Testing | Beacon Technology, a Birchman Company

At Beacon, software testing is a lot more than a downstream activity for finding and eliminating bugs to improve software quality.

Beacon executes software testing regimes at multiple points along the SDLC, and at the end of each iterative cycle, to nip issues in the bud before they have a chance to escalate.

As such, Beacon employs software testing as a powerful and effective risk mitigation strategy for software development, systems implementation, and post go-live maintenance and support.

Beacon has a track record in creating and implementing testing regimes in the following areas:

Business Process Analysis – Testing to demonstrate whether the desired business process can be executed by the software;
Risk Analysis – Testing to identify and define critical risks, and demonstrate if they can be mitigated through the testing solution;
Testing Design – Design the test suite or regime to address the risk;
Testing Automation – Implement configured tools and routines to ensure testing is repeatable and thorough especially for high volume testing or complex processes, can be executed effectively and efficiently, and is auditable;
Unit Testing – Testing individual units of system code to ensure compliance with expected output;
Systems Integration Testing - Testing the complete business process cycle through all relevant systems components;
Regression Testing – Once a level of stability and baseline is achieved, ensuring that subsequent systems enhancements and maintenance do not introduce errors and bugs;
Manual Testing – Experienced testers put on a client hat to test for performance and quality before releasing the software to clients and end users for user acceptance testing.

Key Benefits

In all Beacon projects, tests are traceable to signed-off requirements (documented in Requirements Specifications, and other design documents). The test effort is transparent and auditable, i.e., the process documents concrete evidence of all tests executed as well as test results.

Beacon testers are involved as early as possible in the software development life cycle to allow early detection of most “defects” during the requirements and design stages of a project. Clients benefit from test driven development because it is more efficient and cost effective to update and “retest” a document than to update and retest code and documentation.

Beacon also performs Automated Unit Testing to ensure the comprehensive detection of defects before subsequent System Testing and Acceptance Testing.

Based on positive client response, Beacon now offers System and Regression Test Automation Packages to clients to accelerate robust testing and ensure more repeatable and auditable testing outcomes.

Testing Team Profile

Beacon has a pool of qualified and experienced software testing professionals whose mission to ensure that Beacon delivers quality. We often view our work from the clients’ perspective with the aim of delivering solutions that are easy for end users to operate so as to enable their best work performance. Many Beacon testers have served in cross-functional roles in the IT industry and garnered extensive experience in client industries.

For example, the backgrounds of our testers include:

ISEB qualified Test Manager with 10 years’ testing experience in Accenture, Cap Gemini EDS, Fujitsu, Bankwest and Beacon
Test Automation Specialist experienced in QTP, Ruby, and Load Runner
Test Analyst with 15 years’ experience in the UAT department of a major bank
And many more

What drives a true software tester is best described in the words written by the author Jim Hyatt,

“Think like a child with a new toy: How does it work? and How can I break it?”

Beacon testers employ this approach with quality assurance in mind. What our testers have in common are fast learning curves to understand project requirements, a depth of practical knowledge, meticulous analytical minds to ferret out defects, lateral thinking ability and experience to add value to each project, and the ability and communication skills to work in a project team to realise best outcomes for clients.