I joined the Clubforce team in 2020 and as I start to recruit for testers it reminds me of why I do what I do. Testing is part of the fabric of life. When cooking we taste food for salt before adding more, we put our hand under the shower before we step in, maybe pull the door handle after locking the door to check, even though we’re quite certain it is locked. Before we can fully trust something we give it a push, tug or a prod. This is how software testing is done.
“Quality is not an act; it is a habit” – Aristotle
The process differs from team to team depending on what tools and methodologies are chosen, but the key characteristics remain the same. We start small, and as the software moves through the development process, larger and larger test suites are used until we can say definitively the software has been tested thoroughly and is now ready to be used by our paying customers.
We enhance the customer experience simply by walking their path ahead of them. We click the buttons, make the selections, buy the products, send the emails, check transaction amounts. By doing these things ahead of our users we can evaluate the system and find snags or maybe flaws that need to be fixed.
Some of the direct benefits of testing include:
- We make the customer journey easier when buying a product or getting information
- We verify a consistent look and feel on the devices our customers are using
- We verify our site is responding fast, even with thousands of users
- We make sure it is safe to buy from our site
Testing is not “breaking things”. Testing means understanding business and user requirements, anticipating how customers will react to changes in our technology and helping developers make the best product possible.
High-performing product teams (who integrate testing) spend 22% less time fixing issues.
Clubforce is committed to building quality into the development process. This is driven by customer focus and the goal to achieve the highest possible quality on our product roadmap. A focus on quality means better software which in turn means a better partnership with our customers, parents, volunteers and members and a tangible contract to share our best technology.
How do you know when you have invested enough in testing?
When production and development failures are zero then we might say we are spending too much on testing. Short of that, no expense is too much to make sure the customer’s needs are met. By using automated testing we can test faster and cheaper than using only manual testers. It also helps finding problems while they still can be fixed immediately. Automated testing carries an initial setup cost but will break even fast and then save the company money and increase quality tenfold.
As we embark on our ambitious roadmap in 2021 and beyond I’m feeling confident about the response of our customers and partners. We’re baking quality into the mix from the very beginning so no stone will be left unturned. Testing will be a formal part of the fabric of our products at Clubforce.
Working in Galway is working in a vibrant city steeped in age-old Irish traditions and music with several universities. Many global companies have a presence here. It makes for great free time activities as well as working with professionals at the top of their game. I’m looking forward to onboarding some of that talent in the near future.
