Here are top ways to improve collaboration between software testers and developers.

1. Ways To Improve Collaboration Between
Software Testers & Developers

2. Introduction
Good communication or lack of it, can make or break a software project.
Collaboration between QA and development teams is essential for ensuring
the success of an agile software project. Any software is bound to have bugs.
A healthy relationship between QA & developers can help in finding and fixing
these bugs quickly. With good collaboration and smart automation strategies,
teams can successfully achieve greater speed and better quality in their
software projects.
Team work between testers and developers is crucial for successfully
deploying and maintaining a high quality software product. Here are a few
ways to reduce friction and increase collaboration between testing team and
developers:

3. 5 Ways To Improve Collaboration Between Software
Testers And Developers
1) Encourage Collaboration and Communication
Promote a collaborative work culture where quality is everyone’s responsibility.
Get testers and developers to work together while researching about customers,
building user stories, and creating unit tests. Inculcate a team culture of
collaboration where testers are more than mere gatekeepers who approve or
disapprove features before delivery.Encourage both QA and developers to share
their thoughts and ideas.
Make everyone feel a part of a single integrated team that is focused on the
product’s quality. Apart from arranging meetings, encourage both testers and
developers to take the initiative to interact more often using informal channels.

4. 2) Cross Train Developers & Testers
While developers can help testers in understanding the code, testers can help
developers in learning more about the test suite and strategies used for testing
the product. Knowledge sharing sessions can also help both teams learn more
about any specific tools used for the project. This mutual understanding of each
other’s process will help the team as a whole to find and fix more bugs.

5. 3) Focus On Finding and Fixing Critical Bugs
By assessing and prioritising bugs based on business goals, product managers
must focus on finding and fixing the most critical bugs. Ensure that both QA team
and developers understand what is most important for the customers or the end
users of the app. When you have a big picture of the project, it is easier for teams
to prioritise tasks in line with business goals. With prioritisation, developers and
testers can focus on finding the right solutions for the most critical issues in the
product. There is lesser tendency to pass the buck as teams are more focused on
solving software problems together as part of a single team responsible for the
product.

6. 4) Introduce Pair Test Programming
With pair test programming, testers and developers can sit together to discuss
requirements, develop code, run tests and assess the non functional aspects of
the product. Further when testers test the features on developer’s machine, they
can give prompt feedback required for improving the app.

7. 5) Embrace TDD & BDD
Business Driven Development (BDD) is a software development process that is
based on Test Driven Development (TDD). In TDD, first the testers create tests for
specific business requirements. These tests are run by the developers who then
create the codes. Once the codes are implemented, developers can run the tests
again to ensure that their codes have run correctly. BDD when used together with
TDD and unit testing methods shortens the feedback loop, allowing developers to
deliver user stories that exactly matches the business requirements.

8. Conclusion
Irrespective of the different approaches they use, both testers and developers
have the same goal of delivering a high quality software product. When they work
together as a team, the true potential of a product is unlocked. Having a good
synergy between the QA team and development team thus helps a software
project attain both speed and quality that is required for its success.

9. About 99tests
99tests is an online crowd testing platform that helps enterprises meet their
App quality goals. Our crowd testing platform provides economical, and
effective crowd-sourced testing solutions that enable individuals and
businesses to pursue excellence in software technology.
Learn more about the App testing services provided by 99tests. Visit
www.99tests.com . For more information, contact: contact@99tests.com