May 21, 2019 Topcoder Quality-as-a-Service Part 2: Structured (Regression Testing)

Setting up a solid quality assurance (QA) backbone for any application is a difficult process, but trying to leverage testers with technical backgrounds to manually test the entire system (updates and all) can cause massive headaches. Where do you find testers that understand your tech without being directly involved in the dev process? Better yet, how do you utilize technically adept testers at scale? Wouldn’t it be great to comb over your entire application, not just that latest update?

Today, we’re diving into regression testing, a critical part of almost every testing environment. We’ll discover how Topcoder helps brands invest in solid regression testing practices without the pain of finding test-ready people or investing in significant onboarding and training expenses.

What is Regression Testing?

When we think about regression testing in terms of QA, we’re thinking about total application coverage. When you push out a new update on your latest application, you’re probably testing to see if that update works. Does it create breakpoints? Does the update really fix the issue? Or, is it introducing new issues?

Testing the update itself isn’t regression testing. Regression testing involves re-testing the rest of the entire system to see if the update had any unintended consequences. Sure, you’ve already tested your system — probably pre-launch. But, that latest update could have unintended consequences to existing systems that you need to check — that’s regression testing.

While many companies simply re-run previously tested scripts to perform regression tests, true regression testing involves reusing scripts, creating new scripts, and manual pour over.

How Topcoder Can Help With Regression Testing

Positioning manual regression testing (or any manual testing for that matter) into your SDLC can be expensive, time-consuming, and headache-inducing. With Topcoder, you’ll access a crowd of technically-minded individuals who can both manually test and create the regression testing codes for your business. Best of all, our crowdsourced solution does so for a fraction of the price and virtually no time constraints.

Let’s take a look at an example of this in action.

Global Tech Company Use Case

A Fortune 100, Blue chip, global technology company utilized Topcoder to help them test two applications. The first application was on the verge of retirement (circa 2019) and the second was an application of growing focus and importance that was posed to replace the aforementioned application. Specifically, we were asked to continue testing the legacy application — since the new application was running off of its existing framework.

This constant regression testing of the existing architecture as new changes were being introduced was critical for the tech brand, as it needed both a constant feed of updates and the security of knowing that their updates weren’t breaking core functionalities.

The reason that the tech client chose Topcoder was fivefold.

1. Topcoder could connect them with highly-specialized, technically-focused individuals to manually test their application around-the-clock.
2. Our platform gave them access to both regression and exploratory testing capabilities.
3. Topcoder could also connect them with a deep well of participants that would engage the application with outcome-based rewards.
4. We could take care of the entire manual testing aspect, leaving them more time for operations and development — ultimately leading to a faster application cycle.
5. Topcoder connected them with a constant stream of app feedback without having to worry about managing a group of employees.

Here’s how the system worked.

Topcoder delivered the ability to execute 24-hour testing cycles every single week. This meant that the company could expect rapid results and increased testing velocity, which helped match their product dev team’s cadence.

Using TopCoder’s on-demand testing cycles, the tech company was able to ramp-up and ramp-down quickly and easily while a world-wide community of testers continuously provided critical feedback and documented defects. The result was faster, wider test coverage across multiple devices and operating-systems at-scale.

Why This Global Tech Left Topcoder With a Smile

Not only did the Topcoder’s on-demand testing cycles give the tech company incredible reach with dynamic, individual-level manual testing, but it provided consistent and remarkable results. During the testing cycle, the world-wide Topcoder community was able to provide a non-stop stream of critical feedback and script assistance that helped speed the testing phase and bake real, tangible results into their QA phase.

Final Thoughts

Manual regression testings can help reduce risks, improve quality, and make your SDLC more agile, speedy, and accurate. With Topcoder, you can quickly and accurately scale your QA process. Connect with a worldwide group of highly-talented crowd workers and watch how quickly your company experiences profound change.

Are you interested in learning more about our regression testing (or other QA) capabilities? Contact us.