“Some people think QA is just the testing phase of a project,” says PWW Quality Assurance (QA) Engineer Diane Bienkowski, who wrote a blog on Why Quality Assurance Shouldn’t be an Afterthought. “QA is ideally part of the whole project, from discovery and requirements gathering to implementation and project planning, client interactions, and of course the actual testing process.”
As Diane notes, at Portland Webworks, the Quality Assurance team is known for its active participation in the agile project lifecycle, from kickoff to completion. QA engineers are deeply involved in scope planning, sprint grooming, and ongoing communication with the rest of the project team. By identifying issues early on, QA can help mitigate potential risks and minimize costs and delays in later stages of development.
With this in mind, QA responsibilities may include the following needs over the course of a project:
- Manual & automated testing
- Sprint meetings and backlog grooming
- Business analysis & requirements refinement
Other tasks include these testing areas:
- Accessibility/508 & WCAG compliance
- Cross-browser functionality
- Mobile compatibility
- Verification and validation of project implementation
Following a requirements-driven testing approach, QA team members align the above strategies to the specific needs of each project. They also serve as advocates for both users and clients, helping them make informed decisions about the QA needs for their projects. Our QA technicians work closely with clients to plan and document appropriate test cases, ensuring that the software meets all specified requirements and delivers a clean user experience. They also collaborate closely with developers, designers, and project managers to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
QA responsibilities on a Scrum team include:
- Test Case Development: Creation of detailed test cases and scripts from user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional specifications for comprehensive coverage.
- Test Execution: Manual and automated testing on software features, functionalities, and interfaces to identify defects and ensure compliance with requirements.
- Regression Testing: Conducting tests to verify new features and changes do not disrupt existing functionality.
- Continuous Improvement: Participation in retrospectives to provide feedback and identify areas for testing process enhancement.
- Knowledge Sharing: Sharing expertise and best practices, providing training and mentorship, and fostering a culture of quality and learning within the team.
What’s the difference between manual and automated testing?
As you might imagine, manual testing involves a human QA engineer manually using and testing the app, website, or tool to visually and directly locate any bugs or issues and improve the user experience.
Manual accessibility testing tasks may include:
- Inspecting HTML content or using a screen reader to ensure alternative text (on images and buttons) describes the objects accurately so users with vision impairments of cognitive disabilities can accurately access information via synthesized speech or Braille output.
- Testing with keyboard to ensure all interactive elements can be accessed and operated without relying on a mouse or pointing device so power users, programmers, or individuals with permanent and temporary disabilities (e.g. broken mouse), can effectively interact with the content.
With automated testing, the QA engineer runs a script, code or automation tool to locate bugs and issues with regression. Automated accessibility testing can identify only about 50 percent of accessibility issues. Common accessibility issues identifiable with automated testing include, but are not limited to:
- Low contrast text
- Missing alternative text for images
- Empty links
- Missing form input labels
- Empty buttons
Our preferred automated testing tools are:
How we work
During project kickoff and discovery, the QA team documents how quality will be managed throughout the contract, the types of testing to be done, and the procedures to ensure accountability.
Test cases, which detail specific testing requirements, are written by the QA tech and QA stories are integrated into appropriate epics from the Backlog to ensure testing requirements are included in project planning. The backlog records help organize QA/testing tasks alongside development work so they can be incorporated into sprints.
Testing efforts run concurrently with development work in each sprint. Any issues discovered are documented in Jira as part of the backlog to form a catalog of identified issues and bugs that need resolution by the Development and Creative teams. The records include comprehensive issue descriptions and accompanying screenshots for efficient resolution. Clients are able to monitor bug resolutions in Jira to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the process.
“This holistic view of application development and the utilization of a variety of skill sets is what makes QA exciting for me,” Diane says, in summary. For all these reasons, the QA team at Portland Webworks contributes significantly to the success of every project they support.
MEET OUR TEAM
Alison Schestopol: Director of Project Management and Quality Assurance
Alison started as Director of Quality Assurance in 2011, and has worked as a QA analyst on several projects including:
- Iowa Department of Education (CACFP Shopper App)
- New Hampshire Health and Human Services (The Doorway)
- Network Advertising Initiative
- St Germain (Sentry EHS)
- Washington Cares Fund
- Washington Health Benefit Exchange (WA Healthplanfinder)
- Washington Public Disclosure Commission
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“Our QA team is focused on the highest level of quality with every project, using new tools and methods to ensure we never disappoint our clients and their users.”
