How can you innovate your QA planning?

I think what Quality Assurance in the clinical laboratory need right now is streamlining the creation , revision and efficiently organized but easily accessible storage of documentation through an appropriately designed software. It should be user friendly while differentiates the level of access of the users in the laboratory . The one in charge of QA for example shall have broader access and capabilities including creation and revision of Quality Systems Management documents while testing staff is limited to accessing procedures to follow or forms to fill up (lot to lot validation forms)

Without an effective QA program, the product transfer to customer is left to luck. Is the company reputation based on luck, or professionalism from start to finish, including QA?

All the points are valid but would become more meaningful if they have an example attached to it. This can be done by creating a fictitious scenario and getting a solution out of that.

We also need to evaluate the positioning of QA plan/process in the process of software development life cycle. I've been seen many cases QA plan not even cross development processes and testers not try to get understanding of development which can be a big risk.

To invigorate your QA strategy, let's assess its current state through a SWOT analysis. Reflect on your QA plan's core objectives and its alignment with broader goals. Evaluate your measurement and reporting mechanisms for QA outcomes. Scrutinize your adherence to industry best practices and standards, seeking areas of improvement. Acknowledge the existing challenges and risks, identifying potential opportunities for mitigation. Lastly, consider enhancing communication and collaboration with stakeholders, as seamless interaction can foster innovation and efficiency in QA endeavors.

Few practises such as release product/software in batches after QA validation done, timely and quick release of the software in market to get the feedback sooner from end customer and think like an end user will be helpful

Embracing a user-centric ethos is paramount in QA innovation. Shift the spotlight onto your end users, their desires, and their candid feedback. Employ a multifaceted toolkit, e.g.: personas for empathetic insights, user stories to weave narratives, scenarios to envision journeys, surveys to quantify sentiments, interviews for profound revelations, usability testing for hands-on authenticity, and analytics for data-driven precision. By infusing user wisdom into your QA blueprint, you weave a tapestry where your product seamlessly aligns with user needs, solve their quandaries, and begets genuine value. This user-driven paradigm propels QA from mere validation to a catalyst of exceptional user experiences.

It will be useful to make use of new tools that are actually using AI for automation. We have to remember that software quality assurance is a human process. The current state of AI is clearly, (or AI may never) be a replacement for humans. In the end, software end users are also human. We now use automation to eliminate repetitive regression like tests from software tester's time so they can focus more on exploratory testing. Therefore these automation tools can integrate AI into them to give an enhanced test automation. Our team had good experience in such tool for visual regression testing. We've come a long way from Sikuli. One trap we should not fall for is that managers think AI/ Automation is snake oil for everything QA problem.

Incorporating automation and AI into QA is a transformative stride towards efficiency, precision, and agility. Harness these tools to generate, execute, detect, classify, resolve, and even preempt defects. Automation and AI curtail human errors, economize time, elevate coverage, and bolster reliability, streamlining the QA pipeline. Yet, remember, they complement rather than replace human intuition and innovation. A harmonious blend of automated processes and human ingenuity ensures that QA is a dynamic force, merging the power of technology with the artistry of human judgment to deliver top-tier software quality.

Automation and AI is a must have for this digital transformation era. Quick releases using CI/CD are only possible with intelligent automation and risk based testing in place. Automation tests can take decisions of cod movement in different environments thus maintaining quality of deliverables.

These forays unveil uncharted territories, revealing fresh paths to scrutinize your product, unearth latent defects, and enrich your understanding of its intricacies. This commitment to experimentation transforms QA into an ever-evolving engine of quality, agility, and innovation

Find ways to complement reusability in tests, less maintenance , less effort in automation, self healing so we can have creative human hours to be spent on system testing. This will help in uncovering unknown areas and hence increase customer experience.

Choose the one method or technique which best suits the requirement of the product.Better to empower unit testing so that defects can be trace earlier and intervention possible sooner..

Elevating QA innovation involves a bold embrace of novel methods and techniques. Dive into uncharted waters with approaches like exploratory testing, unfurling unscripted exploration; risk-based testing, prioritizing vulnerabilities; behavior-driven testing, bridging communication gaps, test-driven development, stitching testing into development fabric; and shift-left testing, for early defect interception. Experiment with techniques like pairwise testing for efficient coverage, boundary value analysis to scrutinize limits, equivalence partitioning for data granularity, state transition testing to map system states, and mutation testing to stress-test code resilience.

One question that makes me curious is, "While technology landscape has significantly evolved over the last few decades, why do QA teams still rely on the same techniques designed 2-3 decades ago"? While we can argue that those techniques are still relevant, will our perspective change if we consider that, "While those techniques are useful (known zone), what new techniques lie there to be identified and implemented (unknown zone)? Are there better and efficient techniques that will make currently used techniques not so relevant?". The point to ponder is, "Are we focused on improving the capabilities in sync with technology changes?". What new techniques exist for test planning, test design and Automation? It's time to introspect & debate.