Forem: Sergei Suverev

How we’ve created an engaged, supportive and substantive QA team. Beyond Work

Sergei Suverev — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 17:03:50 +0000

Previous parts of series:
Part 1: Integrating new joiners
Part 2: Daily routine
Part 3: Continuous improvement

Taking breaks from work is crucial for one's health and productivity. Conversations, whether online or offline, can provide an opportunity for team members to build trust and develop a positive work environment. Relaxing and having fun together promote collaboration and lead to better teamwork. In the QA squad, we prioritize social communication to enhance relationships within the team.

4.1. Online Hangout “meetings” every month
Once a month, we gather online in Zoom to have some fun playing games and participating in activities. Our events include games like Codenames, Drawphone, Scribbl, and even a unique side project of one of our QA engineers called Shlyapa. We also enjoy Airbnb Experience Online activities. Sometimes we host an online quiz with AI-generated questions called Kvistly.

We live in different time zones and it’s really hard to find time when 12 people are available at the same time. So we have found that the middle of Thursday works best for spending time together. Such events not only build strong bonds within the QA team but also create connections with other teams. Our collaborations extend beyond our team, as we recently shared a lively game of Scribbl with the Value team. For future engagements, we're leaning towards more communication-driven games to keep the interactions lively

4.2. Friday bar
Few words about our bi-monthly Friday bar parties! No boring agendas here - we all just wanna hang out and shoot the breeze.

These calls are like virtual warm evenings where our remote team can kick back, chat about anything, and get to know each other better. We laugh, we share stories, and we get to be more than just colleagues. It's all about creating those connections that make the workweek a bit brighter!

4.3. Offline meetups
Our in-person gatherings add a unique and valuable measurement to our team dynamics, where location takes a back seat to the shared experience. What truly matters is that team-based activities enhance our camaraderie and generate memorable experiences.
Take our February 2023 trip, for instance, when we ventured to the enchanting Sao Miguel island in the Azores. Though not all members of our QA team could join, it was a memorable experience that showcased the strength of our team connections.

During this getaway, we engaged in a variety of activities. We explored the island, relaxed in hot springs, indulged in delectable local cuisine, interacted with friendly animals, and contested in spirited board game nights.
Having fun together is the best way to build strong relationships among team members during offline activities.

Conclusion

At its core, it's all about communication, trust, and transparency.
In a 'remote-first' company, these principles take on even greater importance. Ensuring that employees' needs and well-being are a top priority, and diligently crafting an exceptional environment, reaps the benefits through employee growth and contributions, even from dispersed locations. It's hard not to thrive when everyone operates as a well-oiled machine, no matter where they are in the world.

Together, we've cultivated a positive work environment that nurtures trust, upholds quality, and fortifies our team bonds. It's not just about processes; it's about the incredible individuals who drive the engine.

Building strong relationships with colleagues isn't always a walk in the park, especially in a remote-first setup, but I believe the activities mentioned above can help strengthen your team.

How we’ve created an engaged, supportive and substantive QA team. Continuous improvement

Sergei Suverev — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:01:54 +0000

Previous parts of series:
Part 1: Integrating new joiners
Part 2: Daily routine

Part 3. Continuous improvement

3.1. QA Teams retrospectives

Retrospectives could be important not only for product/scrum teams but for guilds too.
That’s why we realized that we need to have them once every 2-3 months at least.

Usually things we discuss on QA retrospectives are following:

Sharing non-blocking issues. Retrospectives are a great time to bring up any non-blocking issues that testers are dealing with. By sharing these challenges, we might find that others have faced similar problems, and together, we can come up with solutions.
Improving QA processes. We should regularly look at how we can improve our QA processes. Whether it's refining our checklists, enhancing our documentation, or tweaking our review processes, these discussions help us work more efficiently and effectively.
Brainstorming new ideas. Retros are a perfect opportunity to share ideas that we might not usually bring up. Even if they seem tough to implement, discussing them as a team can help us figure out their potential impact and how we might make them work.
Giving kudos. It’s always good to acknowledge the hard work of our teammates. During the retro, we can give a shoutout to those who’ve gone the extra mile. A little appreciation goes a long way in keeping the team motivated.