Highlights from Alison’s background include:
- Project Management Institute Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Project Management Institute Certified Agile Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
- Certified Product Owner (CSPO)
- Certified Scrum Developer (CSD)
- Certified Agile Leadership Essentials (CAL-E)
- Certified Agile Leadership for Organizations (CAL-O)
- Certified Agile Leadership for Teams (CAL-T)
- Certified Agile Facilitator (ACS-CF)
- Senior Project Manager (Abilis Solutions)
- Business Analyst & Project Manager (Diversified)
- Beta Software Project Manager (IDEXX)
Diane Bienkowski: Quality Assurance Engineer
Diane started in 2013, and has worked on several projects including:
- Florida Turnpike Enterprise, Sunpass.com
- Idaho Child Support (Nexi)
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, idalink application modernization
- Idaho Sound Beginnings
- Idaho Tobacco Project
- Colorado Avalanche Information Center
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“I enjoy the fact that our QA team is involved in the whole software development lifecycle process. A holistic view of application development makes QA exciting for me.”
Highlights from Diane’s background include:
- QA Director at Fidelity Investments
- Director of QA at Sun Life Financial
- Senior Quality Assurance Engineer at NetGenesis
- Harvard University, A.L.B., Humanities
- PWW People’s Choice: Work From Home Hero – 2020
- PWW People’s Choice: Most Valuable Player – 2015
Sol Blair: Quality Assurance Engineer
Sol started in 2018, and has worked on several projects including:
- California Department of Health Care Services, Advocates for Human Potential
- Idaho Child Support – Nexi
- Maine Department of Education (MOOSE – Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education and RREV / EnGiNE platforms)
- Missouri Department of Conservation
- Missouri Department of Transportation
- Minnesota Office of Higher Education MyHigherEd
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“Because our team has collectively worked across many sectors of the software industry, we bring a wealth of testing methods and project management experience to the company.”
Highlights from Sol’s background include:
- Software Quality Assurance Manager at Wizards of the Coast
- Quality Assurance Engineer 3 at International Gaming Technology
- Degree in Game and Interactive Media Design
David Read: Quality Assurance Engineer
David started in 2019 as a Project Manager, transitioning to a Quality Assurance Engineer in 2022 and has worked on several projects including:
- Colorado Judicial Branch
- Florida Turnpike Enterprise, Sunpass.com (case study)
- Maine Department of Labor Virtual Job Center
- Martin’s Point Healthcare
- Missouri Department of Transportation (case study)
- Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office
- Washington Public Disclosure Commission (case study)
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“I value the opportunity to contribute to the creation of websites and apps that are functional and accessible for all users, thereby making a meaningful impact in the digital world.”
Highlights from David’s background include:
- Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)
- Certified Scrum Manager (CSM)
- Director of Project Management atAdaptive Analytics
- Product Owner at EBSCO Information Services
- Research Library Manager, Harvard University
- Simmons College, M.S., Library and Information Science
Alice Wilkins: Quality Assurance Engineer
Alice started in 2023, and has worked on several projects including:
- Fermilab News
- Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, idalink application modernization (details)
- North Dakota Department of Transportation
- Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“While testing is a big part of the QA process, we’re more than just the end of a story, we’re there at the beginning, the middle, and all of the parts in between.”
Highlights from Alice’s background include:
- Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL)
- Quality Assurance Engineer / Juniper
- Quality Assurance Analyst / EVP Payments
Todd Merry: Quality Assurance Engineer (contractor)
Todd started in March of 2010 as a Project Manager, transitioning to a Quality Assurance Engineer in 2015 and has worked on several projects including:
- California Department of Health Care Services, Advocates for Human Potential
- Colorado Avalanche Information Center (Google Analytics)
- Idaho Sound Beginnings
- Minnesota Office of Higher Education MyHigherEd (Google Analytics)
- Minnesota CareerForceMN.com
- Missouri Department of Transportation
What do you value about being part of the QA team?
“Each member of the QA team is a flag bearer of Continuous Improvement, guiding project teams towards a product that exceeds customer expectations.”
Highlights from Todd’s background include:
- Project Management Professional since August of 2001
- Over the span of his career, Todd has worked for IBM, UNUM, Computer Sciences Corporation and UNISYS.
- Todd earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering in May of 1989
- PWW People’s Choice – Best Kept Secret – 2017
- PWW People’s Choice – Most Versatile – 2021
- Volunteer Little League Umpire for 11 years
Join our team
We’d love to hear from you. We have a variety of remote and hybrid positions available.
- Check out our current job openings
- Contact us with any questions
- See PWW/GWW clients: Portfolio of work
- Visit us on social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram