Challenge

Founded over a decade ago, the client’s company went from a small startup to one of the leading businesses in the travel industry. The product is available as a web application that is also compatible with mobile browsers, as well as native mobile apps for iOS and Android. Still, even though the company has been conquering the market for years with their increasingly popular product, there hasn’t been an established quality assurance procedure in place — testing was unsystematic, usually carried out by developers, and a significant amount of bugs were being found by the end users, which is the least desirable outcome for an up-and-coming solution.

Due to the limited attention paid to quality assurance for years since the product launched, and the absence of a comprehensive bug tracking system or project documentation, our team had to not just test the software, but also implement a reporting and documentation system from scratch. Moreover, the company did not follow any schedule for their releases, unveiling updates on a seemingly random basis, which also made the quality assurance process more difficult.

During the years of working on the project, we helped ensure the quality of 30+ versions of the three apps, each containing valuable updates and improvements. Depending on the scope of requirements, we performed the following types of testing:

• Functional testing
• UI/UX testing
• Compatibility testing
• Regression testing
• Localization testing
• Smoke testing
• Confirmation testing
• API testing
• Exploratory testing

It’s also worth noting that our team working on the project has remained the same throughout the entire collaboration, which means they are now ingrained in the development and delivery process and have even helped onboard new team members on the client’s side. Our team for this project included:

• 1 QA Team Lead
• 1 Manual QA

Through regular meetings and effective communication via Slack, our team can quickly react to changes in the application and developer requests, speeding up the release process and making sure the apps are quickly approved by the App Store and Google Play Store.

Solutions

We typically start the work on a testing project with reviewing the documentation and existing test cases, but with no documentation or test cases to review, our team had to establish the testing process with nothing to base it upon. However, that is something we have plenty of experience with. After spending some time investigating the development process and existing bug management practices, we were able to build a thorough process for documenting bugs, communicating with two distributed development teams, and tracking the progress of the discovered issues with the software.

We introduced GitHub as a bug tracking system that could also be easily integrated into the overall development ecosystem used by the client. Before our team came on board of the project, the release schedule was somewhat chaotic, but our efficiency and speed allowed the client to speed up the release process and gain more confidence in the solution. We also built an effective communication procedure with the client’s development team, so there were little to no delays and misunderstandings that could potentially damage the project.

Challenge

The client was experiencing rapid growth, conducting over 200,000 industrial inspection flights, but their QA processes weren’t scaling effectively with their expansion. Key challenges included:

• Fragmented testing processes across different projects
• Development team handling test automation independently
• Disconnected automation efforts
• Lack of standardized documentation
• Insufficient QA resources to support growth

Solutions

Our team conducted a comprehensive QA audit, identifying bottlenecks and gaps in their processes. We introduced a detailed test strategy, standardized workflows, and improved onboarding plans. 

• Analyzed existing QA documentation and processes
• Identified gaps and bottlenecks in current workflows
• Created detailed improvement recommendations
• Assessed team scaling requirements
• Developed detailed onboarding documentation
• Established clear roles and responsibilities

Our team recommended aligning automation testing with manual efforts and offered a metrics framework to track progress and ensure scalability.

Challenge

With a growing number of insurance brokerage partners, our client needed a universal solution for providing the customers with the highest quality of service — specifically, for managing customer claims and calculating the costs based on the provided parameters. After several discussions with the client about their requirements and expectations from the project, we settled on the following key features:

• Automatic calculation of insurance costs based on the entered parameters for low and medium-cost insurance requests
• Transfering the data to a head office employee for manual cost calculation for high-cost or high-risk requests
• Ensuring cross-browser and cross-platform functionality of the web application
• Creating a convenient pipeline for processing customer requests through all the stages of a deal
• Ensuring proper localization for different European markets through Odoo’s built-in localization functionality
• Developing an application with high usability and streamlined logic to speed up the process of managing requests for the insurance brokers

Moreover, the client wanted to release the product into the market as quickly as possible so as not to miss out on any business opportunities. That is why there were certain time constraints for the development of the project, although they were nothing an experienced team of software developers with numerous Odoo-based projects in our portfolio would not overcome.

Solutions

By the time the client approached us to develop this solution, they were already actively using Odoo as their go-to ERP and CRM tool for various operations. Moreover, seamless integration and cross-platform availability were among the critical requirements for the project, which are exactly the key features of Odoo that make it a popular choice of CRM system for organizations from different industries.

We started the project by defining the client’s business needs, as well as project requirements clarification and formalization, so the active participation of the customer at this stage was very much appreciated. The next step was the development of the logic and flow of the future application, which had to ensure a smooth user experience and a reliable feel of the application.

