TESTING TOOLS INTERVIEW QUESTION PART 5

Q: What if an organization is growing so fast that fixed QA processes are impossible?


A: This is a common problem in the software industry, especially in new technology areas. There is no easy solution in this situation, other than...

· Hire good people (i.e. hire Rob Davis)

· Ruthlessly prioritize quality issues and maintain focus on the customer;

· Everyone in the organization should be clear on what quality means to the customer.



Q: What is quality assurance?


A: Quality Assurance ensures all parties concerned with the project adhere to the process and procedures, standards and templates and test readiness reviews.
Rob Davis' QA service depends on the customers and projects. A lot will depend on team leads or managers, feedback to developers and communications among customers, managers, developers' test engineers and testers.



Q: How is testing affected by object-oriented designs?


A: A well-engineered object-oriented design can make it easier to trace from code to internal design to functional design to requirements. While there will be little affect on black box testing (where an understanding of the internal design of the application is unnecessary), white-box testing can be oriented to the application's objects. If the application was well designed this can simplify test design.


Q: Why do you recommended that we test during the design phase?


A: Because testing during the design phase can prevent defects later on. I recommend we verify three things...

Verify the design is good, efficient, compact, testable and maintainable.

Verify the design meets the requirements and is complete (specifies all relationships between modules, how to pass data, what happens in exceptional circumstances, starting state of each module and how to guarantee the state of each module).

Verify the design incorporates enough memory, I/O devices and quick enough runtime for the final product.



Q: What is software quality assurance?


A: Software Quality Assurance (SWQA) when Rob Davis does it is oriented to *prevention*. It involves the entire software development process. Prevention is monitoring and improving the process, making sure any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed and ensuring problems are found and dealt with. Software Testing, when performed by Rob Davis, is also oriented to *detection*. Testing involves the operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results. Organizations vary considerably in how they assign responsibility for QA and testing. Sometimes they are the combined responsibility of one group or individual. Also common are project teams, which include a mix of test engineers, testers and developers who work closely together, with overall QA processes monitored by project managers. It depends on what best fits your organization's size and business structure. Rob Davis can provide QA and/or SWQA. This document details some aspects of how he can provide software testing/QA service. For more information, click here to send e-mail.



Q: Processes and procedures - why follow them?


A: Detailed and well-written processes and procedures ensure the correct steps are being executed to facilitate a successful completion of a task. They also ensure a process is repeatable. Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed customer's business processes and procedures, he will follow them. He will also recommend improvements and/or additions.


Q: Standards and templates - what is supposed to be in a document?


A: All documents should be written to a certain standard and template. Standards and templates maintain document uniformity. It also helps in learning where information is located, making it easier for a user to find what they want. Lastly, with standards and templates, information will not be accidentally omitted from a document. Once Rob Davis has learned and reviewed your standards and templates, he will use them. He will also recommend improvements and/or additions.


Q: What are the different levels of testing?


A: Rob Davis has expertise in testing at all testing levels listed in the these FAQs. At each test level, he documents the results. Each level of testing is either considered black or white box testing.