The Case Against QA
There’s a common argument:
Developers can test their own code, right?
Automation tools are everywhere—aren’t they supposed to replace manual testing?
Bug fixes post-release are just part of the development cycle.
On paper, this sounds logical. Why not allocate that QA budget toward hiring another developer or pushing new features faster?
The Hidden Costs of Skipping QA
But here’s the reality: QA isn’t just about catching bugs. It’s about risk mitigation, user trust, and long-term savings. Skipping QA is like skipping your annual physical. You might be fine today, but you’re risking expensive surgery down the road. Here’s what happens when QA is seen as a luxury:
User Experience Suffers: Your users don’t care about your rushed timelines—they care that their app doesn’t crash. A negative experience today could mean churn tomorrow.
Reputation Takes a Hit: Bugs in production are noticed. Publicly. On social media, in app reviews, or via angry customer support tickets. Reputational damage is costly to repair.
Developer Burnout: Fixing bugs after deployment takes more time than addressing them earlier. This disrupts the roadmap and frustrates developers.
QA as an Investment
Now let’s reframe the narrative. Instead of asking if QA is a waste, ask:
How much does it cost to lose a customer because of a bug?
What’s the price of a delay caused by a hotfix?
How valuable is trust in your brand?
Where QA Goes Wrong (and How to Fix It)
Let’s be honest: Not all QA processes are created equal. QA can become a budget sinkhole when:
It’s overly manual and repetitive. Automate where possible. Tools like Selenium and Cypress are lifesavers.
It’s siloed. QA should collaborate with developers from day one, not after the code is written.
It’s treated as a formality. QA needs to align with business goals, testing what truly matters to the end user.
The Takeaway
QA isn’t a waste of money—it’s a strategic safeguard. It’s an investment in user trust, developer efficiency, and brand reputation. But like any investment, it needs to be handled wisely: automate the grunt work, focus on meaningful tests, and integrate QA as a core part of the development process.
The next time someone questions whether QA is worth the cost, ask them: What’s the cost of NOT doing QA?
What’s your take? Have you ever faced skepticism about QA in your team? How did you address it? Reach out to us to discuss!
