Portfolio
Assisting in enabling software quality for a US digital solutions developer
Learn how a1qa helped a US-based developer enhance the quality of multiple software solutions.
Overview
The client assists its customers in developing impactful software solutions across a range of industries.
Acknowledging businesses’ need to win over competitive markets, the client emphasized quality assurance as a key factor to success. a1qa was engaged to help achieve this goal.
Services offered
QA consulting, processes setup, optimization
Mobile apps testing
Integration testing
Performance testing
Test automation
Localization testing
Functional and UI testing
Project scope
The initial engagement between the client and a1qa began with a pilot run. The company was pleased with the results achieved and engaged a1qa for further assistance on 20+ projects across a range of industries including:
- Government and social security
In the USA, proxy dial-up systems for phones are commonly used, 911 calls may be routed to the wrong public safety answering point (PSAP). Additionally, the complexity of buildings can make it difficult for an ambulance to identify the floor a call came from. To address these hurdles, the client developed a universal solution for defining end users’ location and notifying security personnel of every emergency call.
- eHealth
The client leverages an adaptive web application to gather data from multiple sources, process it, and then display on one screen information about the state of health, past tests, and necessary treatment for patients.
In another project, web and mobile apps were developed to provide personalized wellness journeys for employees who want to adhere to a healthy lifestyle. Once specified goals are achieved, they earn points and are rewarded by their employer.
- Retail and manufacturing
The company designed an eCommerce B2B web solution for distributing replacement parts for kitchen and home appliances throughout the country.
- IT and software development
The client established a cloud-based ERP tool for lightning-fast task management within their organization. With easy integration into existing systems, prioritization of goals, and an extended customization kit, it is an advanced solution for improving performance within enterprises.
- BFSI
The developer offers insurance companies a comprehensive payment solution suite to settle claims payments. The company also supports electronic funds transfer (EFT) for single and multiple payees, B2B and virtual payments, as well as payments for mortgages or liens.
- eLearning
A mobile app was developed to enhance the selling skills and maximize the performance of their specialists. Managers can regularly assess the competencies of sales experts and provide feedback on areas for improvement.
- Automotive and logistics
To alleviate the administrative burdens of reviewing repairs and costs, the customer provides ERP-based bespoke solutions for effective fleet management and expense control.
- Agriculture
A web app assists farmers and ranchers in improving land stewardship and productivity whilst receiving no-cost consultations from researchers striving to foster agriculture development.
Throughout this ongoing partnership, a1qa has significantly enhanced various business-critical dimensions for the client.
QA ecosystem establishment and optimization
Before a1qa assured product quality, they set up processes from the ground up.
The goals were to assist the client in keeping up with competitor’s development pace and adopting Scrum methodology with 2 weeks’ sprints. Leveraging their vast expertise in Agile, the team identified the core direction of process configuration, defined KPIs to track progress, and alerted the client to possible pitfalls. Ongoing sync ups served to plan the workload and solve emerging issues while Scrum ceremonies like bug triage or retrospective helped prioritize the scope, analyze results, and investigate the space for improvement.
To optimize processes, a1qa’s consultants:
- Investigated the current testing dynamics, formulated the range of required strategies, and developed key testing efficiency indicators.
- Defined team members’ roles and responsibilities.
- Established release cycles and built the completion process.
- Suggested corrective and preventive measures.
- Assembled a probable risks register and developed steps to address them.
When implemented, the recommendations became a silver bullet for streamlined project delivery.
Enhancing software quality
With so many industries covered by the client’s products, a1qa implemented the following testing types to boost the quality of software products:
In the healthcare domain, a1qa tested iOS and Android-based mobile apps designed for different clients using white labeling to turn on/off specific features. To ensure accurate results, a1qa team tested on real mobile and fitness devices and created a device matrix based on statistics of their usage worldwide. The approach was flexible and allowed for the addition of extra gadgets if necessary.
- Integration testing
The a1qa team ensured proper integration of the eHealth mobile apps with numerous solutions such as Google and Apple Maps, Foursquare, HealthKit, Google Fit, Apple Watch, Calm, and Headspace.
Ensuring integration quality with a range of third-party services including Google Analytics, MapMyFitness, Salesforce, Amazon, Hyatt, Gyft, and Vindicia — was also a high priority for the team.
- Performance testing
To ensure that the software operates smoothly for current users and provides a streamlined experience for early adopters, a1qa implemented a full scope of performance testing activities regardless of the industry the product belongs to. These included:
- Client-side testing — to gauge front-end speed, define possible user experience problems, and report front-end elements for optimization.
- Server-side testing — to assess whether the system can handle the load and define its glitches.
All detected drawbacks were assembled in a detailed report followed by a1qa’s recommendations for enhancement.
- Test automation
The team often implemented test automation from the ground up. To achieve this, a1qa harnessed tried and true hacks to help the client speed up time to market and free up development resources that would be better used in innovating software products.
Test automation effectiveness was gauged by means of ROI. To set up Java-based process, the QA team defined the scope to be covered by automation (smoke and regression testing), determined the strategy, and identified the best toolkit, resulting in reduced testing times.
Another project dedicated to flexible test automation solution adoption helped cover 95% of tests without any tool limitations. These scripts were easily maintained in case of product changes. This approach resulted in a 40% reduction in manual engineers’ labor during regression testing and provided faster results for critical features.
- Localization testing
a1qa conducted localization testing to ensure a pleasant user experience for international clients. The testing was aimed at verifying that data is processed correctly in target languages, text is fully translated, and information is still intelligible after size changes.
- Functional and UI testing
The a1qa team analyzed and validated the software requirements to eliminate any logical contradictions and designed a precise set of test cases. They performed smoke testing to identify critical bottlenecks that could impede further activities, and conducted new feature testing each time novel functionality was implemented. They ensured faultless operation of the previously introduced refinement through regression testing. Finally, to provide a high-quality user experience, UI tests were implemented.
Processes improvement
To deliver empowering services, a1qa continuously upskills its associates and enhances processes, namely:
- Smart team scalability supported ever-evolving workload with no slowdown in project pace. So, a1qa provided significant boost in resources involved.
- Wise QA budget allocation fulfilled by adjusting the team composition, such as modifying the number of engineers to initiate testing or choosing the best time to adopt test automation.
- QA management role adoption became common practice after conveying to the client the importance of the manager’s role in problem-solving. Previously, managers were rarely assigned, fearing it would slow down performance.
- Internal project audits assisted in rectifying process glitches, streamlining delivery, and synchronizing the work of extended QA managers’ presence, which occurred due to significant project growth.
- Overall process upgrades took place on each project when a1qa implemented opportunities for improvement.
With their R&D center in Europe, the client continues to prioritize long-term QA cooperation with a1qa over scaling up software testing associates. They highly value and recommend a1qa to businesses in search of a trusted QA service vendor.
Technologies & tools
- JIRA
- Confluence
- TestRail
- Java
- JavaScript
- jQuery
- Apache JMeter
- Fiddler
- VMware
- Workstation
- VirtualBox
- Oracle Database
- SoapUI
- Selenium
- iOS
- Android
- Windows
Results
-
The QA team implemented Scrum-based QA processes for several projects. This enabled prioritization of feature delivery and streamlined overall performance.
-
The a1qa engineers established test automation from the ground up, which helped the client roll out high-quality software more quickly.
-
Existing QA processes were constantly fine-tuned through regular project audits and the introduction of QA management roles leading to faster issue resolution and improved service quality.
In numbers
7
years of productive QA partnership
20+
projects successfully delivered
40%
of manual engineers’ efforts saved through test automation implementation
95%
of tests covered