Improving Quality Assurance and
Testing Procedures of a Large
Fintech Company
Client Overview
The client, a fintech corporation with over 3000 employees, is dedicated to building an advanced digital payment ecosystem that promotes seamless domestic transactions and contributes to a cashless economy. Their platform combines multiple bank accounts and cards into a single app, providing users with convenient and cost-effective solutions.
To meet the demands of their product, which is developed for web and mobile platforms using Agile methodologies, the client recognized the need for a robust quality assurance (QA) and testing program. Given their short release cycle of three weeks and the complex, compliance-heavy nature of their product involving third-party integrations, the client aimed to elevate the quality of their deliverables and establish more structured testing procedures.
Their primary objectives included shifting from a developer-driven QA approach to a well-defined testing program, ensuring comprehensive end-to-end testing for each release, and minimizing the impact of frequent changes on user experience and revenue.
The Challenges
The client was in the process of broadening their product offerings by introducing a new financial software solution. Their primary challenge was the absence of a dedicated quality assurance department. In the short term, the client's analytical team had been responsible for all testing, but it proved inadequate. Consequently, they made the decision to enhance their procedures by establishing a comprehensive in-house QA department.
Key Requirements:
- Perform end-to-end testing across multiple platforms within a tight three-week release cycle.
- Streamline the release process without disrupting ongoing tasks.
- Effectively manage third-party integrations and their potential impact on system performance.
- Implement a combination of manual and automated testing methodologies.
The Solution
The client approached us seeking assistance in testing their new financial software solution for an MVP release, as well as assistance in transitioning their QA department.
To facilitate the production of the client's software solution, we were tasked with delivering quality assurance services. This involved a significant expansion of test coverage, increasing the number of test cases from 3000 to 5400.
During our engagement, we successfully identified and addressed over 930 defects. Additionally, we organized test suites for regression and sanity testing. To establish effective QA processes for the client, we introduced the Jira XRay plugin—a test management tool that provided the necessary framework for organizing, planning, and accurately reporting on testing progress, as well as enhancing deployability.
Furthermore, we provided consulting services to the client to optimize their testing procedures. This included:
1.
Simulating testing scenarios related to external factors by creating simple stubs to mimic external service functionality based on API specifications.
2.
Conducting comprehensive testing of the backend and API.
3.
Implementing test automation to enhance efficiency
4.
Introducing documentation covering critical aspects, such as an overview of functionality, expected usage scenarios, user flows, and specific instructions like calculation formulas or specific values.
5.
Performing platform performance testing.
6.
Ensuring thorough testing of release notes and enhancing story ticket descriptions.
Functionality 
Test
Test 
Test 
Reporting
Solution Overview
The proposed solution encompassed a holistic 360-degree testing approach, encompassing functional, UI, cross-platform, and cross-device testing. Automation was seamlessly integrated into the QA process to effectively manage the testing workload.
Domain Knowledge:
Given the product's complexity and stringent compliance requirements, close collaboration with the client's Product team was deemed essential. We recommended a simplified format for writing user stories using the Gherkin language (in a BDD style) to clarify requirements. We also provided training to the Product team to enhance their story-writing proficiency.
Quality Improvement Plan:
A long-term quality improvement roadmap was devised, which included breaking down requirements into test scenarios, determining the types of testing required for comprehensive quality assurance, expanding automation coverage, and overall enhancements to the QA process. Regression testing was seamlessly integrated into the release cycle using a matrix-based coverage approach.
Regression Testing:
We established ownership of regression testing and utilized a matrix-based approach to identify areas impacted by new features and fixes. Targeted exploratory testing was conducted based on extensive domain knowledge, thereby minimizing bug slippages in the production environment.
Automation Testing:
An assessment report laid the foundation for the Automation program, encompassing objectives, strategy, tool selection, framework guidelines, reporting procedures, and maintainability considerations. Test cases were prioritized, with high-priority cases automated to maximize coverage in less time.
Key Benefits for the Client:
- Achieved a test coverage rate of approximately 90%, significantly enhancing overall quality.
- Streamline the release process without disrupting ongoing tasks. Successfully automated over 5000 regression cases across multiple platforms.
- Improved user story writing through the adoption of a BDD-style format.
- Reduced bug slippages through impact analysis and matrix-based coverage.
- Reduced regression testing effort from 9 days to just 2 days, enabling a more concentrated focus on exploratory testing.
- Interactive test reporting facilitated well-informed decision-making.
Conclusion:
Through the implementation of a comprehensive QA and testing strategy that combined manual and automated approaches, the fintech startup achieved significant improvements in product quality, reduced testing efforts, and enhanced the overall release process. The integration of domain knowledge, automation and collaborative efforts resulted in a more dependable and efficient testing ecosystem, aligning with the company's mission of advancing a cashless economy.
