NVP Software Solutions

Category: Process Improvement

  • Juggling multiple streams from a testing Point of View

    Juggling multiple streams from a testing Point of View

    Multiple streams were necessary but the merging was not well organised.

    For those who are reading regularly, you may recall the two posts “It’s your move” from February.  The piece we did not include there was that the project started with multiple streams that needed to be brought together.  Project plans had been created for each stream although the allotted time for QA and testing seemed to have vanished somewhere.  Clearly some of the streams planned only to test after merging on the assumption that it would not be their problem.  Shift Left or any of the other terms suggesting early testing seemed to be lost on them.  Of course, the streams were not necessarily going to converge at the same time.

    Step 1 was to create expectations for each stream as to what were the conditions for being merged.  There was pushback from some of the people involved but it was a case of now, when it was simpler and cheaper, or later when it was more expensive.

  • Quality Coaching

    Quality Coaching

    Quality Coaching focuses on guiding the process improvement required to make a difference in the way a department works.  The intent is not to repeat the mistakes of the previous projects but to look at new ways of working which prevent problems in the first place.

    Quality Coaching provides techniques to individuals enabling them to identify places where a Quality Improvement initiative could provide increased efficiency or reduced costs.

    Read the Case study at https://nvp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Case-Study-6-Coaching.pdf for a particular example.

  • Fractional Quality Assurance and Process Improvement

    Fractional Quality Assurance and Process Improvement

    1.  Are your clients requesting auditable proof that your product works?
    2. Does your product work as expected in all cases?
    3. Do your backers need independent proof?
    4. Is your development proceeding without any issues?

    If your answers were Yes, No, Yes and No respectively then you may be looking at a requirement for Quality Assurance and Software Testing solutions.    As a preliminary, consider the following when looking for a solution:

    1. Kickstarting Quality Assurance with minimal impact on your existing processes.
    2. Ongoing regular consulting periodically to keep QA on track and make sure the requirements are being met.
    3. Process Improvement and team empowerment while maintaining the current product trajectory.
    4. Providing enhanced communications and delivery strategies to clients.
  • TASSQ and National Software Testing and Quality Engineering Conference 

    TASSQ and National Software Testing and Quality Engineering Conference 

    Two weeks to register

    TASSQ February 2026 Meeting

    AI in Quality Engineering: Lessons from Large-Scale, Multi-Vendor Delivery

    Presenter: Natalia Moyseyenko Location: Online – Zoom

    When: Tuesday February 24, 2026

    Networking 6:00 – 6:30

    Presentation 6:30 p.m. (until 7:30 p.m.) EST

    Cost: $20.00 (CAD)
    Register at https://tassq.org/events.

    Presentation Abstract: This session shares practical lessons from applying AI in Quality Engineering within a large, multi-vendor enterprise environment.
    It covers where AI delivers real value in shift-left quality, automation, and decision-making—and where governance, data, and people still matter most. The focus is on what actually works at scale, not experiments or hype.

    Speaker Bio:  Natalia Moyseyenko is a Senior Quality Engineering Manager at EPAM Canada and QE Guild Lead, leading Quality Engineering delivery for a Tier-1, multi-brand North American retailer.
    She oversees QE governance and execution across 200+ Quality Engineers embedded in 700+ engineering teams within a complex, multi-vendor ecosystem.
    Natalia leads enterprise-level QA AI transformation with a pragmatic focus on shift-left quality, scalable automation, and decision-grade insights.
    She is a 4× EPAM CEO Award recipient for quality leadership and transformation impact.

    National Software Testing and Quality Engineering Conference 

    The National Software Testing and Quality Engineering Conference is scheduled to take place on May 26, 2026, at the Delta Marriott in Downtown Toronto– 75 Lower Simcoe St, Toronto, ON M5J 3A6, Canada

    This conference is specifically designed for experts in software testing, quality assurance, and quality engineering, and it aims to provide a thrilling new gathering tailored to their needs.

