Mistake Proofing and The Role of QA

Roland Cuellar at LitheSpeed recently highlighted some of the characteristics of the QA role and the importance of rethinking how this role integrates throughout the development process to add even more value. Taking a position similar to what I propose in "One Team - Developers and QA" (http://blog.softwarearchitecture.com/2007/04/one-team-developers-and-qa.html), Roland borrows from some common "Lean" practices and encourages a deeper relationship with development and a focus on keeping defects out of the product right from the start. Specific recommendations include more detailed and interactive communications/partnership and the elevation of test cases to first-class requirements.

Check it out at Mistake Proofing and The Role of QA