The Power of Visual Aids in Software Quality Analysis

Clear, effective communication is essential in the fast-paced world of software development. Problems that are encountered must be accurately communicated, with associated information flowing quickly among stakeholders. Visual aids in software quality analysis can also improve understanding, speed up troubleshooting, and help with communication.

Why Visual Aids are Essential

It’s human nature to pay more attention to visual aids. In fact, the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text. Additionally 90% of what we process in our brains in visual. I’m a believer in using visual aids and images when it comes to writing defects and defect resolution because at it’s core when you’re building a product and people are getting all the issue tickets you’ve got a funnel and a backlog of tickets coming in. This means that if you’re using an image, any information that is being communicated is better communicated with that image, at the same time you’re adding more value quicker.

Enhanced Understanding

Screenshots compress information down into consumable form that team members can grasp with minimal effort. A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes it’s better choice than writing an entire paragraph. This is extremely valuable in deconstructing elaborate interfaces, or complex problems.

Speedy Issue Resolution

Visual aids in software quality analysis make the troubleshooting process faster because they make it easier for the developers and support teams to understand and see what is going on immediately, without many back-and-forth dialogs. This is possible because images provide the exact visual cues that developers need.

Overcoming Language Barriers

When working in teams that cover a range of countries around the globe, chances are high that colleagues’ level of language skills differ. Verbal communication could sometimes be misinterpreted. That is why visual aids are a universal way of understanding: everyone will read the info in the same way. Maintaining clear communication does matter in any team.

Efficient Documentation

Having visual components in your software issue tickets in the form of screenshots or diagrams  improves that documentation quality. Rather than having someone troubleshoot with only a text description needing to deduce where the problem is, having a clear visual point makes it easier for whoever is trying to replicate the issue, for getting to the root cause. When it’s easy to pinpoint and understand where the problem is, it becomes easier to solve the problem or find a workaround.

Real-World Application

Imagine a developer working on diagnosing a truly complex bug in a software application. Describing the issue in text takes time and is often insufficient to fully convey the issue at hand. A screenshot can communicate the problem, the severity, and the exact location of the problem. By providing this visual context, the support team can immediately understand the problem and begin to focus on troubleshooting.

Conclusion

It’s very important to include images in tickets because they lead to effective issue understanding, tracking, collaboration among team members, and precise communication. Tickets with images get prioritized because they look easier than other issues with no images. Images are also a common language that all stakeholders understand, and because it’s easier for them to understand there won’t be any miscommunication. Adding an image can be challenging but it does save a lot of time, because tickets with images get fixed faster than all text tickets which tend to go back and forth in their comments section, without clear direction.

To talk to someone about how to bring your processes to the next level with visuals, book a call with one of our experts.