QA Roles and Responsibilities Inside a Software Testing Team

Key Takeaways

• Assigning proper roles and clear responsibilities to all QA team members is the surefire way to ensure that everyone does their best job and that project goals are met on time and in full.
• Main QA department responsibilities include requirement analysis, test planning, creating testing documentation, executing test cases, analyzing the results, and communicating their findings to the development team.
• Testing teams can use different types of organizational structure and can choose the one that fits their needs better. The most popular organizational QA team structure types include functional, matrix, dedicated, and agile teams.
• Choosing the ideal team structure comes down to several factors: project scope, the expertise and skills of team members, the size and complexity of the software that needs to be tested, and the short-term and long-term planning around the project.
• The most common QA team roles include a QA lead, team lead, manual and automation test engineers, network test engineer, test library and configuration specialist, and testers. There are also several popular hybrid roles, including a QA engineer with DevOps expertise, test automation engineer, SDET, full-stack testing engineer, test architect, and test analyst. 
• Assembling an ideal testing team requires a sequence of steps. It starts with setting clear goals and expectations, hiring the testers, onboarding, introducing testing workflows and agile practices, and finally assigning roles and responsibilities for each team member.
• Even with a flawless allocation of QA team roles and responsibilities, testing departments can still face certain challenges, although they can be mitigated with the right strategy. Common challenges include time and resource constraints, frequently changing requirements, inadequate testing coverage, and difficulties with regression testing.

QA Team Responsibilities

History knows a lot of embarrassing examples of software not being tested properly, like Apple’s group FaceTime issue or the Windows 10 problem with Surface Book 2, that taught the IT industry to take QA seriously. No wonder tech companies nowadays strive for well-established quality assurance departments. To give you an idea of what you should expect from your software testing team, here are its most important responsibilities listed:

Requirements Analysis

Before diving into the testing or planning stages, it’s crucial for the test team to carefully gather the client’s expectations for the upcoming product. This stage also includes testing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between the company that owns an application and its future users. 

Test Planning

Gone are the days when quality assurance teams would just sit back and wait for developers to finish a product before starting their work. Now, test planning and case development kick off simultaneously with, or even before, the software development process. This shift requires a collaborative approach, where a skill matrix tool plays a crucial role in mapping team members’ strengths and ensuring the right skills are utilized at each stage. That’s why the roles and responsibilities of quality assurance teams are constantly evolving to align better with these advanced processes.

Create Testing Documentation

Just as crucial as having seamless test scripts is the need for accurate reporting. Keeping detailed process documentation helps you easily keep track of what’s already been accomplished and stay updated on the project’s current status. Plus, maintaining a clear and concise documentation is the only way to quickly bring new team members up to speed on the project development process. To make sure the documents you have on your project are up to the industry standards, check out this free sample and see if anything is missing. 

Test Cases Execution

Naturally, the primary duty of the QA department is running software tests. This involves identifying and reporting errors, setting up the security testing environment, suggesting improvements for software performance, verifying fixes, and providing technical oversight for each bug throughout its lifecycle. To stay on the cutting edge, the team needs to check out industry trends from time to time, incorporate modern testing tools into their workflows, and consistently apply QA best practices. 

Organizational Testing Team Structures

One of the important steps to building an effective and high-performance team is choosing the right testing team structure. This will help you make up a strong team with the required domain skills and expertise for your project’s specific needs and avoid many common pitfalls. In general, there are four types of structures to choose from:

• Functional;
• Matrix; 
• Dedicated team;
• Agile.

Functional Team Structure

The functional organization structure is a popular model for testing teams. In this model, teams are typically assigned specific roles and grouped based on their technical expertise, such as performance testing or continuous delivery, allowing for efficient, more focused work. Most often, functional teams are supervised by test managers, while senior management oversees the project as a whole. 

