In this digital era, the quality of the product can determine user trust. This highlights the growing importance of the role of a quality analyst (QA), the one responsible for ensuring software and systems run smoothly before they are delivered to the customer. The QA has the highest accountability over the experience of the customer and their trust in using the product. In this blog, we will explore the job description, duties, skills, and salary of a Quality Analyst in detail.
Table of Contents:
What is a Quality Analyst?
If you’re wondering who is a QA, it’s a person who verifies that the products, services, or systems meet quality expectations before they are launched or delivered to customers or stakeholders. During the development process, they play a major role in identifying bugs, inconsistencies, and usability issues. QAs are the last line of quality gatekeepers and generally work with developers and product managers, and/or stakeholders.
Types of Quality Analysts
To completely understand who is a QA, it’s helpful to know that there are two types of quality analysts:
1. Manual Quality Analyst
Manual testers execute test cases without automation, report bugs, and test the functionality of the product. Manual testing is effective for exploratory, usability, and Ad-hoc testing.
2. Automation Quality Analyst
Automated testers write scripts and use applications like Selenium, Appium, or Cypress to automate test execution. Automation QA is useful when efficiency and scalability are required.
Several companies nowadays want hybrid testers who can do both manual and automated testing tasks.
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Key Roles and Responsibilities of a Quality Analyst
The key roles and responsibilities of a quality analyst differ from industry, but generally include:
1. Test Planning and Design
Based on the project requirements, quality analysts create detailed test plans and cases to ensure full functional coverage.
2. Test Execution
They will conduct tests either manually or using automation tools to validate the functionality of the software against the requirements in a variety of scenarios.
3. Defect Management and Reporting
Bugs and inconsistencies are identified by QAs and organized into logs with thorough reports. QAs also coordinate with developers to ensure quick resolution.
4. Regression Testing and Re-Testing
After bugs are resolved, QAs conduct regression testing to confirm fixes and check that new issues haven’t arisen.
5. Documentation and Reporting
They also keep functional test case documentation in addition to documenting test results and defect logs. Usually, they will maintain clear documentation of issue logs, bugs, test cases, results, and share insights with stakeholders.
6. Collaboration with other Team Members
Quality Analysts regularly evaluate quality-related issues with developers, product managers, and business analysts to ensure a mutual understanding of quality-related goals for the project.
7. Continuous Improvement
QA personnel focus on enhancing testing processes and norms, and often recommend other tools or practices as their long-term quality assurance process.
Quality Analyst Skills: What Employers Look For
To become a successful quality analyst, they should possess below mentioned technical and soft skills.
1. Test Case Writing and Executing
QAs must be able to write and execute test cases covering functional and non-functional testing of the application.
2. SDLC Knowledge
QAs should have a good understanding of the software development life cycle, or SDLC, so they can keep their testing aligned with the activity taking place in the development process.
To automate and assist the test process, it is necessary to understand different types of testing tools, including Selenium, TestNG, and JUnit.
4. Basic Programming Knowledge
Having a basic knowledge of code, such as Java, Python, or JavaScript, allows QAs to write automation scripts and understand what their developers are writing.
5. Bug Tracking and Reporting
Familiarity with tools and systems to track defects, such as JIRA or Bugzilla, allows QAs to report, track, and manage defects throughout the project life cycle.
6. Analytics and Problem Solving
QAs need strong analytical thinking to diagnose problems and propose effective solutions quickly.
7. Attention to Detail
Quality Analysts have to be very careful that even a small inconsistency has to be spotted and resolved to ensure high product quality and user satisfaction.
8. Clear Communication
When dealing with developers, designers, and customers, it is important to be clear about what needs to be resolved.
9. Ability to Work Under Pressure
With less time pressure on some projects than others, some QAs will need to learn to manage meeting project deadlines and deal with sudden changes.
10. Flexible
The nature of a project often changes, and QAs need to expect to learn to use new tools and adapt to changing work requirements.
To perform their responsibilities, QAs utilize many different tools for testing, collaboration, and identifying bugs
- Test Automation: Selenium, Cypress, Appium, Playwright
- Test Management: TestRail, Zephyr, QTest
- Bug Tracking: JIRA, Bugzilla, Mantis
- CI/CD Integration: Jenkins, GitLab CI, Bamboo
- Performance Testing Tools: JMeter, LoadRunner
- API Testing: Postman, SoapUI, Rest Assured
Salary of a Quality Analyst
Salary in US: In the United States, entry-level Quality Analysts typically earn between $60,000 to $75,000 annually. With a few years of experience, mid-level QAs can make around $75,000 to $95,000 per year. Senior QAs, QA Leads, and Managers may earn upwards of $100,000 to $120,000 or more. Salaries are generally higher in tech-heavy regions like California, New York, and Washington.
