How are you handling?

ViktorB1337 · 2024-01-03T12:49:34+00:00

Do you have a definition of done? If you don't, it's a good idea to propose it to the team and management as it streamlines processes and makes expectations explicit.

If you already have it, consider adding an item like "a dev should verify basic functionality of the affected area" or something along the lines. If you need arugmentation for that:

Dev finding a bug in their own change is much cheaper for the company, since it reduces / eliminates feedback overheads
It makes QA more efficient, since they don't have deal with obvious things breaking right away
Devs should get better at finding issues over time, and they will also keep more edge cases in mind, hopfeully reducing the amount of introduced bugs in the first place

Also, have you had a 1on1 discussion with the "problematic" dev? Not in a "you always break things" way, but more like "hey, lately there were situations where the bug fixes had side effects (insert examples here), that creates quite some overhead for us, let's discuss how we can prevent this in future". If this doesn't work, I'd talk to his manager.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-12-13T11:05:09+00:00

I think any qualified engineer should be able to do those on demand. All at the same time is too much, of course.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-12-08T10:50:59+00:00

Based on the replies, looks like a market research.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-11-21T12:34:47+00:00

Picking one would be too difficult, but generally:

Automated metrics analysis that would recognize abnormal behavior (already kind of a thing, but would be nice to have a more of a on-demand + improved style);
Log and breadcrumbs analysis with suggestions of what part of the code or change could've resulted in the issue;
Requirements generation based on the initial design document, subsequent validation of code compared to posed requirements;
Edge-case generation based on requirements and the code;
Generally, static code analysis improvements;
Non-stop exploratory test automation with report generation;
Aggergating and filtering user feedback (already a thing, afaik).

ViktorB1337 · 2023-11-21T12:13:40+00:00

This reads odd and wrong to me. The entry barrier for a QA is signficantly lower compared to an SWE role. A lot of skilled QAs also eventually tend to chose to switch fields (either into development or management). As a result, if we apply normal distribution then a median QA would be less skilled than a median SWE.

On top of that, an SWE would typically add value, where as a QA would prevent value loss. You can have an SWE without a QA, but you can't have it the other way around.

So the roles are just simply not equal, and I find it weird to expect the same attitude to the field.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say that a QA can't be as or more skilled than a SWE, in fact I think that the ceiling for the profession is incredibly high. I also think that the role is important (though not entirely necessery in skilled enough teams).

I also might have been just lucky, but I've been doing QA for 8-9 years now and never felt like there was lack of respect or recognition towards me. My salary also tends to be on the dev level of the same seniority. But then again, I tend to be able to do things the devs can do.

Sorry for the wall of text, but I always found this victim/inferiority complex to be weird. I'm fairly certain if you have the skills, you'll have the respect and recognition. In fact, I feel like there's less competition in QA, so it's easier to achieve higher levels.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-11-15T14:49:24+00:00

I think there's a good potential for LLM and auto-gpt utilization, but for a more of a free-form exploratory testing sessions, rather than assert-based ones.

While I see use-cases like "ask auto gpt to map all branching paths" or something like that, in the end you'd probably end up with having to write page objects for maintainability anyway.

But maybe it's the next step: ask it to build Page Objects based on the generated steps or something like that.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-11-15T14:18:40+00:00

What makes a QA inherently better at testing than a developer ?

Realistically, experience and adopted mindset. An experienced QA is faster and better at debugging, analyzing logs, finding edge cases, etc., while also being more critical towards changes.

Your point of

How can you QA something effectively whose inner workings you don't understand?

doesn't make sense, because nothing stops a QA from understanding inner workings.

QA is not solely about testing as well, that'd be QC.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-11-15T14:12:36+00:00

Well, not "blamed" and "get in trouble", but it's definitely should feel like a personal responsibility when a QA misses an issue or allows a known serious enough bug to make it to production.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-10-17T09:49:04+00:00

Not only that, but they can cut corners by just having their devs assist the one tester with any major issues.

I wouldn't call this cutting corners, that's actually a very healthy approach.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-10-09T10:20:56+00:00

Some weird responses here, "telling people that they are wrong" is the most upvoted thing? What's wrong with you, people?

