Jan 22

What is User Experience?

User experience. You’ve probably heard the term many times, but it’s often used in different ways. Whether you’ve worked in tech for 20 years or just downloaded your first mobile app, user experience (or “UX”) can have a big impact on your day-to-day life. Let’s talk about what exactly “user experience” is, with some real world examples.

What is user experience? It’s actually pretty simple:

The overall experience of a person using a website or app, especially in terms of how easy or pleasing it is to use.

As you may have guessed, some aspects of user experience can be subjective. Maybe you think hamburger menu icons are elegant and helpful, while others find them inconvenient. Perhaps you find it annoying when sites require complex passwords, while others might appreciate the added security. Continue reading →

Dec 18

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering / QA Process

Best Practices for QA Testing

Best practices for QA testing can be a lot to take in. There are bug reports, test cases, and many other steps involved for both manual testing and automated testing. Anyone who’s been in the QA field for awhile (or Engineering in general!) is familiar with the Agile QA process in software development.

However, it’s always a good idea to review best practices for QA Testing, whether you’re on day one or year ten of a QA career. Some of these tips may sound obvious, but others just might help you up your game.

Document Everything

Screenshots, video grabs, version info, and communication in general. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a screenshot is worth avoiding a thousand back-and-forth questions about a bug that a developer isn’t able to reproduce. If you can get a video showing the flow of the behavior, that’s even better.

It’s also important to proactively include info about the software version/OS/etc. For example, if you’re reporting a bug with a mobile app, instead of just saying “it’s happening on Android,” you can include the build version, Android OS version, type of Android device, and more. If you have time to go back and check the previous build, that’s helpful as well. Continue reading →

Nov 30

Wes Silverstein

QA Process

7 Traits You Need to Work From Home

7 Traits You Need to Work From Home

Not everyone wants to work from home. Some prefer to work in an office, surrounded by coworkers. (Extroverts, anyone?) But many people do their best work from home, or would like to give remote work a go. Do you have the right set of skills and home environment to excel at telecommuting? Find out if you have the traits you need to work from home.

What Traits Do You Need to Work From Home?

1. Being a self-starter. When you’re the only one in your “office,” you’re in charge of time management. Managers can still have a high degree of oversight via Slack, emails, and calls, but it’s up to you to supply the motivation for jumping into the right task at the right time.

2. Communication skills. Further, proactive communication skills, and knowing how to find the right balance. When you work remotely, communication is more important than ever. While everyone needs some “heads down” time to focus on getting work done, it’s important for clients and coworkers to be able to reach you in a timely manner.

It’s also important for you, as the remote worker, to proactively provide updates. You’ll want to take into account the needs of your client or company culture and adjust messaging accordingly. When you have a well-oiled process, it can be just as – if not more – smooth as an on-site team. Out of all the traits you need to work from home, communication is at the top of the list. Continue reading →

Nov 30

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering / QA Process

What Are QA Test Cases?

What Are QA Test Cases?

When getting started with any type of QA testing, it’s always helpful to have test cases. But what are QA test cases, and why are they important? Read on to learn how they work, and how to write test cases.

What Should A Test Case Contain?

Well written test cases should contain the following aspects:

Title or ID (ie: “LOG-1”)
An association with a section of the site/app (ie: “Login”)
Notes on any setup needed (for example, “access to a staging build” or “admin credentials”)
Steps to follow to perform the test
Expected results

Why Are Test Cases Important?

Having a suite of test cases makes the whole Agile QA process more efficient. In fact, test cases can even show new colleagues how the app or site is supposed to work — right down to the smallest details.

Most importantly, having test cases that all team members can review ensures two crucial details:

There are no gaps in test coverage. Let’s say that QA hasn’t been informed about a particular feature or requirement. By reviewing test cases, other team members can immediately determine if there’s missing test coverage.
Everyone is on the same page. Sometimes there are misunderstandings about how a feature is supposed to work. Any misconceptions can be identified faster and more easily when a developer or product manager can review test cases. Continue reading →

Nov 13

Wes Silverstein

Automated Testing / Manual Testing / QA Engineering / QA Process

Manual Testing vs. Automated Testing

Manual Testing vs. Automated Testing

For the field of software testing, manual testing vs. automated testing has become a hot debate. In recent years, automated testing has become more and more in demand. In fact, a quick search of QA jobs on sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. will show that the majority of these jobs now require automation experience with a language like Java, Python, etc.

This can prove daunting for testers with a background in manual testing, who typically leave the coding to developers. It can also be confusing to employers. Many managers aren’t sure how much automated testing they need, and whether it can replace manual testing completely.

Some companies use 100% manual testing to great success. Others have attempted to do 100% automation, and had to re-think their strategy — so the reality isn’t always as black and white as it may appear.

The ideal combination is having both manual and automated testing. The amount of each depends on your exact product/service and what your company’s Agile QA process is like. For example, if you’re constantly adding new features, you’ll need very rigorous manual testers. Of course, ideally you’ll also have automated regression tests set up, to make sure that the new features being introduced aren’t breaking old features. Even choosing 5 test cases to automate can make a big difference. Continue reading →

Oct 28

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering / QA Process

QA Testing Estimation Techniques

QA Testing Estimation Techniques

QA estimates are an important part of the Agile software development life cycle. Without reliable QA testing estimation techniques, there’s no way to know which features will fit into a release timeline.

As a result, it’s nearly impossible to have a successful sprint without estimates. And while many people think of estimates as something that only developers provide, it’s crucial to get estimates from the QA team as well.

QA Testing Estimation Techniques

When getting started, it can be difficult to get the hang of estimates. Many new QA testers wonder how they can possibly guess the number of hours ahead of time. Fortunately, a handful of pretty simple factors can help you get the hang of providing QA estimates.