    The field is currently experiencing a revolution with the introduction of AI, making this an ideal moment for professionals to take charge and stay ahead of the curve.

  • If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

    If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

    While the quote above may be correct when referring to shoes (as long as the ‘just like it’ includes making it for the other foot), it is certainly not applicable to any software or any assessment. 

    This came up in a different context a couple of days ago with regard to documentation. A solution that was provided for one document was ported to another without consideration of the differences.

    Each project has many unique characteristics (otherwise we could simply grab an existing solution and implement it without concern) so every assessment will be different. Each assessment will return a different answer and nothing other should be assumed. Every situation is not only dependent on the technology being used but also the selected design usually driven by market considerations.

    NVP’s assessments are crafted with that consideration in mind. Every situation is unique and the assessment process allows for that.  There are no preconceived notions. 

  • A vision without the ability to execute is probably a hallucination

    A vision without the ability to execute is probably a hallucination

    This quote is interesting and would probably be disputed by many people. They would say that a Vision is something you want to do and whether or not it can be executed has no impact on its validity (or whether it is a hallucination).  While the quote is not new, the applicability to today’s world with the concerns expressed about AI Hallucinations provides it with a fresh applicability.

    Over the years we have encountered a lot of Visions for Software Testing and Quality Assurance.  Unfortunately, many of them do not get realised.  Budget is often stated as the main culprit despite the fact that almost all Visions relate to doing tasks better and cheaper.  Quality Assurance Visions are even worse.  Saying that we want to make Process Improvements without some concrete actions to back it up (not part of the Vision directly but certainly related) does not go very far.  But with no Vision at all, no improvement will ever occur and the same processes and same errors will recur for every project or initiative.

    Make 2026 the time you realise your Visions for Software Testing and Quality Assurance.

    Software Testing solves your problems for today and yesterday. Quality Assurance makes your Vision reality.

  • Half the money I spend…

    Half the money I spend…

    “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” The above quote is attributed to various people. We want to apply it to Software Quality Assurance. 

    Quality Assurance is one of the areas where people (not in QA) feel that resources or funding are wasted since they see no immediate benefit. Avoiding the process improvement and incremental changes are simply piling up technical and resource debt for the future.  Bad processes do not fix themselves and usually get worse over time.  The cumulative debt increases until it is unmanageable.

    Every problem avoided is one less to fix. When creating or improving processes and applying them to any particular situation, it is necessary to measure the improvement by taking a baseline and checking for improvement or degradation.  The effort invested in measurement will pay back with further improvements.

    Software Testing solves problems for yesterday and today.

    Quality Assurance solves your problems coming tomorrow!

  • You can only predict things after they occur

    You can only predict things after they occur

    “You can only predict things after they occur” This quote was attributed to Eugene Ionescu in the source I had.

    There are several related quotes:

    “Those who have knowledge don’t predict” and its corollary “Those who predict, don’t have knowledge.”

    Or lastly: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” (Peter Drucker).

    Maybe we could use these quotes the next time someone says how long testing is going to take.  The interesting part is when you push back and say: “How long did it take last time?” or “How much bigger (in whatever the favourite measure is) is this project compared to the last one?”.  Neither of those questions elicit much useful information or a response at all so the analogous method using internal numbers is unavailable.

    If you have no previous statistics from the organisation, there are lots of statistics available online or you can use one of the Estimation Methodologies (PERT, Planning Poker, WBS, Function Point Analysis or Test Point Analysis).  They provide a good starting point but must be adjusted for the particular situation. 

    One of the major aspects of Quality Assurance is to gather up statistics on what occurred last time and use that to predict the future. While no one can get 100% accuracy, it certainly helps to know what occurred in the past.  Adjust for the situation at hand and go forward.

    Software Testing solves problems for yesterday and today.

    Quality Assurance solves your problems coming tomorrow!