Achieving the Ultimate Quality of Acoustic Software and Hardware with QA

Overview

Our client is a world-known brand specializing in acoustics — both software and hardware. They produce Hi-Fi products, speakers and headphones and develop software to make sure they work properly together.

The customer’s headquarters is located in the UK, yet this did not hinder to ship devices to Ukraine in order for QATestLab to test them. At the moment, we have a fairly wide pool of client devices on which we conduct QA:

• AXN10
• EVO 150
• CXN V2
• Melomania 1+
• Melomania Touch

And we’re pretty sure this list is not final 🙂

The main task of the QATestLab QA Engineer was and still is to test software in conjunction with customers’ Hi-Fi products. Thus, we have been checking the QA of both software and hardware, which is not a very typical case.

And without a doubt, we really enjoy the process. Who else can boast that it’s their job to listen to high-quality sound music at work?

We have one Junior manual QA Engineer devoted to this project on a full-time basis. In addition to enjoying the sound of Hi-Fi, she spends a lot of time on QA/QC work, such as:

• Test Coverage

While working on the project, we’ve conducted multiple testing types to cover as much as we can:

The deeper we know and understand the product, the more QA/QC techniques we can apply to make it better.

• UX/UI

High-quality sound is not for everyone, this is what a sophisticated audience with high demands needs. And the user interface must meet these requirements, the user experience must be part of the listening process: everything in the application must be smooth, easy, and convenient. It must follow the rhythm.

That is why we pay great attention to UX/UI and devote a lot of time to QA of all the app’s screens, messages and notifications. A user-friendly interface always adds a star or two to the rating 🙂

• Functional Testing

Functionality is the second most important thing after UX/UI: even if the app is user-friendly, easy to understand and has an attractive design, it will still fail if the functional part is its weak point. We’re here to make sure all features are in place and working properly.

• Localizations

The application is available in multiple languages, thus, we check the translation to be relevant. This includes both appearance comparison (translation tables) and QA Engineer’s personal experience and knowledge base.

• Checklists and Test Cases

In order to organize the process properly, our QA Engineer writes and regularly updates QA checklists and test cases. Not only this allows to run regression and sanity testing on new builds smoothly but also helps with User Acceptance Testing on the customer’s side.

• Documentation

We tend to keep up with all the updates and take care of creating feature articles in Confluence. This helps keep track of functionality and keep test cases up to date.

• Integration

The client’s Hi-Fi devices sync to multiple streaming platforms via a third-party service. Among these platforms are Dizzer, Tidal and Qobuz. This one has been a real challenge to us, as the third-party service sometimes faces internal technical issues which result in app downtime. Nevertheless, QATestLab is doing its best to help the company make the user experience better, even in such cases.

• Devices

Besides the devices provided by the customer, we have a wide pool of corporate devices to test the app on. It lists 4 Android devices and 4 iOS devices, including mobile phones and tablets. We also tend to widen this pool, thus, we’ve added Pixel 7 to the list recently. Moreover, if users report issues on specific devices, we tend to acquire those to test the problem.

• Tools

In our everyday workflow, we use a lot of tools and services which allow us to provide the most efficient results:

• Reporting

Clear regular reporting is a rule at QATestLab. We send daily reports by email where we describe in detail what we’ve done and the results we’ve achieved for the day.

• Retrospectives

We tend to hold regular retrospective meetings to discuss what went well, what could be improved, and what actions we need to take to get there. Retro meetings help to improve the workflow and gain more external experience.

• Project Management

As for any other project, the client has an unbilled project manager on our side. That’s a specialist with vast experience who helps to run and improve the workflow and solves all the organizational issues.

• Customer Support

Our QA Engineer helps the client team resolve complaints and reports from end users. She also regularly monitors user reviews and feedback online to be aware of potential issues as early as possible.

• Accessibility & GDPR Compliance

We understand the importance of strict adherence to the General Data Protection Regulation and Accessibility Policy. We are aware of the pitfalls, play by the rules and make sure nothing is missed.

• Deep Knowledge of the Product

Without any undue modesty, we can say that our QA Engineer is one of the few who knows the product best of all. While the developers focus on some specific part of the workflow (Front-End, Back-End, Server side etc.), our engineer is everywhere. She knows the behavior of the product better than anyone on the development team, which helps to anticipate potential risks and issues for E2E users.

• Immersion into the Workflow

Last but not least, our QA Engineer is deeply immersed in the workflow of the client team: she attends daily meetings and takes part in Sprint Planning and Grooming. In short, she is actively involved in the SDLC of the product and is always ready to help with advice, as well as express her opinion if she considers it important.

That being said, we believe we did a really good job on the project.

At the moment, our experience with the client is 2 years and counts. We enjoy working with them, and we strive to continue helping each other to become better and more efficient.

After all, our QA Engineer is not just a remote employee but a part of the customer’s team, a part of the family. And we’ll do our best to keep it that way.

Now is the best time to involve qualified QA engineers in your product development process. Tell us about your business and we’ll provide you with a customized QA solution tailored to your goals and needs.