Why martech can’t afford to overlook quality management

As martech practitioners straddle the line between marketing and IT they take on work that touches both worlds. Quality management — including quality assurance (QA) and user acceptance testing (UAT) — is one of those disciplines where practitioners provide significant value no matter where they sit on the org chart.

Martech is a team sport that depends on close collaboration with experts across many fields — including quality management. Teams succeed far more easily when everyone contributes their unique skills than when individuals or work groups try to operate alone.

The shared role of martech and quality management

Quality management professionals work to identify and correct errors and glitches before they reach customers — a safeguard that protects brand reputation, revenue, customer experience, information security and regulatory compliance. They play a critical role in evaluating development work and ensuring that projects meet business expectations.

They also help teams avoid the turmoil that comes when something breaks in a customer-facing context, especially when resources are already stretched thin. Nearly everyone has seen a senior executive spot a bug or typo at the worst possible moment. Quality management professionals protect the organization. Martech practitioners overlook them at their own risk.

Martech practitioners are well equipped to translate business requirements into testable criteria and to interpret technical details for business stakeholders. They should work closely with both sides of that divide to keep teams aligned and focused on shared goals.

This is a key area where martech practitioners can add significant value. Business stakeholders are driven by objectives that require constant attention, and IT teams are responsible for delivering and maintaining complex systems. Both groups are stretched thin. By supporting quality management efforts, martech practitioners can alleviate the burden on both sides and help projects progress more smoothly.

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How QA and UAT differ — and why both matter

QA and UAT are closely related but distinct. QA focuses on the technical function of a platform or system — configuration details, browser cookies, data flows and other elements end users never see. UAT centers on the customer experience. The question is simple: can users accomplish what they need without errors or friction? Unlike QA, UAT does not assume technical knowledge, which is a core difference.

Martech practitioners should play an active role in designing UAT programs. Because they work across teams and stakeholders throughout a project, they bring a broad perspective that is invaluable during testing.

Test cases

A quality management office (QMO) should involve martech professionals when developing QA and UAT test cases. Test cases outline the specific scenarios testers run through and should represent the broad range of experiences and paths a user may take.

Martech professionals participate in both technical and business discussions, which gives them a clear view of how business requirements connect to system behavior. That insight is essential when shaping QA and UAT test cases.

It’s impossible to anticipate every scenario a system or user may encounter, but teams can create test cases that cover the vast majority of likely situations. This is why close partnership with QMO is critical — quality professionals are equipped to build a comprehensive testing approach.

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Regression testing

Regression testing is another key element of quality management. When new features or changes are introduced, teams must confirm that existing functionality still works as expected. Regression testing checks everything beyond the newly updated components.

QMO should partner with martech practitioners when developing regression test cases. After each change, those test cases need to be updated for future work. This helps teams spot when new releases unintentionally break existing features and increases the likelihood that issues are resolved before reaching customers.

A strong regression process also frees martech practitioners to focus on what is changing now rather than constantly worrying about what should remain stable — an increasingly difficult task as systems grow more complex.

Selecting quality management tools

When QMO evaluates tools to support QA and UAT, they need precise requirements that reflect how users behave. That includes selecting tools that accurately simulate end-user scenarios.

Martech specialists should be involved in this process because the chosen tools directly influence their workflows. For example, SMS and MMS testing may hinge on whether a platform uses short codes. Martech practitioners can flag requirements, such as two-way messaging support, to ensure the testing environment accurately reflects real-world conditions.

Think strategically

Quality management is ongoing. QA and UAT should continue even when no major releases are underway because martech systems evolve constantly. Hosting providers update operating systems, libraries and other components that affect platform behavior — and those changes can surface unexpectedly.

It’s also important to document what teams learn after each QA and UAT cycle. Clear instructions for testers, notes on test data needs and insights from past challenges make future rounds more efficient. A small investment in documentation now saves significant time when resources are tight.

Martech professionals should treat their quality management colleagues as essential partners. Through QA, UAT, regression testing and other quality activities, martech teams gain greater confidence that systems will function properly and meet business goals.

Both sides depend on each other’s expertise, and the shared effort pays off. Strong partnership increases the chances that projects — and the people behind them — will shine.

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The post Why quality management is the partnership martech can’t ignore appeared first on MarTech.

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