A Quality assurance analyst is anyone who is responsible for checking the quality, performance, any reliability of the organizational systems and processes before they are deployed to the organization.
After the scrum development team has finished building the software, they would need an experienced person to test and confirm that it is working as expected.
Numerous unexpected issues can arise when a new software is deployed and improperly tested. Many of those issues can be detrimental to the organization, so it is very important that the software is properly tested.
Some of these unforeseen issues include slow response time, security vulnerabilities, missing features and user accessibility issues. So it is important that these type of issues are caught and fixed before the software is deployed.
One of the responsibilities of an effective quality assurance analyst is to tests the software to ensure that it is functioning properly and efficiently and makes recommendations on how it can be improved on.
They are also responsible for improving software products and applications, while keeping to the defined timelines and budgets.
But Quality assurance analysts do not only test new software, they are also responsible for testing software fixes, software upgrades and new functionality implementations.
Quality assurance analysts are usually members of the scrum development team. The work with the team to test the finished piece of work before it is moved to the demo column of the Scrum board.
Once they identify any issues with the completed work, they document them and produce a report that is shared with the team. The report would include details on the software, its evaluation, methods of testing, and any improvements that were made to the software.
Quality assurance analysts use a range of tools in order to do their job. They might use a tool as simple as a Microsoft excel spreadsheet or a tool as complex as a dedicated quality assurance testing tool.
Due to their familiarity with the software, Quality assurance analysts might also be responsible for creating the end user training manuals and training the end users on how to use the software properly.