8 Best Practices to Get Your QA Engineers and Developers to Work Together... Effectively

For, let's face it: for too many software development teams agile transformation ends right at the tester-developer strict separation of concerns. The QA team continues to work in a waterfall style: once designers and developers have completed their part, the software testers are the last in a row in the development cycle. They need to wait for developers to provide them the user story to actually... start working. So, how do you get your QA engineers and developers to work together?

How do you build collaboration between these 2 departments?

So that, instead of:

  • having them working separately, each team focused exclusively on its dedicated “slice of the pie”, in a waterfall sequence
  • having your QA engineers waiting for the user stories, that, in many cases, they'll get only shortly before the end of the sprint (leading to slow feedback cycles, testers being hurried, key aspects getting overlooked in the chaotical testing process, etc.)

… you could get them to work... symbiotically?

Here are 8 handy techniques which, if implemented strategically, will help your testers and developers to work collaboratively throughout the development process. Thus speeding it up dramatically...

 

1. Involve both teams in the process of collecting client requirements

Get both your QA engineers and developers to work together even from a very early phase of the project.

Ensure that they're learning together about the client's specific requirements, preferences, background, and particular constraints. 

 

2. Get them both involved in designing the tests

Don't turn test designing into the QA team's exclusive task.

Instead, encourage developers to provide feedback on the tests that their QA teammates are working on...

 

3. Encourage them to learn how to use each other's tools

Just imagine: once QA engineers get familiar with using developers' specific “equipment” and the latter learn how to work with the testers' tools... both teams will gain an in-depth understanding of each other's operations.

They'll gain a more accurate overview of the bigger picture. And this can only lead to boosted productivity and enhanced collaboration between the 2 departments.

Encourage your QA team to run their tests right on developers' machines as the latter implement new features. Not 1-2 days after, once the “official” build is finally put together.

This way, by “monitoring” developers' work in almost “real-time”, QA engineers can promptly intervene with improvement suggestions and detect issues at an early stage. No need to wait for a formal build to be created for them to give their feedback.

 

4. Replace formal communication with a more casual one

There's no way you'll get your QA engineers and developers to work together effectively if you're still relying on a rigid, conventional form of communication such as the email.

It's sluggish, it's the opposite of... agile.

Instead, encourage them to share their input, to ask questions and give directions in person. 

 

5. Include pair test-programming

It will get your software testers and developers to work collaboratively on:

  • project requirements
  • identifying issues to be addressed
  • developing code
  • running tests... 

     

6. Initiate discussions about the quality of the “product” in question

What does “high quality” mean for your software testers and your developers in the context of this specific project?

What does “completed/finished” project mean for each of these 2 teams? Engage both departments in discussions about the steps to be included in the software development cycle...

 

7. Ensure testers know what areas developers have already tested

Developers will inevitably run their own tests, as well, while working on the software product.

Therefore, it's crucial that QA engineers know what tests the development team has run — manually or in code — and what areas of the project they've covered.

This will provide them with a clear picture of which units have been thoroughly tested. And of which of the implemented features developers feel less confident about.

Of what issues have already been detected and which are those parts that haven't received that much attention. And that could still “store” some hidden... glitches.


8. Cross-train: Get Your QA Engineers and Developers to Work Together

Initiate cross-training sessions where:

  • software testers in your team learn about the codebase
  • developers learn about the used testing tools and specific testing techniques

The QA team will then be able to identify vulnerabilities and glitches in the codebase a lot quicker, whereas developers will get motivated to write better test code...

The END

These are the simplest 8 practices that you, as a project manager, can easily apply to get your QA engineers and developers working together... effectively.

Would you have added other tips, as well? 

Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash