The following
open-ended question is intended to probe a candidate's understanding
of one of the most important aspects of web development. This
question can be used when interviewing web developers, IT architects
and Project Managers with 2-5 years experience. Quality assurance
is the general term that encompasses all of the requirements,
design, development and testing techniques that ensure that
a web site will function as intended. The basics of quality
assurance are taught as part most university computer science
curriculums, so even candidates with limited professional experience
should be able to address this topic.
What
is your approach to quality assurance when developing a web
site?
Although
there are many appropriate ways to answer this question, qualified
candidates will address the following in their response:
- QA
is a formal process:
Candidates should acknowledge the importance of a formal
development and testing process.
- QA
is a learned skill:
Candidates should be able to describe what they have done
in past projects to ensure quality, such as writing/executing
test scripts, developing functional specifications, etc.
- QA
is a continual process:
Candidates
should explain how they incorporate testing into their personal
development style.
- QA
for web development projects is challenging: Candidates
should be able to describe the specific quality assurance
challenges associated with developing web sites. These include
ensuring multi-browser support, performance testing, and
security compliance.
The most common
incorrect answer involves candidates indicating that quality
assurance does not have to be a formal process. Many candidates
mistakenly believe that structured coding by qualified developers
is enough to guarantee that a web site will function properly.
Your best bet is to steer clear of these candidates since
they either underestimate the things that can go wrong when
developing a high-scale web site or they overestimate their
skills.
About the author
Brian Buehling is currently the Managing Director for Dakota
Systems, a consulting firm specializing in XML-related technologies.
Throughout his ten-year career developing IT systems, he has
held management positions for various Fortune 100 companies
including John Deere and SBC Communications. Additionally,
he earned his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and his
M.S. in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University,
St. Louis, Missouri.
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