Matrix Organization Structure

In a matrix organization, team members with certain skills are assigned to different projects. This way, they can work on several projects simultaneously and spend their time and resources with maximum efficiency. The flexibility of matrix organization encourages cross-functional communication and facilitates continuous delivery in various aspects of the software development process. Central to this model are test managers that lead testing teams and work with higher management. 

Dedicated Team Structure

Having a dedicated testing team is much more than just catching bugs. First and foremost, it’s about ensuring the overall quality of the product. The key benefit of this model is its clarity. In this model, everyone knows exactly what they’re responsible for and what they need to do, allowing them to work toward the same goal. Structure-wise, the team comprises test managers who supervise certain tasks, QA managers bringing in their technical expertise, and testers who run test cases. 

Agile Team Structure

Agile setups are the most flexible, with no strict hierarchy involved. Team members with different technical skills can work together on multiple projects simultaneously and join at any stage of the SDTL — from the initial stages of planning to project acceptance. The unique thing about agile is that team members can switch their roles. As a result, they can hone and develop their skills, contributing to more robust software products. 

Choosing the Right Software Testing Team Structure

If you aren’t sure which testing team structure will best fit your testing processes, here are a few aspects to consider. 

• Project’s scope. First off, consider the needs of your project. Are you focusing on a single project, or juggling multiple ones at the same time? If it’s the latter, a matrix organization is likely your best bet. 
• Your team’s expertise and skills. If you’re not building a team from scratch, take a close look at each member’s domain expertise to ensure their talents and resources are effectively utilized. Aim to assemble a team with a diverse range of skills that are versatile across different projects.
• The size of software products. When dealing with large software products, it’s typically better to adopt an agile or dedicated team structure with clearly defined roles for each team member.
• Future plans. If you’re working on a product with growth potential, opt for flexible structures. This approach allows you to seamlessly integrate more specialists as needed without major overhauls.

By following these tips, you should be able to make the right decision about the structure for your testing team. Think strategically, as your product’s requirements might evolve, and it’s crucial that your team is prepared to adapt effectively. 

QA Team Roles: Who Does What

Depending on the project scope, the software testing team may vary in size, job titles, test methodologies, and technologies applied. That is why quality assurance team roles and responsibilities can often vary from project to project and from company to company. That said, there are certain roles that are common for pretty much any testing team, including:

• QA Lead;
• Team Lead;
• UI/UX test engineer, Manual test engineer, Automated test engineer;
• Network test engineer;
• Test library and configuration specialist;
• Tester. 

Further down, we break down the variety of roles and responsibilities in software testing teams, focusing on the unique contribution of each role to ensuring software quality and effectiveness. 

Hybrid Team Roles and Their QA Responsibilities

In addition to the more traditional QA department responsibilities, modern businesses also widely use hybrid roles. The hybrid roles and responsibilities of QA team members combine the features of two or more team roles in testing. Here are the key hybrid QA team roles and responsibilities to know about.

QA Engineer with DevOps Knowledge

A QA engineer with robust knowledge of DevOps practices mainly focuses on testing within a CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipeline. Their most common responsibilities include:

• Developing and executing automated test scripts.
• Integrating testing processes into CI/CD tools like Jenkins and GitLab.
• Collaborating with DevOps to ensure smooth test automation and deployment pipelines.
• Ensuring testing is aligned with rapid software releases.

Test Automation Engineer with Development Skills

A QA automation engineer with development expertise acts as a bridge between QA and development teams, ensuring that the software is tested on time and in full and that there is an alignment across teams when it comes to goals and desired outcomes. The QA responsibilities in this case include:

• Designing and implementing test automation frameworks.
• Writing reusable, maintainable automated test scripts, often in programming languages like Python, Java, or JavaScript.
• Working alongside developers to understand code structure and enhance test coverage.
• Performing both white-box and black-box testing.

SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test)

SDET is one of the most in-demand positions in the software industry because an SDET’s dual role as both a developer and a QA engineer makes them an invaluable addition to any QA team structure. Here is what an SDET typically has to deal with:

• Writing and executing automated tests while also participating in software development.
• Reviewing code for quality assurance and helping developers write testable code.
• Building tools and frameworks for automated testing.
• Engaging in performance testing, security testing, and other specialized forms of QA.

Full-Stack Test Engineer

When it comes to quality assurance team roles and responsibilities, large teams can usually afford to have engineers specializing either in back-end or front-end testing. A full-stack test engineer can handle both, giving the team the versatility and agility they need to continue successfully. These are the common responsibilities of a full-stack QA engineer:

• Testing APIs, databases, and user interfaces.
• Performing end-to-end testing, ensuring both the client-side and server-side components function correctly.
• Writing integration and functional test scripts.
• Monitoring test results and analyzing data across the full stack.

Test Architect

A test architect is a hybrid role that involves both strategic and hands-on testing work. This role usually goes to a highly experienced, senior-level specialist who has enough practical experience with testing to be able to see the big picture and manage the project. Typical responsibilities of QA architects include:

• Designing the overall testing strategy, frameworks, and tools.
• Ensuring that testing aligns with business and technical objectives.
• Overseeing the implementation of test automation across projects.
• Mentoring and guiding other QA engineers on best practices.

Test Analyst

A test analyst specializes in testing systems that involve large datasets or data-driven applications. This is a person with strong analytical skills in addition to in-depth knowledge of testing, which allows them to know exactly what to look for and how to interpret the analysis results. Test analysts usually deal with:

• Validating data integrity, accuracy, and quality in databases.
• Creating and running data-centric test cases.
• Using data analytics tools to monitor and report on test results.
• Ensuring data flows are correctly implemented and optimized.

QA Manager / QA Lead with Agile Knowledge

This is a leadership role that involves managing the QA process while also being deeply involved in Agile methodologies. Unlike many QA roles and responsibilities that can be assigned to junior and middle-level specialists, the role of an agile QA manager can only go to highly experienced testing experts. This role typically includes the following tasks:

• Leading a QA team through sprints, managing both manual and automated testing tasks.
• Ensuring the testing process is integrated with Agile practices like daily standups and sprint planning.
• Implementing test automation strategies to speed up release cycles.
• Collaborating closely with scrum masters, product owners, and developers to ensure QA deliverables are met.

Manual and Automated Software QA Roles and Responsibilities

On many projects, quality assurance roles and responsibilities can be clearly divided into manual and automated ones. Both are an integral part of any QA team structure. One of the most popular ways to imagine the testing process is to use a testing pyramid. But how exactly does the pyramid relate to the roles and responsibilities in software testing and the division between manual and automated QA? Let’s take a look at how the QA pyramid structure impacts the division of labor in a typical software testing team.

Efficiency in Test Automation

QA teams focus more on automating unit and API tests, as these tests are fast and cost-effective. By investing in these levels, QA automation engineers reduce the reliance on slower, more brittle UI tests.

Collaboration Between QA and Development

The pyramid encourages close collaboration between developers and QA engineers. Developers are primarily responsible for writing unit tests, but they work alongside QA engineers to ensure those tests are effective and integrated into the pipeline. QA engineers, in turn, focus on higher-level tests, such as API and UI testing, where their expertise is crucial.

Balanced Testing Strategy

The pyramid enforces a balanced strategy, reducing the risk of over-reliance on UI testing, which can be expensive to maintain. QA leads and test architects are responsible for ensuring that the team follows this model, building a sustainable testing framework.

QA Lead’s Role in Strategic Testing Decisions

QA leads or test architects play a key role in ensuring the pyramid is followed. They design the testing strategy, ensuring that the team invests more in unit and API testing and limits UI testing to critical user journeys. They also ensure that automation is integrated with the development pipeline for continuous feedback.

