Testing and quality assurance

By prioritizing testing from the first phase, and working with testing in layers and interacted throughout the development process, you get the best results; a high-quality solution. Our testers often have a developer background, and therefore have a good understanding and insight into the solutions they are set to test.

How to Ensure Perfection: The Art of Testing and Quality Assurance

In order to develop high-quality solutions, and not least solutions that are easier to use for all parties, we want to focus more on testing and quality assurance. We want to further develop industry-leading solutions for our customers. 

What do our technical testers do?

As a technical tester, quality is very high on the list of what you actively work towards. Our testers often have a technical background, which gives them a better understanding of the development of the solutions.

In the work, the tester helps to make the solutions that are developed easier to understand, and not least easier to use for all parties. It is central for the testers to make the job of the developers easier so that together they can put in place a solution quickly, with as few errors as possible that need to be fixed at a later date. It is desirable to do things right on the first try, so that the time is well allocated. Our test environment sets up standardized test systems that can be reused in several projects, and is a great help to our customers. 

Testers like to understand how things work, and often describe themselves as curious by nature. This is often why they end up as technical testers. With such a mindset, combined with a curious personality, the road to testing from development is often quite short.

One of our testers says that he can sit for days to find out what produces the error that no one else can figure out, so that you can learn from it. It is important to work accurately, and testers think it is fun to find small errors that could have been catastrophic for the customer if they had come out into the world without being discovered. 

How do you get started on new projects?

The most important thing is the mentality and culture associated with testing. At Epinova, we know of several projects that have not prioritized testing from the first phase, and which are then left with major and time-consuming errors to correct in the final phase. The entire development team must be aware of how testing can be used as a valuable resource, and that a common basis is created for how the testing methodology should be in each individual project, so that the collaboration is fruitful. The very best results are achieved if testing takes place early, in layers and interacted throughout the development team. 

If the developers create good unit tests and requirements tests, while at the same time cross-checking each other's work with the help of code scrutiny, you save a lot of time along the way on projects. It also makes sense to have overarching test systems and value chain tests that overlap with unit tests. This way, you get more chances to catch errors that mean less responsibility falls on each individual, and the developers can work faster and safer. If the work has been through several different tests and people, then the probability is very good that the code quality is top-notch. 

Why is quality assurance and testing important for the customer, the solution and the team?

Most people who have come across anything controlled by code have probably had a bad experience at least once. Most of the time, all systems work with 99% certainty, but there are still major reactions when a fault is discovered on the remaining 1%. Whether it is that the online bank is down when you transfer money, or that the payment machine in the parking lot does not have coverage. There may be small errors in the project that are not discovered, and that lead to "big" reactions from the users, and you want to avoid that. We want the product to be the best possible for the customer and not least the end users. 

The benefits of good testing don't stop here. We believe that good testing routines provide cost savings. By using dedicated testing resources, we free up extra time for the developers, which is beneficial for both the client and the team. When the developers don't have to spend as much time on tasks that are on the side of your focus, they can spend their time on what they are best at, while of course having someone to keep them in their ears. When we are to facilitate good development, it is the test routines and the test culture that must be established from the start. Then we have a good basis for development, which in turn makes the whole process more flexible with a reinforcing effect. By using a test resource, there is a subconscious greater focus on quality assurance, and it becomes a more natural part of the project. Quality ends up permeating the project.