{"id":54016,"date":"2021-07-21T11:04:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T18:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/?p=54016"},"modified":"2021-07-21T11:04:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T18:04:04","slug":"understanding-the-role-of-the-ux-quality-assurance-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.creativecircle.com\/blog\/understanding-the-role-of-the-ux-quality-assurance-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Role of the UX Quality Assurance Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bridging design and development, Quality Assurance<\/span>, or QA<\/span>\u00a0processes ensure that the product that consumers see is executed as the designers intended<\/span>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span>free of bugs, crashes, or frustrations. Of course, that\u2019s easier said than done, making Quality Assurance Managers an\u00a0<\/span>invaluable link in the chain for developing<\/span>\u00a0digital products.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The user experience or UX design process aims to offer a product or service that is an easy, efficient, and satisfying experience for the user \u2014 which requires teams of designers, developers, testers, and more to take a concept from\u00a0an idea to a usable product.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To guarantee that the user will have the intended experience with that product, Quality Assurance (or QA) is\u00a0a necessary part of the development process. Not only do UX QA Managers ensure that a user can complete all the tasks they need to without any bugs or glitches, but they are also central to maintaining the integrity of the design.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vive Le Difference: UX Design + Quality Assurance\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

UX design<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>refers to any interaction a person has with a product or service; it considers each and every component that shapes a person\u2019s interaction with a product or service. This encompasses a wide array of\u00a0experiences \u2014 from how it makes a user feel to how simple it is for a user to accomplish their desired task to how the product feels in their hands to how easy it is to complete a transaction (particularly online).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

QA Managers take the vision for that design and see it through the development process. They work closely with the UX designer to get a comprehensive plan for the\u00a0design and then work directly with the development team to ensure that vision makes its way into the final product. While not in charge of creating the design, QA Managers are a critical link in the chain of bringing the intended experience from a starting concept to the users\u2019 fingertips.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is Quality Assurance Important to Digital Design?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Quality Assurance processes are necessary to ensure both the usability and the design consistency of any digital product\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and the earlier in the process QA is included, the less work will be necessary to fix any issues that arise. Unforeseen ripple effects caused by recoding an error could lead to\u00a0a whole host of new problems popping up that need to be addressed, which can throw the development team into a situation where they have a massive amount of work to do just before the deadline. That can be avoided by more proactive QA practices starting much earlier in development. Fixing any bugs early on can prevent more significant issues from emerging down the line.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>At the core of a QA Manager\u2019s job is ensuring the usability of the product or service. They make sure that the customer can successfully\u00a0complete the tasks they need to in a way that feels intuitive. One can do usability testing in various ways, but it ought to be done often throughout the development process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Usability can be broken down into\u00a0<\/span>five different quality components<\/span><\/a>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n