DeviQA

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the QA [quality assurance] manager for a midsize startup company involved in the fintech industry. We offer a unique, full-scale solution for paying suppliers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DeviQA?

Originally, we hired one person from DeviQA to test the most basic version of our system. As our company became more successful and grew, we increased DeviQA’s involvement in testing the product.

What were your goals for this project?

DeviQA conducts ongoing testing of the system. Our company works in sprints, and DeviQA integrates fully with our team while performing testing for the system. 

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were selected by our CEO before I arrived at the company.

Describe the project in detail.

The project involves several different web platforms, which eventually integrate with each other to create a solution that allows companies to pay their suppliers. DeviQA handles the QA testing of our software.  

What was the team composition?

The team grew from one person to eight. Seven people act as manual testers, and one manages performance testing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

DeviQA has been a major part of our company's success. They help us deliver a high-quality product, evidenced by relatively few production bugs and customer complaints.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow is fairly efficient. Our main development center is in Israel, and the DeviQA team is in Ukraine. Still, we’ve been able to communicate consistently via Slack, and our collaboration has improved over time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their team members are committed and always try their best, sometimes staying later than required in order to finish testing items by the delivery deadline. I really appreciate their impressive level of dedication.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I'm very pleased overall. DeviQA’s testers should improve their written English skills, which are understandable but could be better. 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The web application is a virtual assistant for your email, discovers opportunities in your inbox by proactively suggesting the next steps to take with your most important contacts.

First, we connect your email accounts to our system. Then, we analyze your conversation history for each relationship and automatically prompt you to re-engage with the people that are slipping off of your radar. This ensures that your most important relationships are in good standing and that you never let important people and business opportunities slip through the cracks.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire DeviQA?

We hired DeviQA to assist in both manual and automated QA.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to ensure our engineering team could move at a fast pace without sacrificing quality to our end users.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

They were referred to us by someone who had used them before.

Describe the project in detail.

The QA work included by-regression testing, as well as manual QA of new features.

What was the team composition?

The team has been composed of a project leader and various contractors over the years. We have increased and decreased the number of contractors working on the project as needed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

DeviQA has done a great job of being flexible with working hours and continues to produce high-quality output. We consider our engagement with them a success for the stage of growth our company has achieved.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

It has been very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The tests are extremely thorough and catch edge cases we never even thought about. They do a great job.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the CTO of a SaaS-based EHR platform, headquartered in Los Angeles. Our company is quickly growing and we serve a wide range of medical professionals in the US market.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what reason(s) did your company hire DeviQA?

We are a fast growing team and we needed a quality assurance team with experience in setting up the right processes and the attention to detail it takes to deliver a high-quality software product.

What were your goals for this project?

Our company wanted to avoid customers' feeling they are working with an unfinished product, so we decided to invest in the proper processes and put in the effort to have a seamless feature release.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We did some online research and got in touch with Oleg [Co-founder, DeviQA]. He was very knowledgeable about the QA processes and he staffed our team with great QA engineers.

Describe the project in detail.

After we started to work with DeviQA, their team soon dedicated some time to build and organize reproducible test cases, which raised our product to a higher quality level and simplified regression testing.

What was the team composition?

We had two QA engineers from DeviQA assigned to our project, they worked closely with 5 engineers on our side.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We definitely improved the quality of our product and feature releases had been stable enough to avoid "fire-drills," which we had before investing in an experienced QA team.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The communication with the DeviQA team was mostly handled via Slack and occasional video calls. I got a daily high-level update on the current QA progress and focus.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their most impressive attribute was the professionalism of the team and the availability of the co-founder to help out when needed. We really felt valued as a customer.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have been very happy with their work. There are always occasional defects that are overlooked, but that is normal as we balance effort in QA and time to market. We ended up with a very organized QA process and a better-than-ever product quality.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a mobile do-it-yourself platform application that allows small- to medium-sized businesses create mobile apps with relative ease. We sell our product to resale partners mostly, but we also have a direct channel aimed at smaller business applications.

What is your position?

I am the vice president of products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with DeviQA?

We first started out as a bootstrap company, which means that we didn't raise a lot of seed-funding initially. We thus leveraged the outsourcing route as a competitive advantage to other app builders. We didn't have the technical skills ourselves so we needed to find a cost-effective solution to get the expertise we needed to actually develop our product.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

DeviQA's services include time tracking, billing, payments, and things of this nature. We enlisted them to build their own quality assurance environment within our company. It was functional, but not as advanced as we'd have hoped for. We took it upon ourselves to build out a more advanced environment within which DeviQA could thrive.

They engage exclusively in manual testing. They had a lot of suggestions and expertise concerning regression, unit-testing services, and providers which they'd used previously, but being a bootstrap company, we took it upon ourselves to build our own unit, integration, and functional testing. We rely on our own code for testing products, while DeviQA is responsible for manual user interface elements.

