The Client
Established in 1999 in California, the client specializes in designing and developing individual software solutions, electronic business and administration platforms and web applications. The client simultaneously opens an office in Sofia, Bulgaria, and later on moves its entire base and facilities on the territory of Bulgaria.
The Situation
The client approached Quality House to create a detailed estimation for an online shopping store, breaking down the exact number of testing hours based on a specific number of defects – all this was necessary as the project had a firm budget. The estimation has to encompass every stage as early as reviewing the client requirements and writing test scripts to regression testing. Should the number of defects and testing time exceed the budget, Quality House had to limit the testing scope and focus on high priorities. In the end, we had to meet all project specification and deliver a high-quality, user-friendly competitive online store.
The Challenge
Quality House had to make the estimation without access to the website, using only specifications provided by the client – a circumstance, which led to further complications as the team faced way more complex and numerous defects in the line of work. This caused for work to halt at times to allow the team to recalibrate and change focus on the most problematic areas. Work also halted for months as a result of a change in the assigned test consultant, who needed to acquaint himself with the requirements. This also led to changing the operatives assigned to the team, many of whom had to be trained anew to perform as expected.
The geographic fragmentation of the team in different time zones also proved a challenge as the Quality House team had to be incredibly flexible and work at a fast pace to stay within the given deadlines. Communication with the programmers and project manager suffered as a result and was only accomplished online, which slowed down the workflow.
The geographic fragmentation of the team in different time zones also proved a challenge as the Quality House team had to be incredibly flexible and work at a fast pace to stay within the given deadlines. Communication with the programmers and project manager suffered as a result and was only accomplished online, which slowed down the workflow.
The Objective
The client valued efficiency and quality of performance. To this end, Quality House had to do manual testing for the online store within the specified timeframe, guaranteeing the product’s quality and maximally eliminating defects from all implemented functionalities in order for the store to meet every client specification.
The Solution
Quality House countered the challenges standing against effective communication with superior organization and well-balanced, unified teamwork. This allowed us to make up for the difference when it came to reviewing the specifications and devising a working test strategy for the site. As the project entered hiatus so the new test consultant could get up to speed, Quality House had to make significant alterations to the project’s overall planning and team. In the end, the adjustment process concluded with a positive outcome – a stronger team and even clearer vision.
As a whole, Quality House created the necessary test scenarios, executed them successfully and reported all defects in a timely fashion. The team had time to retest certain defects and perform regression testing, and even run a complete test session for the second time. Every action made was documented in great detail and then submitted to the client. We achieved all this work on Windows 10, IE 11, Google Chrome 43.0.2357, Mozilla Firefox 38.0.1, Mac OS and Safari. The bug tracking system of our choice was Jira.
As a whole, Quality House created the necessary test scenarios, executed them successfully and reported all defects in a timely fashion. The team had time to retest certain defects and perform regression testing, and even run a complete test session for the second time. Every action made was documented in great detail and then submitted to the client. We achieved all this work on Windows 10, IE 11, Google Chrome 43.0.2357, Mozilla Firefox 38.0.1, Mac OS and Safari. The bug tracking system of our choice was Jira.
The Conclusion
Despite all the challenges at every stage, Quality House succeeded in overcoming all hurdles and demonstrated enviable flexibility to meet the client’s deadlines. We delivered a completed user-friendly website, which had been cleared of all critical bugs and even those with smaller priority. Quality House contributed also with recommendations for the site’s visual elements and as a result, the website has been a solid source of revenue.