Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance (QA) is a systematic process and set of activities designed to ensure that software products meet specified requirements and quality standards before release. It focuses on preventing defects through process improvement, standards adherence, and proactive testing strategies, rather than just finding bugs. QA encompasses the entire software development lifecycle, including planning, design, implementation, and maintenance.
Developers should learn QA to build more reliable, maintainable, and user-friendly software, reducing post-release bugs and technical debt. It's essential in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, finance), for mission-critical applications, and when working in agile or DevOps teams to ensure continuous delivery of high-quality code. QA skills help developers write testable code, collaborate effectively with QA engineers, and contribute to overall product success.