- • Quality gates near the end
- Dedicated QA after development
- Heavy documentation
- Defects discovered late
- Rework can be expensive
Traditional quality means quality is often checked after most of the development work is already completed.
It follows a pattern like:
Plan → Build → Test → Fix → Release
Your Week 7 quality slide contrasts this with Agile quality, where testing and quality practices are moved earlier and shared by the whole team.
1. Quality gates near the end
A quality gate is a formal checkpoint where the project is reviewed before it can move forward.
Example:
The team finishes development, then the product must pass a final testing phase before release.
Problem:
If major defects are found at the end, fixing them may delay the release.
2. Dedicated QA after development
In traditional quality, developers may build first, then hand the product to a separate QA/testing team.
Example:
Developers complete the checkout feature. Then QA tests it later.
Problem:
Developers may already have moved on to other work, so fixing defects becomes slower.
3. Heavy documentation
Traditional quality often depends on detailed quality plans, test plans, sign-off forms, and formal review documents.
This can be useful for control and compliance, but it may slow feedback.
Example:
Before testing begins, the team prepares long test documents and approval forms.
4. Defects discovered late
Because testing happens near the end, defects may be found after many features are already built.
Example:
The team discovers late that the checkout process crashes on mobile.
Problem:
The defect may affect design, code, database, payment integration, and user experience.
5. Rework can be expensive
Late defects are usually more expensive because the team may need to redo completed work.
Example:
If password reset was built incorrectly, the team may need to change requirements, code, tests, documentation, and training materials.
Simple teaching line
Traditional quality often checks quality at the end. Agile tries to build quality throughout the work.
A good classroom example:
“If students write the whole assignment first and only check grammar at the end, fixing problems may be difficult. But if they check each section while writing, quality is built in earlier.”
REF: AI Tools/ChatGPT as is
