Why a Software Tester Should Be Your New Best Friend

For a lot of companies in search of a great software development partner, the technical competencies of a firm’s developers hold a lot of weight when a contract is being offered. And so it should. After all, the developers’ expertise will turn a company’s digital ambitions into reality. But before you finalize the service agreement, you may want to take a step back and investigate the make-up of their project teams and ask the all important question: How big a role does their tester have in the software development life cycle?

Because unlike many other software development partners across the globe, Niteco takes quality assurance seriously and that means ensuring a tester is at the forefront of the project process. In fact, Niteco currently boasts of one tester to every five developers working for the company. It’s a unique ratio the Senior Leadership Team is keen to maintain as Niteco continues its ascent in the industry.

But what does this mean for you, the client?

Niteco’s VP for Technologies, Linus Ekstrom says it’s good news for the client. He added “Investing in Testers and increasing their engagement in the software development life cycle mean our clients will be guaranteed high quality products that minimize the likelihood of bugs and user friendly and ultimately surpass the requirements originally established at the beginning.” And if the recent customer satisfaction survey conducted by Niteco is anything to go by, it’s a strategy that’s paying off, keeping a reported 90 percent of Niteco’s client base very happy.

So what does Software Testing involve and why is it integral?

According to Wikipedia, software testing ‘is an investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with information about the quality of the product or service under test’. Typically carried out by someone with a strong background in Information Technology or Computer Science, the role is carried out by an eagle-eyed critical thinker who has a strong understanding of code. Armed with a different skills set than a developer, the tester works collaboratively with both the developer and the client alike to draw up a test strategy, define the test environment, the timeline and propose a handover date. This is especially helpful with large multi-lingual, complex and dynamic sites and e-commerce platforms where anything can go wrong – from coding errors to performance testing.

With the aid of state-of-the-art tools, there’s so much that testers can now accomplish. At Niteco, each tester is trained to be more than just ‘functional testers’, able to carry out multiple device testing on tools such as Browser Stack or automation testing on Selenium or Robot Framework. In addition, Niteco’s testers have acquired strong knowledge about project processes to ensure the ultimate outcome – an easy-to-use software solution that fulfils the client’s needs.

Keeping Everyone in Check

For businesses that have outsourced digital projects to software development partners, the tester or testers assigned to your project are your secret best friend. They are your eyes and ears, hired to police the efforts of the developer and make sure you get what you have asked for. Linus revealed, “Sometimes developers are so focused on finishing their tasks and keeping the project within time and budget, they may not always triple check their work so for the sake of quality assurance, it’s always wise to have another set of eyes that are trained to identify common and not-so common technical issues. Testers are also there to challenge the status quo, be thorough about the work developers complete and ensure the entire team exceeds client expectation.”

So if you’re yet to do so, we highly recommend you ask your prospective software development partner about testing and the role it plays in their processes. The future success of your project depends upon it.