As it’s standard for Odoo-based solutions, we picked the most suitable technology stack: HTML, CSS, XML, and JavaScript for the front-end part of the application and Python for the back-end part. We also implemented the API that helps the broker-side application seamlessly transfer data to and from the head office. 

The new Odoo module was developed from scratch and integrated with the existing Customer’s solution. We really appreciate the assistance from the development team on the client’s side who helped us understand the legacy system and provided the necessary information about the integrations we had to implement. Throughout the duration of the project, we also maintained regular communication with the client through weekly calls and reports on progress.

Challenge

We have already realized several projects for this client, and this had to become integrational for a few products we already worked with. It put extra incentive — we wanted to make sure that our client’s customers can use whatever we co-developed before to the fullest. Here is what we had to face in order to achieve it:

Regulatory Compliance in Construction Materials

Construction is a highly regulated field, every material used must meet strict specifications. Professionals involved in construction and repairs need to ensure that all the products are certified accordingly. Any delay in creating submittal packages or problems with confirmation back-and-forth games with regulators mean loss of time and money for real construction or restoration projects.

Efficient Project and Document Management

The traditional process of sourcing documents for each construction material is time-consuming and inefficient. Moreover, professionals often need to manage multiple projects simultaneously, requiring a unified and easy-to-navigate system for document and project management. To get a submittal package right and make all the data in it unified can cost dozens of extra work hours.

Integration and Data Synchronization

A major requirement was the integration of the BIM catalog site with Microsoft Dynamics for real-time data synchronization. This integration was crucial to ensure the catalog’s data accuracy and up-to-dateness, as well as hussle-free database operations for our client.

User Accessibility and Global Reach

Given the global nature of construction projects, it was essential to make the products BIM catalog accessible in different languages (when available) and adaptable to various international standards and certifications. 

Solutions

Our Front- and Back-end engineers developed a comprehensive BIM catalog site that provides detailed information about each construction material. The site includes all necessary certifications and specifications, making it easier for professionals to find and verify the compliance of materials. 

This approach not only streamlines the compliance process but also ensures safety and adherence to industry standards. 

We’ve designed a user-friendly interface allowing users to save various configurations and documents in their profiles, eliminating the need to collect them from scratch each time. The site enables management of multiple projects with an advanced filtration system and thought-out sorting capabilities. 

These features significantly reduce the time and effort required in managing construction projects and related documentation. A user can generate a submittable package consisting of dozens of unified pages for products ranging from glue to brick in minutes. 

Here are some of the key features that make this catalog so efficient:

• Unified product database centralized all relevant certificates and documents for streamlined access;
• Custom package building allows users to select needed certificates on demand instead of combing through everything;
• Multi-format downstream generation enables seamless hand-offs to partners; 
• User cabinet and saved configurations per project reduces redundant setup work;
• Advanced filtering and search simplifies document lookup by type, language, and more. We worked hard on sorting, to make sure no matter how you look for something, should you mention even one characteristic right (name, certificate type, etc.), an in-built search engine gets it right. 
• Optimized algorithms generate full packages in minutes or even seconds instead of hours. It takes just 5-10 seconds to generate a single document or two, and up to 10 minutes to prepare a full submittal package for some grand construction.
• New functionality allows editing already built configurations to alter submissions.
• Multi-lingual support for many products and certifications in catalog supports global construction standardization

Our dedicated Manual QA expert meticulously tested every aspect of the site, from user interface and experience to data integration and synchronization. They conducted thorough tests to ensure compatibility with different web browsers and responsiveness to various screen sizes, crucial for users accessing the site from different devices.

The QA process also involved validating the site’s functionality in terms of document management, project handling, and data filtration. The team performed end-to-end testing of the user journey, ensuring that every feature, from login to document download, worked flawlessly.

By developing an intelligent hub to consolidate, customize, and streamline compliance document preparation, we saved construction firms tremendous manual effort and delays preparing needed submittals.

Challenge

With hundreds of parts and components available, there could be thousands of possible pergola configurations, which was a challenge in itself. In addition, we had to:

• ensure that these modifications looked real, providing users with a vision of how the future construction would look like when installed on the site;
• anticipate and eliminate possible errors that could occur in the configuration process due to the complexity and variety of options. 

Solutions

Through years of partnership, we’ve learned to intuitively understand this client’s needs, often tackling projects, streamlining processes, and addressing pain points with minimal requirements at hand.

When we first started, the team chose Unity to design the interface. However, the decision was soon made to change it in favor of Autodesk. It is a much more user-friendly technology that not only creates more visually appealing designs but also easily combines with Revit, which was chosen as a primary tool for the project. This transition positively impacted the entire project, resulting in more realistic rendering of 3D components and a significantly improved UX. 

Furthermore, we proposed to add a “save and share via link” feature for the configurations built. This addition meant a lot in terms of user engagement and marketing. Moreover, we’ve found storage services that could convert data free of charge and be seamlessly integrated into the configurator. The client approved this solution, and the implementation of this step is scheduled. 