Ongoing Maintenance and Improvement

Automation testing requires ongoing maintenance, particularly at the higher levels of the pyramid. QA engineers and SDETs must regularly update and optimize test scripts as the application evolves, while manual testers may be required to run exploratory tests that can’t be automated.

How to Assemble a Software Testing Team

Now that we’ve covered the many different QA roles, as well as the key positions present in every team, let’s talk about how to assemble a team of QA professionals. Here are some steps that may help you in assembling a dream software quality assurance team.

Set Clear Goals and Expectations

As trivial as this may sound, the first step to setting up a testing team is to set clear goals and expectations for what you’d like to accomplish. This will give you an idea of the right team structure, key roles, and the number of people you want to involve in the project.

Hire the Team

Next, you need to find the right people. Here you may want to pay attention to several criteria. First things first, it’s the technical expertise, of course. A software QA team must have strong hard skills to write clear codes, anticipate and navigate complexities, and be quick at integrating new solutions to streamline existing processes. Carefully look at candidates’ previous experience with various technologies and tools to evaluate whether they can be a good fit for the intended QA team roles and responsibilities. 

Also, consider interpersonal skills. They are not less important than hard skills when it comes to working in a team environment. You need QA engineers who can effectively communicate, collaborate, and resolve conflicts. This will help create a positive environment where the team feels motivated and engaged and works collaboratively towards long-term project success. 

Besides communication and technical skills, QA engineers need to have strong logical and analytical skills. While artificial intelligence can help a lot with forecasting possible test scenarios, it’s still essential for testers to have a keen analytical mind to understand complex software architectures and identify potential flaws. 

Of course, it’s not always possible to find people who are good at everything. Some of them will be better communicators, while others will shine in the technical field, and that’s totally fine. To put together a well-balanced and functional team, strive to include a mix of experienced professionals. Look for people who are good at manual testing as well as automation experts, those who understand the technical aspects and others who excel in project management, planning, and doing mundane tasks. This will help you create a diverse team where each member complements the others and every necessary skill is present in the team.

Average Tester’s Rates

The cost of running a testing team depends on a number of factors, including the geographical location of your team members, their level of expertise, and the specific requirements of your project. In general, tester rates can vary wildly. For example, in the USA and Canada, the average rates of quality assurance engineers may range from $60 to $90 per hour. 

Conversely, teams from Asian, Eastern European, and South American countries tend to charge considerably less, with the average hourly rate ranging from $25 to $60, depending on the role. No wonder many business owners that run a software business company prefer to outsource testing. Moveover, outsourcing testing to a remote QA company often helps gain access to a wider test coverage and conduct a wider range of test activities due to the diverse expertise and experience available in these regions. 

Onboarding

When you gather a team of software test engineers, allocate some time on onboarding them. Even experienced testers will need some time to get to learn the tools and software your company uses, so it’s vital not to miss this phase. During onboarding, familiarize your team with the project management system, communication channels, and any proprietary testing frameworks you use. It’s helpful to have clear documentation that minimizes the learning curve for your team.

Encourage open communication during onboarding within the qa team. Your team should feel comfortable asking questions if there’s anything they don’t understand. This not only aids in streamlining the software testing process but also fosters a collaborative atmosphere where everyone is motivated to deliver high-quality results.

Define Testing Processes and Workflows

Next, define the steps involved in test planning, execution, and reporting, outlining the key criteria for test case design, test coverage, and the metrics to be tracked. It may be helpful to create a standardized reporting system to ensure that the QA team works cohesively and efficiently. Establishing clear testing processes and workflows is essential for maintaining consistency and quality throughout the software development lifecycle. 

Implement Agile Practices

While there are many different methodologies that can be used to manage software development or run software firms, agile methodologies seem to best suit the dynamic nature of software development. Agile emphasizes iterative development, continuous testing, and collaboration among cross-functional teams and helps in delivering high-quality software in a shorter time frame.