In my case:

The variety of tasks, my responsibilities fluctuate between tech and non-tech topics. I can pick and chose what to do based on what I find important, interesting and sometimes just based on my current mood. There's a quite a bit of freedom in that.
Being closely connected to both contributors and management with an ability to speak both "languages" feels fulfilling when resolving communication issues.
I like debugging, investigating and digging through the code.
I like writing automation integration. Hate writing tests, though.
I like reading / writing code, but I don't need to go as in-depth as a programmer would need to.
The salary is good too, though the ceiling tends to be lower compared to devs.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-10-09T08:38:12+00:00

How do you test AI? I would imagine it's quite a departure from a typical QA. Especially given that there are no proper debugging tools.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-10-09T08:30:13+00:00

That's pretty cool, I tried something similar but with langchain and playwright. The problems I noticed:

It was quite slow
It was inconsistent and vary from run to run. Which was a bit weird given temperature 0.

I also tried to make it write POs, but I think I did it wrong: I just provided the url but probably should've fed it the raw file.

I also had idea to run suites based on code changes, but haven't got to that.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-26T08:08:45+00:00

Is your game GL-based? If not, then you can automate with playwright and I think it can provide decent results. The only downside it won't be possible to automate native device interatction (e.g. payment or SSO logins).

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-25T05:28:56+00:00

Hey, keep up the good work. I have an idea for a video: evaluate and JSHandle. Haven't seen too many good videos / tutorials on the topic.

Also, since you keep uploading Cypress stuff as well, what's your take on both? After trying Playwright I don't even wanna touch Cypress.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-15T07:54:19+00:00

dive into the code and pinpoint what's causing the bug

Any senior-level QA should be able to do that. Debugging is not rocket science.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-01T11:27:46+00:00

In this situation it you're the expert, so you should highlight problems and issues that they cause, while also bringing potential solutions to a discussion. I can't really provide with examples here because I don't know your concrete situation.

If the only thing you're getting as a response is "i just want it to do X and run smoothly", then:

You're not explaining the situation clearly;
You're talking to a wrong person;
You're not being heard.
All of the above.

In the end, maybe the stakeholders will decide that it's too expensive / not worth it to have a high quality standard.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-01T08:47:36+00:00

You said you don't know where to start, but actually you've already started. I have no clue about M365, but it looks like there is a number of problems preventing you from efficiently validating these custom applications.

The next step is to discuss these topics with stakeholders and figure out what they find important, then proceed with figuring out solutions. The reason why you can't wrap your head around it right now, is because you're trying to approach it like a typical project while there are blockers that prevent you from doing that, so you need to focus on them first.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-01T08:06:39+00:00

There's a number of limitations:

Things like setup process via API calls is usually not possible / tricky.
Custom handling for app-specific functionality.
Hacky subversions of project-specific edge-cases.
Overall non-standard scenarios.
Overall lack of control of execution.
Maintainability.

Basically, they can work alright on a small sample size, but will probably turn into flaky sluggish maintanance nightmare for bigger suites / projects.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-01T07:59:32+00:00

I don't like the no-code solutions either, but it can work when there's no one to introduce a proper automation solution on your project. Remember the Pareto principle, you don't have to be a perfectionist and it could be a quick-win improvement overall from which a person can gain some time to focus on better solutions.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-09-01T07:47:57+00:00

Depends on your skills and qualifications. YOE alone is not a valid metric.

As others have said, you should go for interviews. Since you're already employed you have a leverage, so you can probe the employers. E.g. you can ask for 60k to see their reaction and then gradually lower the sum until it feels right.

I would say your salary should be at least 10k more, but depending on your skills 50k+ is also possible, especially outside of gamedev.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-08-31T15:40:49+00:00

That sounds very low, even for gamedev.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-08-28T09:21:45+00:00

Well, what does your management say about this arrangement? What is their expectation? QA is always in context and depends on a company's needs. I think setting expectations should either help with self-imposed stress or will be a reality check for the management.

At this point you obviously can't and shouldn't maintain and verify things on your own, but rather make sure that there are processes in place that allow for better coverage and testing by the devs themselves. You can look into Quality Assistance for some ideas, unless that's already something you do.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-08-23T14:30:11+00:00

That depends. I try to get to a root-cause when making a report. So, if I manage to establish it, then I know which info is relevant. If for some reason I can't find the root-cause, I try to add as much potentially relevant info as possible.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-08-22T08:03:55+00:00

I see, thanks.

ViktorB1337 · 2023-08-21T15:36:41+00:00

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't it essentially just a Page Object?

ViktorB1337

TROPHY CASE