At AdlerQA, we don’t just talk about quality—we live it. Over the years, our team has crafted a set of principles that guide every project we take on. These principles reflect our experiences, the lessons we’ve learned, and our relentless drive to deliver the best possible QA solutions to our clients. These 13 core principles weren’t born overnight—they evolved from real-world challenges, victories, and a deep understanding of what truly works in QA. Here’s how we developed them and why they’re at the heart of everything we do.
1. Clear Communication with Status Updates
In our early projects, we realized the biggest disruptions weren’t technical—they were due to miscommunication. This taught us that clear, consistent communication is everything. We now prioritize keeping everyone—clients, developers, and internal teams—updated with precise, regular status reports. No guessing, no assumptions. Transparency is our strength.
2. Preparation of Artifacts for Every Testing Activity
In our commitment to quality, we ensure that every single testing activity is documented meticulously. This includes preparing artifacts like test plans, test cases, and detailed test reports. These artifacts aren’t just paperwork for us—they’re valuable records that give insight into what’s been tested, why it was tested, and how well the system performed. Over time, we’ve found that these documents become crucial references for both current and future projects.
3. Thinking About Edge Cases
Why settle for testing what’s obvious? We know real users often interact with systems in unexpected ways, which is why we push beyond the happy path. We actively search for edge cases—those scenarios where things can go wrong. This wasn’t always a focus, but after seeing how often bugs slipped through in corner cases, we made it our mission to break our own systems. The goal? To make sure they can’t be broken by anyone else.
4. Establishing a Test Case and Test Cycle Creation Process
Every project is different, but the need for structure is universal. Early on, we saw that inconsistent test case management led to overlooked issues and chaos. So we created a streamlined, clear process for both test case creation and test cycle management. Now, no test gets skipped, and our team moves forward with precision, knowing every feature is covered.
5. Detailed Analysis Before Reporting Bugs
It’s easy to point out problems—but we do more than that. Before we even think about sending a bug report, we dig deep. Our QA team doesn’t just report symptoms; we try to understand the cause. This principle emerged from our frustration with back-and-forth conversations with developers. By providing as much information as possible upfront, we help developers get straight to solving the problem, not guessing what went wrong.
6. No Release Without Regression Testing
One hard lesson we’ve learned is that new features can unintentionally break old ones. That’s why every release, big or small, goes through a thorough round of regression testing. We won’t let anything go to production without confirming that both new and existing functionality work perfectly together. It’s non-negotiable—because for us, reliability matters as much as innovation.
7. Detailed Bug Reports
A bug report should never raise more questions than it answers. Our bug reports are thorough and informative, including screenshots, logs, error messages, and steps to reproduce. Over the years, we’ve found that the more detailed we are, the faster bugs get resolved. This saves time for our developers and, more importantly, ensures we deliver a polished, high-quality product to our clients.
8. Testing in Adverse Situations
Some of the most critical bugs don’t appear during normal operations—they show up under pressure. We’ve seen firsthand how testing under adverse or extreme conditions can reveal hidden weaknesses. That’s why we create adverse scenarios—network failures, hardware malfunctions, unexpected inputs—to push the system beyond its comfort zone. If it can survive these challenges, it’s ready for the real world.
9. CI/CD Integration for Automation Code
At Adlerqa, we believe in automating as much as possible. But we quickly learned that automation is only useful when integrated into a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. Without CI/CD, automation is disconnected from the real development process. That’s why all our automated tests are tightly integrated, ensuring that every code change triggers immediate testing. This approach has allowed us to catch issues early, keeping quality high at all times.
10. Efficient, DRY, and Readable Automation Code
Automation is powerful, but only if it’s done right. We’ve committed ourselves to writing automation scripts that are DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), efficient, and easy to understand. We’ve learned that over-complicated, messy code makes maintenance a nightmare. That’s why our automation code is streamlined and designed to be as readable and reusable as possible. This principle helps us scale our automation efforts without losing control.
11. Shift Left on Quality in Agile Teams
Our “Shift Left” approach was born from our experience in Agile environments. We realized that waiting until the end of development to focus on quality was too late. By integrating QA from the very beginning—whether it’s code reviews, early test automation, or continuous testing—we ensure that issues are caught and fixed early. This means fewer surprises during release and a higher-quality product at the end.
12. Client > Company > Me
This principle sums up our customer-first mentality. At AdlerQA, everything we do is focused on delivering value to our clients. We’ve been able to build long-lasting relationships because we always put the client’s needs above our own. It’s about building trust, showing empathy, and ensuring their success comes first. This mindset shapes every decision we make.
13. Proactive vs Reactive Approach
Experience taught us that reacting to problems after they occur isn’t enough. A reactive approach leads to firefighting, missed deadlines, and unsatisfied clients. That’s why we’ve developed a proactive approach to QA—anticipating potential issues and solving them before they escalate. We actively search for areas of improvement and engage with the development team early on to ensure quality is never an afterthought.