Cogito Corp

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a QA engineer for a platform that helps companies create AI to manage data correctly. The platform has many complex features, including filtering data and sending it to annotators and annotation managers to give users the tools they need to create the best AI models they can get.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cogito Corp?

We hired Cogito Corp for regression testing. Our goal was to improve our quality, and our platform is big and requires a lot of maintenance. Since we hadn’t gotten to a place where everything was automated, we needed to test the platform regularly. 

We wanted our internal QA testers to deal with writing tests and helping end customers who needed help. Therefore, we needed a few testers who knew the platform to run the test cases we needed and keep them running.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We use Cogito Corp to test our platform. Once every release, they run a full regression test to test every part of the product. I write the tests and explain how and where to run them, and Cogito Corp then runs them. We provide documentation with the tests. Cogito Corp's team asks me questions if they get stuck, and I fix things for them or explain whatever they don’t understand. 

Sometimes, we also create tickets for Cogito Corp for bugs that need to be re-verified. The team has used TestRain and Jira for testing. Recently, we switched from TestRain to Xray; we’ve just started the demo. 

What is the team composition?

We only worked with one teammate from Cogito Corp for a while and recently added a second tester. Until recently, we also had a QA manager. If we need to contact a manager from Cogito Corp, we can talk to them, though it hasn’t been necessary.

How did you come to work with Cogito Corp?

I joined the project after Cogito Corp was hired by our former internal QA manager, who left the company. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them around 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our platform is complex, and Cogito Corp knows it really well. We can count on them to run tests regularly to improve the quality of our product. If we didn't test the product's features and released new ones, we could affect the existing features, creating bugs that affect our clients, which would damage the company. Cogito Corp helps us avoid this outcome. 

Although sometimes it takes time to explain the product's complicated features, once they understand, they're really helpful. Moreover, they're good at finding bugs before releases. Sometimes we miss some things because the test case wasn't accurate enough or they didn't understand it. Still, overall, Cogito Corp does a good job testing our platform.

How did Cogito Corp perform from a project management standpoint?

They act as part of my team, and I manage their time and assignments. I schedule the regression tests, and our time zone difference can be really helpful because I send them something in the evening, and they run the tests in the middle of the night. Once they finish the test, my work day starts. 

Cogito Corp delivers on time most of the time. Some factors can affect the timeline, such as the platform not working, making it hard for them to run tests. Still, they're timely most of the time. 

We communicate via email and have daily meetings through Google Meet. Besides that, we have a Jira dashboard where I can manage their work and assign tasks. I've also created a Google Sheets document to manage Cogito Corp's schedule and send them the necessary links for testing. The document is simple for them to understand, which helps them work faster and avoid complications. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Cogito Corp's biggest strength is their cost-effectiveness. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could train their testers to use communication or testing platforms such as Jira and Slack before they get to us. This way, they would know how to work with those tools, upgrading the team's level. If they had these skills, they'd already know what to do when they started working with a company. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should spend enough time with Cogito Corp and invest in them. If you show them how to do things in detail, they'll be very effective later, so instead of handling those tasks all the time, you can let Cogito Corp take on tasks and save time and resources.