QA has long been seen as the final step before release. A gatekeeper. A checklist item.
But today’s product velocity and user expectations have changed the game. QA is no longer a stop sign. When done right, QA shapes outcomes across the business. It helps teams release faster, catch issues earlier, and align quality with customer needs.
In this article, we’ll show you:
Let’s get started.
Many still picture QA as the final hurdle before release. But that view is out of date.
Today, quality assurance works best when it moves upstream. It influences decisions and works as a core lever for business impact.
Let's look at some statistics from the State of Software Quality Report 2025:
Strategic QA helps teams build the right product, not just test the finished one. That shift is already happening. In fact:
Customer involvement is also key:
And yet, only 11% of teams say they’ve fully optimized their QA processes.
That means most still have room to shorten the path from idea to release.
When QA is strategic, the results show up in the numbers:
Teams that treat QA as strategic improve their product-market fit. They align their testing with customer journeys, and they prioritize test cases that reflect real-world usage.
To reach that level, QA needs to sit where the decisions are made.
In insurance, quality is all about trust, compliance, and long-term customer confidence.
Of course, QA plays a critical role in protecting all three.
But QA teams that succeed in insurance QA aren’t just testing more; they’re testing better. They’ve built structured processes that bring consistency and efficiency into every release cycle.
The results speak clearly for insurance teams:
The best QA teams lead with strategy. They do three things exceptionally well:
Automation helps QA teams scales quality across development, operations, and delivery. But only when embedded intentionally.
Teams that reach strong automation ROI see broad operational improvements. They gain speed, improve software release confidence, and reduce churn. This is the difference between doing more testing and achieving smarter testing.
What you measure shapes what you value. And what you value shapes how QA operates.
We noticed that 88% of teams still focus on defect reduction alone.
But top performers go further and broader. They measure:
Those who do this see stronger brand equity and higher market positioning. That is because QA has been moved closer to real user outcomes.
QA should be proactive, not reactive. The goal is to prevent issues early instead of chasing them after release. This mindset shift turns QA into a system of growth.
Early defect detection is cheaper. It is easier to manage as well as building better code habits. This is what quality-first companies understand better than anyone. That's why they also advocate for shift-left testing, essentially involving QA in the process as early as possible.
If you want to gain the edge, connect your QA to what the business values. Improve collaboration. Simplify measurement. Expand coverage. And support your team’s learning.
Because why is QA important? It’s the only function that can balance speed with confidence. That can surface risk before release. And that can build customer trust into every push.