If your QA team is a "thing" that gets features at the end of a sprint and churns out bugs or releases you're doing it wrong. They should be involved on a featu

If your QA team is a "thing" that gets features at the end of a sprint and churns out bugs or releases you're doing it wrong. They should be involved on a feature by feature basis working alongside the developer with QA time incorporated into every task. All unit/integration/system tests should be automated during the cycle so there is no "hand-off to QA". There should be less latency because you have a test expert speeding up implementing tests or being a force multiplier to developers by acting as an internal consultant who can advise on bits where needed.