In addition to enhancing our QA team’s practices, retrospectives also open the door to broader, company-wide improvements. These sessions allow us to step back and consider ideas that can positively impact not just our team but the entire organization. By addressing both team-specific and larger-scale opportunities, we contribute to a more efficient work environment across the company.

For example, in a previous retrospective, we came up with the idea of creating a 'Before Going on Vacation' checklist, outlining what needs to be done to ensure a smooth absence and to avoid being disturbed while on vacation. This initiative not only improved the individual experience for team members but also helped the company maintain productivity and minimize disruptions during employee absences.

3.2. 1-1 meetings
Communication is key to establishing a positive relationship, and we always try to be open and approachable to encourage people to speak up and share their thoughts. Creating a safe space for open communication makes team members feel heard and valued, ultimately improving morale and productivity.

To support this, we hold regular 1-1 meetings between the Lead and each QA engineer every month. These sessions provide a dedicated time to discuss any work-related matters in a focused and supportive environment. During these meetings, we make sure to cover several key topics essential for individual growth and team success, including:

Personal well-being: checking in on the individual's current state and ensuring their comfort within the team.
Progress on long-term goals: assessing the journey towards annual objectives, ensuring alignment and providing support.
Task blockers: identifying and resolving any things that hinder progress of current tasks.
Feedback сhannel: discussing feedback from Product Owners and Line Managers, enabling continuous improvement.
Motivation changes: addressing any non-work-related issues that might affect motivation.

These meetings are a very useful tool for improving relationships within the team. It helps you to track a person's progress toward yearly goals, understand what a person feels currently, motivate and encourage them or help with blockers.

And it’s also important to remember having fun with your direct reports. This doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends, but it does mean that you should be approachable and easy to talk with.

Celebrate successes, acknowledge challenges, and offer support and guidance when needed. This is how we create a positive work environment and build trust.

Part 4: Beyond work

How we’ve created an engaged, supportive and substantive QA team. Daily routine

Sergei Suverev — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 10:36:07 +0000

Previous part of series:
Part 1

Part 2. Daily routine

2.1. Documenting QA processes

When the QA team began to expand, it became apparent that detailed documentation was essential. We want our employees to be self-sufficient, and they require the ability to locate the necessary information.

Our documentation enables new joiners and other teams to access information about any feature or process at any time without relying on others.

At the moment of writing this article, we have 82 Notion pages and 10 tables of content sections within only the Docs section in the QA hub. That's the depth of knowledge we've curated to ensure that our team has everything they need.

If someone from outside the QA team wants to know how to set up something for testing, which devices the QA team uses, how to run autotests locally - they can just refer to our documentation.

Of course, it requires a lot of time as you want to write it properly, but in the long term it makes a huge positive impact for everyone.

2.2. RC-ninjing

Within a QA job there is always a routine named release testing. The same tests, the same things done many times. It could really be boring and steal any desire to work.
So why don’t we split it to everyone in the team and create a cool name for this?

We called it RC-ninja.

RC-ninja - the person whose responsibility is testing the particular release. It’s a weekly routine and every person in each stream does it by rotation according to schedule.

RC-Ninjas are tasked with a dynamic set of responsibilities, including:

Testing Releases
Identifying and assessing issues, determining whether immediate fixes are needed or if they can be scheduled post-release
Taking ownership of reported bugs from users and colleagues throughout the week
Keeping an eye on key release statistics after the rollout
Ensuring a smooth release process by managing and mitigating any delays that may arise.

We constantly search for ways to improve every process. That's why after a release, RC-Ninjas actively contribute by suggesting enhancements, from updating checklists to fine-tuning automated tests, and even refining release schedules.

2.3. Feature Sharing Call

As far as everyone in the team does “ninjing”, they should be aware of every new feature, update and change. In order to keep everyone on the same page, we have a weekly Feature Sharing Call, where anyone who has any updates from their team goes through the design of the feature and describes how it should work. This could be a small new feature, face lift of the big ones or any change within both apps. We are a product company and we build our products for users, so we need to be sure that we deliver a good user experience and do not have any discrepancies and inconsistencies in the design of the whole application.

Also Feature Sharing Call it's a cornerstone in building trust and forging positive relationships within the QA team. When everyone has confidence in each other's perspectives and trust in one another, it's a catalyst for teamwork and unity. They are more likely to work together towards a shared goal.