Some aspects to consider when working on QA estimates include:

The reliability of the team’s Agile process
The skill of the developer(s)
Devices that need testing
The complexity of the feature or bug fix

QA Estimation Techniques in Agile

QA vs. Dev Estimates

Some companies use a set method for QA estimates. One example of this is using a percentage of the developers’ estimates. For example, let’s say that engineers estimate 40 hours to complete a given feature. If a company used the above strategy, with 25% for QA, they would automatically enter a QA estimate of 10 hours.

While it’s a popular strategy, this “one size fits all” approach can cause problems. In practice, it often results in teams over-promising and under-delivering on quality. Getting custom estimates directly from QA testers can be the difference between a late, buggy version and a successful release.

Do the Jira Stories Have What You Need for QA Estimates?

In order to give a good estimate, QA needs to know the details of the feature being developed. A vague overview won’t usually provide enough information for a good estimate. As a general rule of thumb, acceptance criteria should always be provided. QA should also feel empowered to ask clarifying questions and offer suggestions on user experience.

For example, say there’s a new video player being developed. Imagine the user story including details like “closed captioning, allowing users to save where they left off, next/previous buttons,” etc. With this information, QA would be able to give a much more accurate estimate than if the ticket simply said “video player.”

To learn more about optimizing Jira for QA, see our article on the Jira QA Workflow and Best Practices.
Continue reading →

Oct 25

Wes Silverstein

QA Process

Why Developers and QA Should Be Hired Separately

Hire Developers & QA Separately (cartoon of business people shaking hands in front of large contracts in the background. Business people are Black, Asian, Latinx, and white men and women)

Why Developers and QA Should Be Hired Separately

When it comes to software development, Developers and QA testers go hand in hand. The developer and QA relationship is one of the most important parts of an Engineering team. Developers are responsible for building a mobile app or website, while QA testers make sure that it’s functional and has great user experience. Software wouldn’t exist without developers, and it might not make it to market without QA.

Given that they work so closely together, many would think that hiring developers and QA from the same company would simplify the process. However, doing so can actually increase risk and cause unforeseen issues.

Transparency

When you’re hiring developers and QA from the same software development company, the level of transparency tends to be lower. Why? Because each group is ultimately beholden to the company you’re hiring from.

For example, say that a developer notices that a QA tester is missing bugs or otherwise underperforming. The dev will be unlikely to come to the client with this information. After all, it’s a negative representation of the company they both work for. Similarly, a QA tester may have issues getting necessary information from a developer. However, they can’t communicate this to the client without making their company look bad. Continue reading →

Oct 17

Wes Silverstein

QA Process

QA Recommendations for Digital Agencies

QA Recommendations for Digital Agencies

Many aspects of the typical Agile QA process are meant for long-term engagements with regular releases. But unlike a typical company, which might have the QA team testing the same app or site for years at a time, digital agencies cycle through projects regularly. Because of this, they have unique needs when it comes to QA testing.

So how do you implement a QA process that’s optimized for creative agencies without sacrificing quality? Check out our list of QA recommendations for digital agencies below! (Looking to hire QA testers for your creative agency? Read more about our QA testing services for digital agencies.)

QA Recommendations for Digital Agencies

Hire freelancers. QA contractors usually have experience working on multiple short-term projects at once, which is perfect for digital agencies. Freelance QA testers are also self-managed, and accustomed to shorter ramp-up times on projects. When you find a good contractor, you can simply send the project link or build and let them work their magic.

Hiring a QA freelancer also works well with digital agency budget and commitment requirements. Instead of permanently employing someone at 40 hours a week, you can hire a freelancer on an hourly basis as needed. Continue reading →

Oct 15

Wes Silverstein

QA Engineering

How QA Can Improve Your Site With SEO

How QA Can Improve Your Site With SEO

SEO is not usually associated with QA testing. In fact, at most companies, SEO analysts and QA testers work completely separately in different departments. While we’re not advocating for QA testers to replace SEO specialists, it can be extremely beneficial for QA to learn the basics of SEO — and incorporate this knowledge when testing websites.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. In a nutshell, the purpose of SEO is to have your website page(s) rank as highly as possible in search engine results.

For example, say that you have an e-commerce site that sells Lady Gaga merchandise. Ideally, if someone Googles “Lady Gaga t-shirt,” your page would be the first result. (Just make sure you’re not sold out — Lady Gaga fans don’t mess around.)

There are a number of strategies for achieving higher ranking with SEO. Some of these include:

Writing quality content that’s appealing to read. This will result in more traffic (people love sharing!). It will also result in more time spent on the page (which search engines take into account, referred to as “bounce rate”). Continue reading →

Oct 5

Wes Silverstein

QA Process

The Developer and QA Relationship

The Developer and QA Relationship

Anyone who does QA testing for a mobile app or website will likely interact with one or more developers. QA’s role is to report problems with a site or app, while developers are in the position of fixing the issues. Because of these dynamics, it’s essential that the developer and QA relationship is friendly and robust.

Teamwork

Typically, communication between developers and QA will take place throughout a project or Sprint (in an Agile QA process). At the beginning of a Sprint, QA might have questions about features, data, or end point information. During the middle of testing, QA will find issues and file bug reports for developers. And at the end, developers and QA will work together to make sure the release launch happens smoothly. None of these steps can succeed without strong teamwork between both groups.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

In order to have a healthy process and great end product, the developer and QA relationship should be one of mutual respect. In this vein, it’s important for QA to avoid bringing blame into any bug reports. When bugs are reported in a judgmental way, it’s natural for developers to feel personally attacked. After all, it’s their code – so if QA is communicating problems in a condescending manner, it can be feel belittling. Continue reading →