Who is a Quality Analyst? Qualification, Skills, Career

Quality analyst is a crucial job role in any organization that determines the success of a product or a service. These professionals work closely with the production team, ensuring that the end product stands tall on all the quality standards. It is only a top-notch, premium quality product that helps achieve utmost user satisfaction and eventually brings an excellent market reputation for the organization. That is why every organization looks forward to hiring expert quality analysts to keep pushing their business toward success. 

In this article, we will discuss who is a quality analyst, the roles and responsibilities they fulfill, and everything else you must know before starting a career in this domain. 

Who is a Quality Analyst?  

These are the qualified quality experts who are expected to assess products or services and make suggestions to improve their quality. They are mainly focused on detecting flaws, quality conformity requirements, and the usability of products, or services. These professionals also work on developing test cases, carrying out quality assurance tests, and working collaboratively to solve all quality issues. It is fair to say that a QA Analyst protects the organization from gaining a negative market reputation and unsatisfied customers which leads to a loss in revenue.  

In current times, there is a high demand for quality analysts in every domain. The market is highly competitive and any compromise with quality can lead to loss in sales. Thus, the organizations hire dedicated professionals who focus primarily on quality! This significantly increases the market demand for these professionals, making quality analyst a crucial job role with promising perks and a secured career.  

Educational Qualifications of a Quality Analyst  

A Quality Analyst must have a bachelor's degree in a relevant field, including Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or any relevant field. It is a plus if the candidate has also completed a renowned certification, like ISTQB or Six Sigma. Certifications signify that the expert has got thorough training in quality assurance methodologies, and can handle the issues with ease and efficiency. In certain industries, there might be a need for further training to learn specific tools or procedures. 

Importance of Quality Analyst for an Organization  

Quality analysts play a crucial role in any organization that desires to deliver high-quality products or services. These experts build strategies to reduce the risks of mistakes that might lead to creating a substandard product.  Hence, the customers will always be satisfied and loyal to the brand, keeping the sales and revenue growth steady.  

Apart from higher customer satisfaction and meeting the quality standard, QAs also work towards cost-effectiveness. Once the end product is of premium quality, the company wouldn’t have to spend on fixing the issues and issuing a re-release. Thus, the significance of these professionals is in improving organizational performance, facilitating top-notch product development, and ensuring that the end product meets the set benchmarks of quality. 

What are the Responsibilities of a Quality Analyst?  

The job responsibilities of a quality analyst may vary for different organizations. However, the generic roles listed below remain the same. 

Requirement Analysis 

The quality analysts start the production process by gathering the project requirements thoroughly from the stakeholders and the end users. They conduct multiple meetings to discuss and carefully note what all are the expectations from the end product. 

Case Design & Conduct 

Based on the gathered requirements, the quality analysts create test plans or test cases. These documents include specific scenarios for testing that the team will follow to ensure fair coverage of all the functionalities. 

Defect Identification and Reporting 

The quality analysts work on identifying the issues that are lowering the product quality. Furthermore, they create reports of these issues, explaining how they are hampering the product quality and what can be done to fix them. 

Team Collaboration 

Another responsibility in the job profile for a quality analyst is working collaboratively with all the teams associated with product production. They stay in constant touch with developers, product managers, and stakeholders, ensuring everybody is working towards the common goal.  

Automation 

It is the responsibility of a quality analyst to introduce automation tools and strategies into the production process to ensure quicker delivery and efficiency in work. This way, even the issues that are recurring will get resolved. 

Continuous Improvement  

These experts monitor the system dedicatedly, conducting audits to ensure the strategies are delivering the expected results. If they find any flaws or feel like introducing some latest tools or techniques into the system, they do so to keep improving the end product quality. 

Documentation and Reporting  

Preserving all testing processes, testing results and testing resolutions is also a crucial aspect amongst other quality analyst roles and responsibilities. The identified documents act as working references for future development and any quality assurance exercises that may be undertaken.   

Skills Required for a Quality Analyst  

How qualified the professional is depends on the skill set he carries. If you also wish to explore the QA domain, here are the quality analyst skills you must work on developing.  

Soft Skills   

• Learn to pay attention to details, so that you can identify even the minute errors. 
• Develop analytical thinking to ensure you can break down complex issues into simpler problems. 
• You should learn time management to prioritize tasks in a way that the end product delivery is never delayed.  
• Develop team management and collaboration skills as there will be multiple teams and individuals who you will have to manage as a QA. 