The composition of the team working on this project included:

1 x Front-end developer (Angular)

1 x Back-end developer (.NET), 

2 x Revit & Autodesk Visualizator, 

1 x QA engineer. 

We’ve finished a big scope of work, but our collaboration continues, with more configurations and features to be developed in the upcoming months. 

Challenge

Although the project did not have direct competitors in its home country yet, the eHealth market is growing at a rapid pace; so, the earlier a new solution emerges, the more likely it is to launch successfully. This is why, after many deliberations with the client, we decided to start with developing an MVP first and then scale it to a full-fledged solution.

The MVP in question is a mobile application for patients to store, share, and monitor their health data in a convenient way. Since the application was intended to be used by a wide range of users of different age groups and technical proficiency, it was important to make the product user-friendly and stable. Moreover, because eHealth products deal with the most sensitive patient data, making the application secure was also a priority. Finally, an integral part of the project was to make the product compliant with the necessary industry standards, including HL7, HIPAA, and GDPR.

Solutions

For the MVP stage of the project, QArea was tasked with developing applications for iOS and Android platforms with a matching back-end solution for storing and processing data. To better accommodate the client’s business needs, we delivered the work in several iterations, with each iteration adding new functionality and improving the user experience offered by the application. The features in the final MVP version included:

• User registration
• User login using two-factor authentication
• Profile creation with fields like age, gender, physical parameters, and pre-existing conditions
• Adding dependents (elderly relatives or children) to the profile
• Uploading medical documents, test results, clinical charts, and more
• Transferring documents from email and messengers
• Sharing uploaded documents with healthcare providers
• QR code generation for emergency access to health records
• Setting up notifications to take medication or perform medical procedures
• Monitoring health and fitness parameters, including weight and activity levels

The choice of technologies for this project stemmed from the original product requirements. To make the application lightweight and scalable for future growth, we used Node.js for the back-end part. The front-end part of the applications for both Android and iOS was developed using React Native, which offers cross-platform compatibility and outstanding usability. We used Odoo as the product’s ERP system. Finally, we used AWS Step Functions to create a serverless project architecture that supports lambda functions for the ultimate security of the data stored in the application. 

After completing the development part of the project, we used manual testing techniques to check the product’s functionality, usability, compatibility with different Android and iOS versions and screen sizes, correct localization, and other essential features.

The team working on the project consisted of:

• Business Analyst
• UI/UX Designer
• Solution Architect
• Front-end Developer
• Back-end Developer
• Manual QA Engineer

Throughout the project, we maintained close communication with the client’s team. Because of the basics of MVP development and the fast-paced nature of the eHealth market, the client sometimes requested last-minute changes and our team made sure to dynamically introduce the changes to the product.

Challenge

We were entrusted with automating testing the company’s custom NetSuite application used for order management, payment processing, and other operations. 

• Our client used only manual testing without applying optimization techniques or automation;
• We had to turn test cases shortly described in Word documents into a working test automation scripts system;
• Create and run tests for two separate environments;
• Foresee potential crash scenarios and bottlenecks, find and report bugs and critical system blockers.

Solutions

Automation testing diminishes manual intervention and allows for minimizing mistakes as well as speeding up the entire process. To complete our tasks, we have provided this project with two experienced auto QA engineers, who have accomplished the following:

• Created and implemented efficient UI, and end-to-end testing plan;
• Automated 100% of test cases, taking into account NetSuite peculiarities and business logic inherent to the client’s industry;
• Launched daily test runs that allowed us to find bugs and critical blockers almost immediately;
• Implemented CI workflow for more efficient communication, a better rapport with the client’s team, and reliable continuous integration;
• Ensured faster-debugging thanks to extended test coverage;
• Defined critical blockers causing system crashes and offered ways to improve system security.

Tools and Technologies

For this case, we have chosen a combination of tools and technologies for automation testing that allowed us to enhance efficiency and minimize time. 

• Selenium WebDriver: for scalability and robust support across various platforms and operating systems, as well as creating reusable test suits. 

• TestNG: for simplified management of test cases, all the benefits of parallel testing, the possibility of parameterized and dependency tests, as well as clear, “by default” reports. 

• TestRail: for more efficient test management organization and improved organization of testing efforts according to the automation tasks our team has faced in this project.

• Jenkins: to support continuous integration and enable efficient automation process within the scope of our immediate tasks and testing strategy.

Communications

We have entered this challenge following an executive director who was our client in one of the previous automation projects. Communication with a new team was predominently held through him, which had pros and cons. On the one hand, we always had inside reach and solved any issues fast and efficiently. On the other hand, when our trusted liaison quit taking a new position elsewhere, our communication with the client’s team was crippled, and we had to establish new processes hurriedly. 

