Real Time QA Infusion

The Challenge:

The release date of a major software product is only weeks away, and is in jeopardy of being missed. The project team realizes that catching up using only internal resources is virtually impossible, and upon entering the test phase of the project, discovers that they do not possess the lab resources or test tools necessary to complete testing.

In order to meet the impending release date with an acceptable level of software quality, the project team needs additional personnel, lab resources, and test tools.

The Solution:

Shasta QA immediately infuses the personnel, proven methodologies and tools needed to meet the impending release date while achieving software quality goals. Shasta QA shares the project team’s urgency and focuses its efforts on the highest risk software components while providing visibility into test coverage and previously undetected areas where software quality risks may exist.

The Keys to Success:

Shasta QA assigns QA engineers who perform well on high-intensity projects and who have experience with similar types of software. Additionally, Shasta QA runs testing and test case generation in parallel.

Shasta QA and the company quickly develop the testing strategy and action plan. Together, they prioritize the highest risk software components for testing and identify test blockers that could impede progress. Additionally, project milestones, progress metrics, resource requirements, and clear lines of responsibility are defined.

Shasta QA adds horsepower to the company’s QA team. Shasta QA provides the personnel, methodologies, lab resources and test tools required to meet the release date while achieving the project team’s software quality objectives.

Shasta QA leads an analysis of the company’s software development process, project management, and Quality Assurance methodologies to identify the root causes of software quality issues and development schedule delays.

The Result:

By minimizing ramp time, Shasta QA:

• Minimizes the learning curve
• Begins delivering immediate, tangible progress toward the project team’s objectives
• Increases the productivity of the QA team by identifying blockers early, understanding test coverage, and focusing test efforts on the highest risk components first

By defining a testing strategy and action plan, the project team:

• Immediately identifies and resolves test blockers before they impede progress
• Focuses QA efforts on the components that could cause the most pain to customers and prioritizes the other components for future testing
• Sets the software quality goals that must be achieved in order to release the software

By utilizing Shasta QA’s testing services to execute the action plan, the project team:

• Completes as much high value testing as the project timeline and budget allow
• Immediately identifies defects, providing the development team with more time to fix them
• Achieves software quality objectives on schedule and on budget

By completing an after action analysis, the project team:

• Streamlines the software development process, speeding time to market
• Increases the productivity of its software development team
• Implements proven QA methodologies and cross-functional metrics to continuously improve software quality