing fast, and adaptability will be key to survival and success.

Please read this section as a broad overview, and not necessarily a specific prediction of where the future is headed. Anyone exact about the future will more likely be wrong or extremely lucky!

Emerging Trends in QA and Digital Transformation

• AI-Powered Testing: You’ve heard enough about this on LinkedIn & elsewhere on the internet. We’ve seen enough proof that it is unlikely to be a passing cloud. I don’t have specific advice on where you can use these ML, NLP, and LLM technologies, but I already see a lot of testers beginning to use it for test case development, coding & writing emails. Tools like LambdaTest are already leveraging AI to enhance test automation, providing features like smart test generation, visual testing, and intelligent test orchestration.
• Continuous Testing in DevOps: The lines between development, testing, and operations continue to blur, with QA becoming an integral part of the entire software lifecycle. QA professionals will one day write the code, test & deploy – prepare for it!
• IoT and Edge Computing Testing: As more devices become interconnected, QA professionals need to adapt to testing in complex, distributed environments. You might need to rethink your test coverage – both functional and non-functional!
• Shift-Left Security: Security testing is moving earlier in the development process, requiring QA to incorporate security checks from the outset.

Challenges and Solutions

This is not an exhaustive list. Again, I’m trying to get you to see the future, not scare you!

• Keeping up with rapidly evolving technologies: Establish a continuous learning culture within your team. Allocate time for training and experimentation with new tools and methodologies.
• Balancing speed and quality in agile environments: Implement risk-based testing approaches and leverage automation to maintain quality without sacrificing speed.
• Bridging the skills gap Solution: Develop T-shaped skills by deepening your expertise in one area while broadening your knowledge across the software development lifecycle.
• Proving the value of QA in a business context: Learn to translate technical metrics into business impact. Develop data visualization skills to effectively communicate QA’s contribution to stakeholders.

Cloud-based testing platforms like LambdaTest can significantly accelerate testing cycles by providing access to a vast array of real devices and browsers, enabling parallel test execution and reducing test flakiness.

Self-Assessment: Are You Future-Ready?

Let’s have some fun!

Grab a pen and rate yourself on a scale of 1 (for “Not at all ready”) to 5 (for “Completely Ready”) for each statement below. Let’s see if you’re cruising on the fast lane to future QA mastery or if it’s time to refuel!

Scoring Guide:

• 40-50: You’re well-positioned for the future of QA. Keep pushing the boundaries!
• 30-39: You’re on the right track. Focus on strengthening your weaker areas.
• 20-29: There’s room for improvement. Consider creating a personal development plan.
• Below 20: It’s time to seriously invest in upskilling. The future is coming fast!

Remember, no matter your score, the key is to cultivate a growth mindset. The QA landscape is constantly evolving, and your willingness to learn and adapt is your most valuable asset. In addition know more about the 24 top trends in software testing:

Ilam Padmanabhan

Ilam Padmanabhan is a seasoned Tech/Financial services expert with a history of delivering multi-million dollar global projects in various Delivery and QA roles. He frequently authors articles on his personal website where he explores the latest industry trends, cutting-edge technologies, and best practices for thriving in today’s rapidly evolving landscape.

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