Technical Skills    

• Gain proficiency in testing tools, like JIRA to bring efficiency to your work. 
• It is better to gain familiarity with programming languages, like Python or Java  
• You can work on developing prior experience with tools like Git to better manage the tools and test cases. 
• Knowledge of agile Scrum or waterfall model is also a plus to build a career as a QA. 

How to Become a QA Analyst?  

Becoming a QA analyst requires expertise in the said domain, continuous effort to keep up with the changing trends, and dedication. Here is a step-by-step process that you can follow if you wish to build a career as a quality analyst.  

Step1: Educational Background 

First of all, complete the quality analyst qualification requirement. Make sure you have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information technology, or any other related field.  

Step2: Skill Development 

Work on developing essential soft and technical skills to make yourself eligible and deserving of a role as a quality analyst. 

Step3: Get Certified 

Obtain globally recognized certifications, like Six Sigma, ISTBQ, and likewise. It will open doors for global opportunities.  

Step4: Gain Experience 

Once you are ready to join the market, look for internships or entry-level jobs that can give you paid work experience in this domain. It is essential to get hands-on practical expertise to be able to crack better jobs. 

Step5: Explore Opportunities 

You should connect with industry professionals and join multiple communities hosting quality analysts from around the globe. Understand that it will be your network that will push you towards expected job roles.  

Once you land on the promising job roles and secure an excellent salary package, make sure you continue learning and stay put with the new trends and technologies to be able to enjoy a long and secured career.    

Quality Analyst Salary Trends  

The quality analyst salary varies a lot depending on the factors like industry, experience level and location. In the developed countries, the demand is high and so is the salary package. Whereas, the developing countries might offer fewer perks. Let us discuss the salary trends for quality analysts in different countries.   

United States  

United States have significant demand for the quality analysts in different industries. The table shows the salary trend on the basis of experience and expertise.  

Entry Level	$45,000 - $65,000
Mid Level	$65,000 - $85,000
Senior Level	$85,000 - $110,000

India   

India with its growing tech parks has enormous demand for QAs. Here are the salary trends based on experience.  

Entry Level	2LPA – 4 LPA
Mid Level	4LPA – 8LPA
Senior Level	8LPA – 15LPA

United Kingdom  

The UK job market is robust for the quality analysts, specially in the field of finance and healthcare. The salary trends in this country are listed in the table below. 

Entry Level	£22,000 £30,000
Mid Level	£30,000 £45,000
Senior Level	£30,000 £45,000

United Arab Emirates (UAE)  

In UAE, especially in Dubai, the job opportunities for quality analysts are abundant. The salary trends that you can expect to observe are mentioned in the table below.  

Entry Level	AED 60,000 AED 90,000
Mid Level	AED 90,000 AED 120,000
Senior Level	AED 120,000 AED 160,000

Europe  

In Europe, the salary trend varies a lot on the basis of different countries. The table below will give you a better idea of the same.  

Germany	€40,000 €70,000
France	€35,000 €55,000
Netherlands	€36,000 €60,000

Salary Ref: Simplilearn

Career Pathways for a Quality Analyst  

Starting from the entry-level quality analyst jobs, there are multiple career pathways that these professionals can opt for. Which path you take depends on your inclination, skills, certifications, and expertise level. Let us discuss a few options.  

Entry Level  

Most of the candidates start their journey as a quality assurance tester and work on executing test cases. It helps develop their fundamental testing skills and increase their familiarity with testing tools and techniques. After a few years, you may move up to become an associate quality analyst.  

Mid-Level 

Once you have gained a few years of experience, you can spread your wings and explore mid-level positions, like automation tester or quality assurance analyst. In this phase, you will learn to design the test cases and strategies to remove quality flaws. Moreover, you will be monitoring the junior testers as well in this position. 

Managerial Roles 

The experienced and well-learned QAs who have gained specialized certification then move to niche-oriented roles. They can become performance testers, and focus on system scalability or opt to become test managers and focus on managing large teams or testers, ensuring seamless execution.  

Field Transition 

Another career pathway you can consider if you are no longer interested in testing is transitioning to a different yet related niche. Doors are open for you to become a project manager or business analyst. You only have to upgrade your skills and become analytically sound to grab these opportunities.  

Conclusion  

A career as a Quality Analyst is promising in terms of job opportunities, salary package, and future scope. These professionals are the central part of any organization, as they help control the quality and reliability of products and services. If you possess the relevant skills and have proven expertise in this domain, you can enjoy a sound career with lucrative monetary perks. It is advisable to start your journey after gaining all the information about what the domain expects from the professionals. Work on building the right skills, making yourself deserving for it and there will be no looking back!