We initially used only one of their testers and scaled out our team to four members at its peak. We have now settled on three. Outsourcing to DeviQA has saved us a lot of time and money and we consider it to be just as efficient as hiring in-house QA personnel.

How did you come to work with DeviQA?

We found their company through a freelancer site called oDesk at the time, but now it's called Upwork. We went through a couple of interviews with them and got the impression that DeviQA would know how to form a proper quality assurance structure within our organization. We've worked with them ever since.

We considered several other candidates. We decided to choose DeviQA because they seemed to know their stuff, and had a vast amount of knowledge in comparison to the other agencies, with regards to building out a QA system, general release, and deployment processes.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of their services so far has been at least $500,000 over a three-year period.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In terms of quantitative data, it would be hard to offer any insight, because this has to do with product improvements done by our team as much as the job done by DeviQA. Working with them has made a huge impact on our company in terms of enabling us to ship the best possible product to our customers.

How did DeviQA perform from a project management standpoint?

Delivery time has been up to par and well aligned with our expectations. DeviQA is very structured and responsive. Tasks get done quickly and they deliver everything that we ask of them.

We use Jira in conjunction with Confluence and HipChat for project tracking. The tools were chosen by our company as a general improvement measure as we grew. They’ve been able to use all requested tools very successfully.

What distinguishes DeviQA from other providers?

It's hard to name elements which are specifically unique to DeviQA in comparison to another quality assurance teams. They're very diligent, meticulous, and concentrated, which in itself probably sets them apart from other people providing the same service. They do their job incredibly well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

Dachis Group specializes in big data social media analytics. Our main product is called Social Business Index. It provides big data analytics for the tweets within a brand's ecosystem and offers a score through which a company could be compared with its peers. We analyzed the tweets and Facebook posts for 30,000 top brands, focusing not only on the ones made by them, but also on the discussions around those posts. We can thus provide insight into what people were doing well and how well they were doing.

What is your position?

I was the vice president of development. I am no longer working with that company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with DeviQA?

We had a big and complex web application that amounted to an analytics toolkit through which data could be explored. Users could run searches and comparisons within our data and export results. It was a big and complicated solution that did not scale well for manual quality assurance.

We worked within delivery stages. When data met the required quality criteria, it would be deployed directly into our production environment. We sometimes had two or three deployments per day. One of the features we lacked was black box-level UI [user interface] testing. We needed someone that could set up tests based on actual user interaction with the web content.

We had many deals and customers coming to our company. We needed someone who could maintain those tests, and who would have enough engineering credentials to design a test in such a way that it would not be susceptible to cosmetic changes and minor deviations in functionality.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

We had manual quality assurance in place, consisting of people simply clicking on things in our platforms. We also had unit tests for doing work at the code level. We brought DeviQA in for creating automated tests on our website from a user perspective.

How did you come to work with DeviQA?

We had looked at several vendors and worked with another company based in India initially. It was not a particularly positive experience for us. Another reason for contacting DeviQA was cleaning up the mess left by our previous partner. We identified a number of companies through Upwork based on the experience we were looking for. I interviewed 10 to 15 of them, out of which DeviQA stood out as the best by far. They not only understood our testing environment, but also were also extremely sophisticated from a coding perspective. They made a big effort to talk about making our tests maintainable. The technology was going to change over time. If tests are very brittle and hard to maintain, they won't yield a return on investment.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

During the course of a month and a half, DeviQA put together a set of 300 test cases. This gave us 70 percent coverage of our product and, more impressively, we were able to put in place the swinging tests at the same time as rolling out new pieces of functionality. They maintained a spreadsheet with data from a tool called Zephyr QA, which was connectable to JIRA. It allowed us to manage tests for particular use cases and features.

Our field reported defect rate – the cases in which a bug escapes into the wild and is reported by either a customer or one of our personnel – saw a 35 to 45 percent reduction rate after we implemented the tests from DeviQA.

How did DeviQA perform from a project management standpoint?

Automated testing is a common need within companies. Much of the time, it's a complete and utter fiasco. Our collaboration went smooth on our initial run and continued to go smoothly, actually delivering value in time. I am a big fan of DeviQA.

We used JIRA for project tracking, specifically the report plug-in, which we used for monitoring test cases and mapping them to DeviQA's work. JIRA had been used in our company already.

What distinguishes DeviQA from other providers?

Their emphasis on the engineering side of putting together test cases and making them maintainable in time and nonbrittle.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are a healthcare technology startup based in New York. We focus on web and mobile applications that help hospitals communicate with their patients. During a hospital visit, a nurse can track the consultation on a tablet and escalate any issues to the appropriate person.

The patient can also escalate any issues and provide feedback for their experience after the visit by answering automated voice calls or texts.

What is your position?

I am the Program Manager.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with DeviQA?

Back in May of 2015, we wanted to build an automated quality assurance platform. We already had some unit tests at our disposal, but we wanted to build integration and performance tests.

We needed, for example, to track the process of patients receiving calls through our app, submitting an issue, and the nurses following up on that issue.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement.

