{"id":224,"date":"2015-12-02T23:07:53","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T23:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rainforestqa.com\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T13:22:43","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:22:43","slug":"2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist","title":{"rendered":"The definitive pre-deployment QA checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"\">QA can seem straightforward. But from testing headline cases thoroughly to pinpointing exactly why your product isn\u2019t functioning quite how you need it to, implementing a comprehensive QA strategy can be a complex process.<\/p>\n<p id=\"\">Testing for major headline failures, regression bugs, and extreme edge cases \u2014 and anticipating potential issues before they actually become a problem \u2014 is a necessary part of software development.<\/p>\n<p id=\"\">Here are the seven major types of QA testing that all software teams should have on their checklist by the time their product reaches maturity.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Unit_Tests\" >Unit Tests<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Integration_Testing\" >Integration Testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Exploratory_and_informal_testing\" >Exploratory and informal testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Acceptance_Testing\" >Acceptance Testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Penetration_Testing\" >Penetration Testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Load_Testing\" >Load Testing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Dogfooding_Your_Product\" >Dogfooding Your Product<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/2015-12-02-getting-ready-to-deploy-make-sure-these-7-tests-are-on-your-qa-checklist\/#Designing_Testing_Schemes_to_Move_Fast\" >Designing Testing Schemes to Move Fast<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unit_Tests\"><\/span>Unit Tests<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Unit testing involves testing the smallest testable segments of software, usually as they are written. Your company should always be implementing unit tests regardless of your stage within the funding cycle. An unreliable core product might discourage users from becoming long-term customers (and stunt any potential company growth!) so it\u2019s really important to be doing unit testing to make sure this doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n<p id=\"\">Unit testing is usually done manually as new code is written, especially during early stages of your product. But as you grow, it\u2019s more useful to implement automated scripts to help you test the code.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Integration_Testing\"><\/span>Integration Testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Integration testing ensures that any new code you write compiles smoothly with your existing code-base. You\u2019ll need to start planning automated integration testing as your product grows and you start developing new features that will need to run alongside your existing software. Once you\u2019re at the A\/B\/C level of funding, both as a B2B or a B2C provider, you\u2019ll need to start this kind of testing. It\u2019s important that new features work well with the current product, as you will have more customers that rely on what\u2019s already there.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Exploratory_and_informal_testing\"><\/span>Exploratory and informal testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Informal testing or exploratory testing can be invaluable tools no matter what stage of production you\u2019re in. Manually just poking around can take up a lot of time, but informally tinkering with your product can also be useful in later stages and can in fact isolate problems that more formal, automated methods might miss.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Acceptance_Testing\"><\/span>Acceptance Testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">User acceptance testing is testing with respect to the end users\u2019 needs and requirements. Acceptance testing becomes more important as your product matures. You\u2019ll want a plan in place to assess the major uses of your product and how to address any issues that come up during use by a representative focus group of users. User acceptance testing is important for A\/B\/C-level and IPO-level companies in both the B2B and B2C markets.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Penetration_Testing\"><\/span>Penetration Testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Penetration testing tests for security vulnerabilities in your software and becomes important once you\u2019re big enough to be a target for hacking. You\u2019ll want to include this type of automated testing if you\u2019re an IPO-level B2B company or a company that deals with a lot of sensitive user information.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Load_Testing\"><\/span>Load Testing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Load testing assesses the ability of your product to handle a large number of simultaneous users, as well as the capabilities of your infrastructure. This becomes important in the later funding stages of your company. If you\u2019re in the B2B market, this will be once you\u2019re past the seed-funding stage; if you\u2019re B2C, you can wait to worry about this type of automated testing once you\u2019re at IPO level.<\/p>\n<p id=\"\">Most companies don\u2019t have to worry about load testing until they\u2019re more mature, as they\u2019re not yet likely to encounter traffic that breaks their software. But even early-stage companies should be aware of their load limits \u2014 our customer Soylent went viral much faster than anticipated, making load testing suddenly very relevant to its business needs.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dogfooding_Your_Product\"><\/span>Dogfooding Your Product<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">Here at Rainforest, we\u2019re big advocates of dogfooding. We don\u2019t have an in-house QA team and we run all our QA tests through the Rainforest platform. Dogfooding keeps your team in close contact with the actual product. It helps you spot big problems, but it also makes you more aware of little things like interface issues and little bugs that can affect speed and accuracy. It can help your developers think like the customers who will be using your product, ensuring a better user experience.<\/p>\n<p id=\"\">Whether you\u2019re a startup with a small team or a large enterprise, using your own product provides critical feedback about your product\u2019s performance\u2014an opportunity that shouldn\u2019t be passed up. By nature, dogfooding is manual but, unlike many tests, it isn\u2019t performed in a vacuum, so while it can take time, it\u2019s really a pro-multitasking move.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Designing_Testing_Schemes_to_Move_Fast\"><\/span>Designing Testing Schemes to Move Fast<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p id=\"\">The biggest takeaway when assessing QA testing strategies is that you choose the testing types that are most applicable to where your company is in its life cycle. Comprehensive testing strategies are important in order to satisfy your users, maintain the quality of your product, and continue your growth\u2014but there\u2019s not just one answer for which types of testing you will need to implement for your product. Your company may need just a few or all of these testing strategies depending on the stage your product and company is at. Most importantly, you should continue to evaluate your QA testing needs, since the scope of your testing strategy will change as you grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are the seven major types of QA testing that all software teams should have on their checklist by the time their product reaches maturity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-qa-strategy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3099,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions\/3099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rainforestqa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}