Release on the horizon, Behind in Testing: Addressing the threat of backlogged untested stories
Fri Oct 25 2024
In the fast-changing world of real estate intelligence, our important client was close to a possible delay in releasing a new product. There were lots of untested stories waiting to be checked, making it hard to put out new products with critical features. This story explains how our special software testing helped not only avoid a big problem but also made testing better overall.
The challenge
As a leading player in real estate intelligence, our client was getting ready to launch a new service with a lot of potential to expand their offerings. However, the complex application architecture and design challenges delayed the development. This left limited time for QA to check and automate the test cases, causing a pause in the face of an extensive backlog of untested user stories and adding to the risk of a delay.
Proposed strategies and the associated downsides:
To mitigate the challenge, the client considered various strategies.
Ramping Up Current QA Team: Swiftly ramping up the QA team faced hurdles in talent acquisition and raised concerns about resource allocation beyond the immediate need. Also the cost implications and potential resource allocation issues were another deterrents.
Extended Working Hours for Existing QA: Overburdening the existing QA team with extended hours presented uncertainties in project completion, with potential negative impacts on morale and productivity.Releasing Features by only testing key features: Deploying untested features posed a severe risk to system stability, functionality, and customer trust, potentially leading to long-term repercussions.
Collaboration with Testing Mavens:
Given that the drawbacks surpassed the suggested solutions, the client opted to enlist the managed testing services of Testing Mavens to carry out the tasks and supporting them to ensure timely release of new features.
Solutions Provided by Our Company:
Fixed-Fee Testing and Automation: We proposed a fixed-fee model for comprehensive testing and automation for the user stories in backlog. Seamless integration with the existing QA structure, providing a dedicated team under a fixed-fee model for cost-effectiveness and streamlined resource management.
Implementation:
Collaborative Prioritization: Collaborative planning with product and development teams ensured focused efforts on stories critical to the project's success, optimizing testing resources.
Dedicated Sprint Plan: A dedicated sprint plan for backlog efforts, provided clarity on scope, timelines, facilitating effective communication and progress tracking during testing and automation.
Expert Testers: We brought experienced testers with domain expertise, accelerated identification of gaps and bugs ensuring thorough testing.
Automation Framework Enhancement: Without reinventing the wheel, we strengthened the existing automation framework which ensured efficiency in testing, addressing gaps and making it robust for scalability.
Parallel Test Case Design and Automation: Parallel test case design and automation of reviewed test cases expedited the testing process, ensuring a comprehensive and timely approach.
Test Architects of Testing Mavens: The expertise of our team, including test and automation architects well-versed in a variety of testing techniques and automation strategies, guaranteed that engaged testers received timely guidance and suggestions for any queries, ensuring flawless deliverables.
Results:
The efficient clearance of the backlog ensured that the release happened on time, showcasing our commitment to timely completion. Also, our efforts strengthened the existing QA team and framework, laying a robust foundation for upcoming projects. Through rigorous testing, we successfully prevented the deployment of potentially flawed features, underscoring our dedication to preserving customer trust. These achievements collectively highlight our focus on delivering high-quality results, meeting deadlines, and fostering long-term confidence in our clients.
Conclusion:
Our collaborative and innovative approach to software testing not only resolved an immediate crisis but also elevated the overall testing capabilities. As a committed testing partner, we continue to bring value and efficiency to our client's projects through ongoing collaboration and strategic testing initiatives.