QCOE Requirements Workflow

Quality Center of Excellence - Quality Assurance Solutions

QA Solutions for Your Buisiness Scale

Choose your company size to see tailored Quality Center of Excellence (QCOE) requirements

Startups / Small Businesses

Mid-Market Companies

Enterprise

1. Overview

Target Audience: Startups / Small Businesses

Objectives: Speed, Affordability, Essential QA Coverage

Purpose: Define a lean and scalable QA process that enables fast releases and user-validated quality for MVP and post-MVP phases.

Scope: Web and mobile product testing, CI/CD integration, UI/UX coverage, automation kickstart, and crowd testing.

Primary Stakeholders: Founders, Product Managers, QA Leads, DevOps Engineers, Developers

2. TCOE Pillars and Workflow Activities

2.1Rapid-release Automation

Objective: Deliver fast, maintainable automation packs to test core functionality early and often.

Activities:

Use pre-built automation packs for login, form validation, payment flow, etc.
Choose tools with low-code or no-code support (e.g., TestProject, Katalon).
Automate smoke/sanity tests for every build.
Store scripts in version control with naming/tagging standards.

Output: Quick-launch automation coverage for 80% of MVP features within 2 sprints.

2.2Zero-surprise User Experience Assurance

Objective: Ensure no basic usability, visual, or workflow blockers reach end users.

Activities:

Run basic UI/UX checks using tools like Percy, Lighthouse, or Applitools (free tier).
Validate layout consistency, navigation flow, error message behavior.
Perform manual sanity on supported browsers/devices (top 3 based on target market).

Output: Functional + UX test checklist executed per sprint. Bug triage focused on end-user experience.

2.3Crowd Testing Lite

Objective: Augment internal QA with fast feedback from real users in real environments.

Activities:

Engage testers from platforms like Testlio, RainforestQA, or internal user pools.
Limit to short cycles (1–2 days) post-release or before major demos.
Focus on exploratory testing, device/browser variability, and edge-case input.

Output: Defects and UX issues discovered before wider rollout. Insightful user behavior feedback.

2.4DevOps Velocity Enablement

Objective: Embed QA into fast-moving CI/CD pipelines with minimal friction.

Activities:

Use plug-and-play testing integrations (e.g., GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Bitrise).
Trigger automation tests on pull request and pre-deployment.
Display test results in pipeline dashboards.

Output: Faster release cycles with automated quality gates. Regression reduced to hours, not days.

2.5Essential QA Process Templates

Objective: Provide lightweight, repeatable templates that don't slow down dev teams.

Activities:

Maintain quick-start documentation: Test Strategy Template, Test Case Checklist, Bug Reporting Template, Sprint QA Workflow.
Define minimum viable testing practices for stories and sprints.

Output: Standardized QA processes across sprints. Onboarding-friendly. Ready for scale-up.

4. Deliverables

QA Quick Start Pack: Test strategy, test case template, bug log format
Smoke & Sanity Scripts: 10–20 pre-built test scripts for fast-start
CI/CD Test Integration: Automation triggers and reports in GitHub/GitLab
Crowd Testing Feedback Logs: Test cases + defect logs from external testers
UX Bug Dashboard: Priority-wise list of UI/UX issues found

5. Tools Stack (Recommended Low-Cost Options)

Test Automation: TestProject, Katalon, Cypress, Playwright

Visual Testing: Percy, Applitools (free), Lighthouse

CI/CD Integration: GitHub Actions, Bitrise, GitLab CI

Crowd Testing: Rainforest QA, Testlio, uTest, internal user community

Test Management: TestRail (basic), Xray (Jira), Google Sheets (early stage)

6. Success Metrics

Release Defect Leakage:

< 5%

Automation Coverage (Core Flows):

> 80% within 2 months

Test Execution Time (CI/CD):

< 10 mins

Setup Time for New Projects:

< 1 day

Cost of Quality:

Within 5–7% of total engineering budget