Introduction
We’ve just started working on a global trade project, and we’re excited to tell you all about it! But first, let’s go through the basics.
Software testing for a Global Trade project
Global trade software appeared as a response to the industry’s need to improve outdated processes in lifecycle management.
The main factors that called for a modern solution are:
- the need for digitalization
- to improve efficiency
- to cut down cost flows
However, even with the new technology, the complexity of operating with gigantic factors (multiple time zones, currencies, transportation, etc.) isn’t flawless.
Here’s where the QAs come in!
What Are The Specifics of This Project?
Firstly, we’ll let our clients introduce themselves and their goals:
Their platform sets out to ‘’modernize, simplify, and accelerate the international commodities shipping process by leveraging digitalization to improve information flows.”
Above all, the platform focuses on two aspects:
- Efficiency (digitalizing the core processes, from string management to document insurance and document presentation).
- Security (minimizing the operation’s risks while still providing the technical and functional foundations for the transition of settlement processes).
All this on a single platform with market-wide functionality! In the long run, the focus is on digitizing the entire execution process.
What does a software testing engineer do on a global trade project?
Similar to most projects we take on, the role of our manual tester is to validate that the newly developed functional and non-functional features work according to the requirements and have no major issues.
What’s the team composition and organization?
Here’s the structure of each of the nine teams currently working on this project:
- two frontend developers
- two backend developers
- one manual tester
- one automation tester
- one tech lead
- one scrum master
- one project product owner
The tester has to take part in several daily calls (daily scrum, backlog grooming, backlog estimation, and planning) scheduled throughout a two-week sprint.
The daily scrum meetings ensure that the team is aligned with the tasks for the day. It also helps to identify blockers in the process.
The backlog meetings focus on the upcoming tasks and their requirements, as well as making estimations based on the development time and team capacity.
What are the testing tools?
Because the application is web-based, the testers mostly use the browser’s UI and Developer Tools to validate the features. The platform is tested both on Mac and Windows (using a VM) and Google Chrome as the officially supported browser.
On the other hand, when it comes to the backend validations or other investigations, the tools used are Postman (for direct API requests) and Charles (for creating mockup data).
Since the process and team are so extensive, organizing is a serious matter. That’s where Zephyr comes in to organize the test cases and cycles.
What are the challenges for this project?
As expected, the scale of the project comes with difficulties of similar magnitude:
1. One major challenge is paying close attention to details without leaving the big picture out of sight.
For example, testers have to write test cases for the stories that address a high number of new functionalities. They divide such a story into five (or more) shorter stories, which are dependent on each other. While writing test cases, focusing on one story can lead to duplicate scenarios in the test cases that follow. Additionally, it can also lead to omitting to cover the functionality as a whole.
2. Another challenge is writing test cases to implement a feature that can be used in a high number of scenarios.
The steps to reach each scenario need to be written down. To avoid issues, for instance, testers use abbreviated words or reuse parts of the older test cases. They also skip writing and checking for expected results mentioned in other steps or test cases.
Considering all these factors, we can confidently say that testing is an integral part of the software development life cycle.
*Bonus – you can also check out our crypto wallet project behind the scenes.
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