Thanks to the on-point documentation we have been creating from day one and the seamless workflow our team honed on various other projects, the transition period was brief and didn’t affect our speed or efficiency. 

Impact

Methodology. Our cooperation was first based on the Kanban methodology. It didn’t fully answer the speed and efficiency demands of most of the automation tasks and bug-fix workflow. We have offered to try Scrum workflow, which proved to be more productive and, as to our knowledge, has been used by the client’s manual testing team till now  

TestRail workflow. Our QA implemented and established the TestRail workflow for the entire team. It included all the step-by-step supporting documentation and month-long training instructions for a current manual testing team and specialists that would join the company once our project was done. 

Challenge

The product was intended to contain the profiles of the borrowers and to be used at different organizations. At first, we expected the profile creation and maintenance logic to be the same across all organizations, which would allow us to use independent data processing centers at each location, but that was not the case. 

Moreover, it turned out that one prospective borrower could work for two or more organizations. This created the risk of creating duplicate profiles and could potentially lead to confusion, which has no place in the financial industry. It meant that a universal solution for profile synchronization and data transfer was needed.

Solutions

We decided to create a universally accessible file repository — an external file server that contained a general profile database. With its help, every local server could easily connect to the external database and sync profile information to avoid duplication.

Thrift Plus 1 is the third project we developed for the same client, the first two being a retirement funds management solution and a loan application system. All three projects were based on the same platform, so our job was to adapt the existing solution to the client’s needs, which we successfully did by introducing the necessary loan management modules and making changes to the UI to make the product accessible even to non-specialists.

An important feature we implemented in the product was the ability to create queues based on how much money a bank could issue in one day and when the end customer could expect to get their loan. Because there were two major banks in the locality, we had to employ two different data transfer formats to fit each bank’s requirements.

Since this project shared some features with the products we developed earlier, we already knew the ropes and were able to scale the team down without losing any of the quality or attention to detail.

In addition to delivering development and testing services, we also provided training to the client’s staff — mainly to facilitate a smooth installation and maintenance process on the end user devices, which is something we’ve also done on previous projects for this client.

Challenge

The client already had a design for the future app, but the technical part of the project was entirely on us. We were tasked with creating a solution that:

• Would work equally well on any desktop or mobile device;
• Could handle large amounts of data because of the constantly increasing number of partners and available samples;
• Would ensure a seamless ordering process using QR codes;
• Could be easily scaled to match growing business needs;
• Was strong enough to handle an unexpectedly high number of simultaneous users — for example, during exhibitions and other public events.

Solutions

The customer for this project is one of our longest-running, most prolific clients who we’ve collaborated with on numerous projects, which is why the choice of tools and technologies for the new project was influenced by our previous collaborations. 

The client wanted to create a unified ecosystem of technologies to further streamline the processes and to effectively work with Microsoft Azure, their existing data management solution. This is why, together, we settled on .NET for the back-end and Angular for the front-end parts of the web solution, which allowed us to create a product with all of the desired functionality, solid scaling potential, and compatibility with a variety of devices.

As for the mobile applications, the choice of technologies there was also dictated by the existing tech stack we’ve successfully used on the previous projects for this client. Swift for iOS and Android SDK for Android applications provided us with the exact level of functionality, flexibility, and scalability we were looking for.

After completing the development part of the project, we set out to verify its integrity and compliance with the original requirements by performing the following types of testing:

• Functional testing
• White-box testing
• Regression testing

As with previous projects for the same client, we employed the Waterfall methodology, which has proven its efficiency time and time again.

Solutions

Following the client’s request, we formed a development team that analyzed the business requirements for the project. The team prepared the documentation necessary for project launch, including a software requirements specification, project management plan, and work breakdown structure. As a software development methodology for the project, we chose Agile.

The tech stack we chose for the development of the solution included Angular for the frontend and .NET, MySQL, and C# for the backend. We used Microsoft Azure as the cloud computing service for the platform and Azure Blob Storage for efficient data management.

In the course of development, the solution has grown from a simple combination of .NET and Angular 2 to a multi-server solution with the latest tech updates and a distributed database, integrated with the existing ecosystem’s user account and analytics systems that feature their own libraries and permission control. In addition, we developed a clever workaround that allows Angular to be more friendly to search engines. 

The workaround is that the main content related to pages that can be indexed by the search engine is not provided by Angular itself but by the server when visiting individual URLs. That is, for a user visiting a specific page, the content is generated by Angular. And if we are dealing with a search bot that goes to specific URLs from the sitemap, the bot receives pre-formed content—the necessary amount of meta-information generated so that everything could be indexed by the search engine. This gives the bot a clear picture of what URL provides what information to users.