Hello to the whole community!
Together with the Mr Suricate team, we wanted to create a blog featuring articles on testing and automation, e-commerce, and anything else we think is worth sharing with you.
For my part, I’ve decided to put pen to digital paper over the next few months to write a few of these articles: whether they’re “ ” opinion pieces, humorous posts, blog reviews, surveys, or experience reports, I’ll do everything I can to make my interest in testing and automation as exciting as possible.
But who am I?
Let's start by introducing myself:
Michael Granier, Suricate May 2020 after 12 years with the teams at voyages-sncf.com, oui.sncf, and e-voyageur technologies (and congratulations on the launch of SNCF Connect & Tech and the new version of the website) in the areas of testing and quality!
I hold an ISTQB Level 2 certification with a specialization in Test Management. I’m passionate about technology and, above all, test automation. I participate in the JFTL and various testing clubs as an attendee, speaker, or moderator (when health conditions allow, of course…).
The Granier Tester?
For those in the know, this is a fun term we use internally to describe my blog posts 😉
Fabien has even planned to find me a nice floral shirt to make it look even more realistic.
Feel free to comment if you really want to see me wear it and keep that nickname for the
upcoming posts (or just to spare myself some trouble :D)!
Testing: A Strategic Choice!
Let's start with an introduction to testing and quality.
In 2022, product quality is no longer an option.
But what exactly is poor product quality?
People often think first and foremost of the financial loss that a production incident can cause to your company's revenue.
Even though it’s the first indicator to trigger a reaction at the highest levels, it’s crucial not to overlook the significant impact on the end user, which will have a major effect on your online reputation—something that’s much harder to recover from than a financial loss.
The latter, which has been easily and frequently undermined since the advent of social media, is a very important indicator for internet users, whether they are regular customers or potential customers.
Anomalies, whether functional or not, are very often linked to a flaw in the validation cycle prior to going live.
One solution: Invest in a testing strategy tailored to your specific context—one that takes all aspects into account, whether functional or not—and that allows you to implement the right types of tests in the right places, from the code to the user interface!
The primary goal of a testing strategy is to place the right tests in the right places to measure the quality of your application, in order to identify vulnerabilities and defects that need to be corrected—and to do so at the right time, which is, of course, before the application goes live…
This prevents a glitch from turning into a major incident that will spark outrage against you online (Burn the witch!!).
It's all about striking the right balance
And yet, testing within a project budget is still often viewed as a cost center that can be cut first, because it remains difficult to quantify its concrete benefits…
The sad last wheel on the wagon—the one that’s sometimes an obvious target for cutbacks, much to the chagrin of the teams… and future clients.
However, while it’s quick and easy—though highly inadvisable (trust me)—to see the costs of your product’s lack of quality if no testing is in place.
Quality and testing are intrinsically linked: testing is essential for measuring quality and, logically, for implementing the best practices needed to improve it.
Keep in mind, delivering quality isn't just about testing—it's a general mindset that needs to be fostered within the project team 😉
And we must also be careful not to fall into the opposite trap—known as “over-quality”—by conducting too many tests.
You need to strike a balance to achieve an optimal return on investment, including when validating your applications.
Once this strategy is in place, it will be time to combine it with an effective automation strategy, which will then allow you to deploy to production with a product of consistent quality and meet another need: —to validate and deliver to production faster and more often!
We'll naturally be discussing automation in an upcoming article!
Stay tuned…
FAQ
But who am I?
Let me start by introducing myself: Michael Granier, a member of Suricate May 2020, after 12 years with the teams at voyage-sncf.com, oui.sncf, and e-voyageur technologies (and congratulations on the launch of SNCF Connect & Tech and the new version of the website) in the areas of testing and quality assurance!
The Granier Tester?
For those in the know, this is a fun nickname we use internally for my blog posts 😉 Fabien has even planned to find me a nice floral shirt to make it look even more authentic.