Establishing the process of manual testing in a scientific startup

Provided services

Client

A scientific startup.

Product

A system for simulating the behavior of a physical object in given conditions.

Business challenge

Initially, the project for the creation of a knowledge-intensive solution was developed as a startup: the team was always focused on commercially important deliveries and software development. Therefore, important practices and approaches were not applied in the development process. Among other things, the testing process was not established: the developers and product owners were engaged in quality assurance, and there were no test cases. Manual testing was not performed on a regular basis, and regression testing was not applied at all. When changes were introduced in the code, there were a large number of bugs. This led to regular delays in releases and end-user dissatisfaction with the product.

To help solve these problems, JazzTeam joined the project. Our specialists were required to establish the testing process from scratch. It was also necessary to bring a testing culture based on best practices to the customer’s team.

Technological features of the project

Lack of planning and systemized work on tasks combined with a large number of bugs with any changes.
No practice of setting tasks for iterations. Task setting was not carried out on a regular basis, new requirements were constantly added, and priorities were changed all the time. Deadlines were determined based on the assumptions of the development team.
The subject area in which the product is used is particularly complex.

To establish the process of product manual testing from scratch and fix bugs

To bring a testing culture based on JazzTeam’s best practices to the customer’s team

A large number of bugs

Unclear task deadlines

Lack of planning

Particular complexity of the product

1

Creating test plans for manual and automated testing
2

Preparing the necessary test cases for manual testing, as well as selecting text cases for their subsequent automation
3

Establishing an integrated approach to CI/CD Implementation of Jenkins, preparation of the necessary pipelines
4

Implementation of test management systems Using Jira, implementing TestLink
5

Introduction of mandatory pre-release testing to avoid problems during production
6

Managing the customer's team and changing their mindset Using Scrum methodology to maintain processes on the project Iteration planning Team self-organization through retrospectives System work to overcome learned helplessness

The testing process was established from scratch, the number of bugs was minimized
The processes of product delivery and extension were fine-tuned
A testing culture based on best practices was successfully implemented in the customer's team at the value level
The company created a testing department that constantly maintains the necessary degree of product quality

Establishing the process of manual testing in a scientific startup

Approaches and solutions

Creating test plans for manual and automated testing. Testing processes were established and test plans for manual and automated testing were created under the guidance of a JazzTeam manager. This made it possible to more professionally manage the product quality.
Preparing the necessary test cases for manual testing. After preparing all the necessary test cases, the JazzTeam test engineer carefully selected those that needed to be automated.
Establishing a comprehensive approach to CI/CD and embedding all aspects of manual testing, including test management.
Implementation of test management systems. Introduction of professional approaches to the use of Jira and the introduction of TestLink.
Introduction of mandatory pre-release testing to avoid problems during production.
Management of the customer’s team. Using Scrum methodology to maintain processes on the project, setting iteration planning.
Changing the team’s mindset. Self-organization of the team through retrospectives, regular work to overcome learned helplessness.

Results and achievements

As part of the project, our team managed not only to establish the testing process from scratch, but also to create a full-fledged testing department, which allowed the customer to radically transform its processes and achieve stable deliveries.
The profile of a manual testing specialist on the customer’s project was significantly raised. Based on the criteria of task acceptance, the QA engineer decides whether the product is ready for release. A delivery is sent for production only if the required level of quality is achieved and bugs are fixed.
The system approach, the vision of manual testing as an integral part of CI/CD, and the effective use of test management tools all made it possible to create a testing department that uses best practices and constantly maintains the necessary level of product quality.