Part 3: Continuous improvement
Part 4: Beyond work

How we’ve created an engaged, supportive and substantive QA team. Integrating new joiners

Sergei Suverev — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:52:46 +0000

When it comes to hiring people, every company wants to find a motivated and self-sufficient employee, and think that it's the responsibility of the person itself to be so.

In fact this falls to the company as they have to create an environment where people will feel supported and valuable. If a company has poor processes, then even the most effective employees will be burned out and their motivation will fly away.
That’s why we aim to find a talent, take their unique skills and grow it to the next level at Sweatcoin.

But first things first. What is Sweatcoin?

Sweatcoin is a free app which rewards your daily steps with a new-generation currency you can spend on cool products or donate to charity. A year ago we launched our second own crypto currency $SWEAT and Sweat Wallet application for staking, trading etc. $SWEAT is a real crypto asset that you mint with your movement.

And now, let’s dive into the heart of our QA team structure. The team is divided into 3 streams: the Sweatcoin stream, the Sweat Wallet stream and the Automation stream.

Sweatcoin is spread across more than 30 countries, representing the “remote-first” idea of Sweatcoin. Taking this into consideration, effective communication and staying updated on the features of every team are the keys to our success. In this article, we'll walk you through the core activities that drive our team's collaboration, ensuring seamless communication and a strong support system for everyone). In this article, we'll take you on a journey through the core activities that power our team's collaboration, creating a tapestry of seamless communication and a robust support system for everyone.

1.1. Onboarding for new employees

Every person's path can differ in a new role, and sometimes can differ to their previous place of work. Getting all the information can be tough and overwhelming, especially in the first few weeks.

We understand this and strive to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible. As part of this effort, we have created a Notion page where new employees can get their onboarding plan, which is spread out over a period of approximately two weeks.

Apart from the main onboarding process, there are several additional items that a QA engineer must be familiar with. With the expansion of our QA team, the number of tasks and explanations has also increased. Therefore, it was decided to create a separate onboarding checklist for QA, which is divided into four main parts:

Environment setup
Understanding of how main features of our application works
Understanding of main processes within QA and product team works
Giving feedback to us

Let’s have a look into the details of each point.

To begin with, it is essential that you have all the access required to perform your job. We encourage our employees to be self-motivated, so they can obtain access to nearly all the necessary tools independently. They can do this by following the Onboarding Checklist and requesting access through a dedicated Slack channel.

Furthermore, it is crucial that you gain an in-depth understanding of Sweatcoin's operations, both as an application and as a company. You should take the time to familiarize yourself with the environment and the processes that are in place.

And here's a thought to keep in mind: as a fresh addition to our team, every QA engineer might just be the keen-eyed observer who spots issues within the application or processes that others might have missed. We believe that with each new person who joins us always has valuable updates and improvements after onboarding.

Feedback about the Onboarding Checklist itself is also very important - when you update it several times you could think about that as a perfect document, but there is always room for improvement. The Onboarding Checklist has useful information about what meetings the QA Engineer participates in, who is in the team, who could help you in which case etc.

Before a new employee starts their first day at Sweatcoin, we just copy the template of the needed stream (as each stream has specific things in each block of the Onboarding Checklist, especially Automation), rename it to include the name of the person and now it’s their personal onboarding plan.
It’s really easy to keep track of onboarding progress having that.

For successful onboarding we need to mention 2 key elements: Success Memo document and a buddy.

What is Success Memo?
It’s a document that lists everything, what newbies should achieve and which skills they should have to successfully end the probation period.

It’s divided into 3 main parts: hard skills, soft skills and mindset.
This really helps the person to understand what the company expects from their work and helps the company to have much less difference between expectation and reality of how the person does their job.

In order to help to achieve their goals each new employee has a buddy assigned to them for that probation period. Buddy helps a new joiner navigate the ins and outs of the product team's functionality and provides answers to the inevitable flood of questions they might have.

From day one, we emphasize that it's not just okay to have questions during your probation period; it's encouraged. We believe it's better to ask those questions now than to wait half a year.

Part 2: Daily routine
Part 3: Continuous improvement
Part 4: Beyond work