Software Quality Testing is a significant, mandatory part of software development. It is a technique for evaluating product quality and also for indirectly improving it, by identifying defects and problems. It consists of the dynamic verification of the behavior of a program on a finite set of test cases, suitably selected from the usually infinite executions domain, against the specified expected behavior. In the years, the view of Software Quality Testing has evolved towards a more constructive attitude. Testing is no longer seen as an activity that starts only after the coding phase is complete, with the limited purpose of detecting failures. Software testing is nowadays seen as an activity that should encompass the whole development process, and is an important part itself of the actual product construction. Indeed, planning for testing should start since the early stages of requirement analysis, and test plans and procedures must be systematically and continuously refined as the development proceeds. These activities of planning and designing tests constitute themselves a useful input to designers for highlighting potential weaknesses. The IT industry is wrestling today of software inaccuracy with the endemic difficulty. 'Use the software at your own risk' is not an escapade any longer for you if you're planning a software/product release or have already released it into the market. The end users abhorrence software hitches. Software Quality Assurance (SQA) entails a set of activities, which help in safeguarding the quality of software engineering processes. It also entails the complete software development cycle including process specifications, design, coding, source code review & control, software testing, product release management etc. This ensures that each development stage progresses smoothly and meets all specifications. It also governs Software Quality Control (SQC). Product development teams are organized for one major purpose: to produce a product people will buy. Software product development teams have a secondary, but no less important goal- the ability to produce products again and again. To affect those goals, product development organizations typically are organized into either functional groups or project groups. Especially in software engineering, many organizations have a hard dividing line between product development and the SQA or product verification functions. Now the questions that must be hovering your mind-Will SQA really help me in avoiding software malfunctions? Well, the answer to this question originates from Darwin's theory-Survival of the fittest. It's all about your business survival and SQA can really help you accomplish your ultimate business goal of customer delight by enabling you release bug-free software into the product. SQA proffers you not just the resolution to the error but also the reason for its occurrence. Tracing the roots of errors is a challenging task, which is easily taken care of by the SQA. The quality assurance testing team probes deep into error to find the real cause of the blunders. Now, SQA is cost effective or not is a debatable question. Most companies today prefer to outsource SQA tasks to third party companies, which work on the fixed projects. However, 'prevention is better than cure' must be preferred. Don't take the risk of fixing the bugs after the product or software is released into the market. Pre-treat the erroneous application before the release even if it costs you more since it's worth it. SQ also contributes effectively in offering you multiple solutions to one problem. Hence, the solutions offered through this technique are flexible.
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