DeviQA built a suite of tests that run automatically every day for around a thousand user cases. What would have taken days to run manually is now done within an hour.

I manage a team of 20 developers and can say that DeviQA are probably the most professional company I've ever engaged with. Their developers work the necessary number of hours every day in order to provide us with high-quality code. They always make the extra step and will expand our testing requirements in order to cover an even wider range, without needing to be asked. As a manager, I appreciate this very much.

How did you come to work with DeviQA?

We found them through Upwork. We went through an interview process and decided to work with them. We started by using one of their developers, and after a couple of months, decided to hire another person.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The total cost of their services has been around $20,000-30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We've been working together for less than a year, but we plan to have a long-term relationship.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

In the first four months of our relationship, we ran a full range of tests for our web application; more than 500 tests in total. For the next three months, we worked on a project covering 200 out of a total of 300 tests for our mobile application. We've seen a reduction of 35% in the bugs found in our production environment. We were able to fix issues before they reached our client.

How did DeviQA perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always able to deliver their work within the allocated time and budget.

We use Pivotal Tracker for tickets and project management, and Skype for communication.

What distinguishes DeviQA from other providers?

I've worked with another company in India for quality assurance. The difference with DeviQA is that they make the extra step. It's very important to not have to micromanage developers in the IT industry. Their communication skills are also very good and they are very good developers.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a tours and activities booking platform 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Booking platform for tours and activities

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire DeviQA to accomplish?

• Test automation
• Developer augmentation

SOLUTION

How did you find DeviQA?

Online Search

Why did you select DeviQA over others?

• Close to my geographic location
• Good value for cost
• Technical competency

How many teammates from DeviQA were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

QA

• Funtional automation of all web apps using Selenium.
• Integration automation into CI/CD system GoCD.
• Manual testing and automation of new features being developed.

Development

• Provide team augmentation to rebuild web apps in React.
• Develop new features.
• Provide maintenance and bug fixes to existing features.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• 80% of web app had automation coverage.
• Issues are resolved within 1-2 days.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Not applicable. Project management was handled by us. DeviQA offered team augmentation.

What was your primary form of communication with DeviQA?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

DeviQA demonstrates good technical competence and professionalism and has a positive attitude to work.

Are there any areas for improvement or something DeviQA could have done differently?

Not relevant anymore, but in the early days, there was a reluctance to attend video calls and communication was largely over chat. This has changed now and is no longer a concern.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of a leading platform

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

The company optimizes the entire supply chain and is a leading platform trusted by 3PLs and enterprises for seamless inventory management, fulfillment, and transportation. Businesses can effortlessly manage every step of their logistics process, from tracking inventory levels to coordinating deliveries. The platform offers efficiency and reliability, making it the preferred choice for companies seeking comprehensive supply chain solutions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire DeviQA to accomplish?

• Improve mobile development
• Build QA team

SOLUTION

How did you find DeviQA?

Online Search

Why did you select DeviQA over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from DeviQA were assigned to this project?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

They built out an entire QA team for us and provided staff augmentation for a mobile developer. They developed everything from standard operating procedures to final deliverables.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Increased bandwidth from QA and dev.
• High quality code and test cases.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

• Work items were delivered early, even in the staff augmentation model.
• Devs and QA's are proactive to create SOP's and systems to improve the whole team.
• Management is very responsive

What was your primary form of communication with DeviQA?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• Their professionalism was most impressive
• Communication

Are there any areas for improvement or something DeviQA could have done differently?

None

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am a QA Lead of NGD

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Web and App Development, Online Buisness Solutions

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire DeviQA to accomplish?

• QA testing
• QA Analysis
• QA Documentation and Reporting

SOLUTION

How did you find DeviQA?

Online Search

Why did you select DeviQA over others?

Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from DeviQA were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

DeviQA provided a testing team for verication of various projects - mobile app dev, website dev, intergration projects, prod fixes and more

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• QA period turn arounds were quicker
• Quality of testing increased
• Quality of documentation increased
• QA work load increased

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Only hired testers, no PM 

What was your primary form of communication with DeviQA?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The QA testers are very talented and knowledgeable. They are real professionals who can quickly ramp up on new projects and execute testing.

Are there any areas for improvement or something DeviQA could have done differently?

Due to timezone differences it is sometimes difficult to connect and meet

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Head of Delivery of Dootrix

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Full software delivery lifecycle.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire DeviQA to accomplish?

• Help establish an automation capability on a large project

SOLUTION

How did you find DeviQA?

Research

Why did you select DeviQA over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from DeviQA were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Complicated integration of lots of cloud services & custom back ends to support native mobile front end. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Working software

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

One team. DeviQA was absorbed into our team, and we all worked together successfully. 

What was your primary form of communication with DeviQA?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Quick and responsive to initial needs, and provided very capable people who integrated well into our teams.

Are there any areas for improvement or something DeviQA could have done differently?

No