Adding shift-left testing to the quality process step by step

Here is a brief overview of introducing a basic quality process to a team.

Goal — Use a backlog to refine user stories for development: create a backlog of testing tasks and activities from the beginning of the development cycle.

Write user stories with acceptance criteria, splitting complete flows into features: identify testing requirements for each feature through user stories. Include clear, specific acceptance criteria so every feature can be tested properly.

Develop test cases for each user story: write test cases that cover all aspects of the feature described in the story. Include both success and failure scenarios, covering different usage paths.

Perform static testing and analysis before development: review documents and perform static code reviews to identify potential problems before development begins. Use static analysis tools to identify possible vulnerabilities or errors in the source code.

Integrate automated tests into the development pipeline: automate unit, integration, and regression tests to protect the stability of developed features. Integrate those tests into the development pipeline for continuous execution after each code change.

Implement continuous reviews and iterative feedback: continuously review code and features under development to identify and correct problems quickly. Use iterative feedback with developers and the quality team to improve development.

Document and analyze quality and performance metrics: record quality metrics, test coverage, and software performance to assess testing effectiveness and identify improvements. Regularly analyze test results to adjust testing strategies as needed.