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Assuring Software Quality at Stanford

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Quality Assurance (QA) is an ongoing process within the software development life cycle (SDLC) that routinely checks the developed software to ensure it meets desired quality measures. University IT’s Administrative Systems group established its QA team in 2007. Since that time the team has made significant contributions to nearly all of the enterprise application rollouts for the university, applying industry-standard QA practices, tools, and metrics to the software development process.

Supporting the Spectrum of Software Projects

Engaged in all areas of testing, including functional, API, performance, database, and automation, the QA team applies a unique combination of technical knowledge and end-user perspective to assess the output of major systems projects. Initiatives for which the team has played a major role in 2015 include:

  • Evolving Financial Reporting
  • Expense Reimbursement System
  • PeopleSoft CS/HR Split
  • Office 365 Email/Calendar Migration
  • Endpoint Compliance
  • PCI DSS V3 Compliance

One of QA’s most significant contributions in 2015 involved the automation of the major workflows in the Expense Reimbursement system. Having this streamlined framework in place for regular testing enables the development team to identify critical system issues before code is migrated to production.

Expanding Service

QA uses the Zephyr Enterprise test case management tool to manage and track the testing process. Currently over 150 active users (including teams at SLAC and LBRE) use Zephyr to manage testing for their internal projects. Zephyr is available for use by any interested university organization.

The QA team’s efforts ensure quality in each of the projects and products with which they are involved. As the larger University IT group evolves, the team is excited to see how QA can serve other projects across the expanded organization. 

Please contact Srinivas Mikkilineni or Corrina Petriceks to learn more about QA in University IT or to inquire about new project initiatives.
 

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