Assign Roles and Responsibilities

Unless you plan to work with a remote QA team that is already formed and has a track record of completed projects behind their back, you’ll need to clearly define your QA roles and responsibilities, communicate your expectations and requirements, and set a defined reporting schedule. If you choose to work with remote specialists in different time zones,  make sure you pick a communication time slot that overlaps with yours and create an emergency plan that your team can fall back on in the event of unexpected situations.

Common Challenges and How Quality Assurance Teams Can Handle Them

Even the most organized team with well-defined QA roles and responsibilities may face challenges along the way. However, most of them can be dealt with quite easily with the right knowledge and effective strategies. Let’s take a look at the most common roadblocks that software QA teams encounter and how to address them effectively:

Time Limitations

Time limitations are among the most common challenges faced by software testers. To succeed in the competitive world of software development, it’s essential that the products are delivered fast to market, which often puts development teams under tight schedules. Ultimately, testing becomes crucial in balancing the quality of the software and its delivery speed.

How to Handle:

• Prioritize testing based on the critical functionalities and potential risks.
• Implement risk-based testing to focus efforts on areas that matter the most.
• Utilize automation for repetitive and time-consuming tasks to maximize efficiency.
• Establish a realistic testing schedule and communicate proactively your goals and expectations with the team.

Inadequate Test Coverage

Another challenge that quite often impedes the QA process is lack of adequate test coverage. Not all in-house teams have the means to extend the network of tools and devices, making it hard to detect defects and gaps in quality assurance.

How to Handle:

• Consider cost-effective alternatives like cloud-based test environments.
• Resort to crowd testing to validate the product quality across diverse devices and configurations.

Resource Constraints

Resource constraints are a common roadblock impeding testing of software development projects. Limited manpower, tools, or budgets can hinder the effectiveness of the testing process and even lead to delays. 

How to Handle:

• Optimize resource allocation by prioritizing critical testing activities.
• Leverage test automation to reduce manual efforts and increase productivity.
• Consider outsourcing non-core testing activities to remote specialists to supplement internal resources.
• Encourage continuous training to address skill gaps and enhance your team’s flexibility.

Changing Requirements

Software development is a very dynamic process. Even if you have set a clear plan for what you want to achieve, new technologies, competition, and many other factors may force companies to change requirements. Therefore, it’s crucial that developers and QA engineers maintain agility. 

How to Handle:

• Embrace agile software development methodologies to facilitate adaptability.
  
• Establish a robust change management process to track and accommodate evolving requirements.
  
• Regularly engage with the team and stakeholders to stay updated on any changes.
  
• Conduct impact assessments to understand the implications of new requirements on existing plans and test execution.
  
• Maintain documentation control to manage all changes effectively.

Challenges in Regression Testing

As software functionalities expand, so does the timeline required to complete the project, potentially jeopardizing the time delivery of the software. 

How to Handle:

• Streamline test suites and embrace automation testing. This approach not only speeds up testing, ensuring that the software is delivered on time, but also helps maintain the highest quality standards.
• Adopt a test case prioritization strategy based on business impact and significant functionalities. This will allow teams to focus on high-priority scenarios first, ensuring that essential features are thoroughly tested even within a constrained timeline.

Summing Up

To wrap things up, quality assurance includes many service levels and requires a deep understanding of software development to be productive. That includes a solid idea of the typical software QA roles and responsibilities. 

Every role of the QA team has its unique duties and responsibilities that work together to ensure the delivery of a high-quality software product. From test engineers focusing on meticulous testing to test automation engineers streamlining repetitive tasks, and test analysts ensuring comprehensive test covers, each member plays a crucial role in the quality assurance process and cannot be overlooked. 

Despite that, establishing a QA department isn’t as hard or expensive as it might seem. Modern approaches to software testing allow companies of all sizes to grow a team ― be it in-house or an outsourced one ― of skillful testing professionals even on a budget or on tight deadlines. And with our tips, you should have no problem building and managing a successful team with the exact QA team roles and responsibilities you need.