Fail Fast, Fail Often

In QA, it's fine to Fail

May 2, 2023 by cryan.com

'Fail fast, fail often, fail forward' is a philosophy that emphasizes the importance of embracing failure as a natural part of the learning process. In the context of quality assurance testing, this philosophy can be applied in the following ways:

1. Fail fast: This means that you should aim to detect and identify defects as early as possible in the testing process. This can be accomplished by conducting tests frequently and automating tests wherever possible. By catching defects early, you can save time and money by avoiding more costly fixes later in the development process.
2. Fail often: This means that you should not be afraid to fail, and that failure should be seen as an opportunity for learning and improvement. By conducting a variety of tests, including edge cases and negative tests, you can increase the chances of finding defects and improve the overall quality of the product.
3. Fail forward: This means that when you do encounter failures, you should use them as opportunities to learn and improve. This can be done by analyzing the root cause of the failure, documenting the lessons learned, and using that knowledge to improve the testing process going forward.

By embracing the 'fail fast, fail often, fail forward' philosophy, quality assurance testers can help to ensure that defects are caught early, that the overall quality of the product is improved, and that the testing process itself is continuously refined and improved.