Salary in India: The salary of a Quality Analyst in India largely depends on experience, location, and skill set. Entry-level QAs can expect to earn between ₹3 to ₹5 lakhs per annum, while those with 2–5 years of experience typically earn around ₹5 to ₹8 lakhs. Senior professionals with over 5 years of experience can make anywhere between ₹8 to ₹12 lakhs annually.
In top IT hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune, salaries tend to be on the higher side due to strong demand. Automation testers and QAs with DevOps or coding knowledge often command better pay packages. As professionals grow into roles like QA Lead or QA Manager, the salary can exceed ₹20 lakhs per year.
Qualifications and Certifications to Become a Quality Analyst
A bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology is usually preferred, but it is not the only option to become a quality analyst. In addition to degree options for aspiring QAs, bootcamps, online courses, and certifications may also be helpful.
- Common QA Certifications
- ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board)
- Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)
- Certified Software Tester (CSTE)
- Selenium Automation Testing Certification
- Agile Testing Certification
Difference Between Quality Analyst and Quality Assurance
| Feature |
Quality Analyst |
Quality Assurance |
| Priority Tasks |
Focuses on identifying the bugs and testing the product functionality |
Focuses on increasing the overall quality process |
| Key responsibility |
Bug reporting and documentation |
Defining the standard, processes, and best practices |
| Project contribution |
Involved only in the testing phase |
Involved from the beginning to the end of the development cycle |
| Tools |
Selenium, Jira, TestNG, etc |
Process management and quality monitoring tools |
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Growth Opportunities as a Quality Analyst
A quality assurance career typically provides stable growth, with many different specialization opportunities. A path of a well-performing quality analyst might look like:
There are also opportunities for lateral moves into:
Challenges Faced by the Quality Analyst
- Time Restriction: Fast Agile sprints have short test windows
- Fix: Look at automation and prioritize critical test cases
- Shifting Requirements: Requirements for features change rapidly as development continues
- Fix: Keep flexible test plans and Agile testing methods
- Unclear Requirements: In many cases, unclear requirements are given, which affects the test planning.
- Fix: Include QA in requirement gathering as early as possible
- Integration Issues: Difficulty in integrating tools into the CI/CD pipeline.
- Fix: Use modern DevOps tools and practices with quality integrations
- Cross-Browser or Cross-Platform Testing: Ensuring the application works across multiple browsers and devices.
- Fix: Use browser testing tools like BrowserStack or Sauce Labs.
Impact of Agile, DevOps on Quality Analyst Roles
Today’s development methodologies are changing QA roles significantly:
- Agile: Software Developers and QAs must have ongoing testing, collaboration, and agility. QAs are embedded in sprint teams and participate in daily stand-ups.
- DevOps: There are automated testing opportunities in the CI/CD pipeline using different tools that help produce quality software at a rapid speed.
- AI and ML: Artificial Intelligence is helping automate human processes. Using AI-powered tools, patterns can be easily found, and test cases can also be auto-generated. This helps increase efficiency in QA.
Rather than being replaced, QAs are evolving into more technical roles such as QA Engineers and SDETs (Software Development Engineers in Test). QAs are performing a hybrid role of development and testing.
Tips to Become a Quality Analyst Without Any Experience
It is feasible to gain entry into QA without having any experience:
- Begin with online courses: Online courses via platforms like Intellipaat, one of the best platforms for learning QA and automation, can introduce you to the fundamentals and advanced concepts effectively.
- Practice on real-world projects: You can use GitHub or volunteer to perform testing on open-source projects.
- Build a Portfolio: Entry-level internships and short-term freelance QA jobs help gain your initial experience.
Conclusion
In this current digital era, the Quality Analyst role is one of the essential careers. Quality Analyst roles are different and include tasks ranging from testing different functionalities of applications to identifying and resolving bugs before launch. They play an important role in a brand or corporation, ensuring usability and keeping that brand image intact to its audience. It is a profession with increasing importance, and if you are looking to become a QA, the success of the profession depends on understanding the capabilities, skills, and potential future for the career. In this blog, you have gained knowledge about a quality analyst in detail.
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Quality Analyst – FAQ
Q1. Do I need a degree to be a QA?
Not necessarily. While a degree can help, many people who want to become a QA or understand who is a QA, can start through bootcamps or certifications.
Q2. Is QA a good career in 2025?
Yes. With the rise of digital transformation, QA roles are evolving and in high demand, especially those with automation and DevOps skills.
Q3. How long does it take to become a QA Analyst?
With dedicated effort, you can gain entry-level QA skills within 3 to 6 months via online courses and hands-on projects.
Q4. What is the difference between QA and Tester?
A Tester typically focuses only on executing test cases, while a QA Analyst is involved in test planning, process improvements, and overall quality strategy.
Q5. What are all the daily responsibilities of a Quality Analyst?
QA will test software, find issues, report bugs, and verify that everything functions as expected and is ready for release.