Project management in the office is often quite different from the methodology written out in books. That is why I am always interested in talking to companies and learning how do their processes work in real life.
This time I got to chat with QASymphony, a company offering businesses a platform to test out their software. Their mission is helping companies to not only deliver on time, but to also ensure quality. QASymphony uses project management practices to support ambitious business owners and help them expand their services.
Below is a short interview with the Senior Marketing Manager Gina Kawalek reflecting their experiences with project management.
Describe your usual day
Our day-to-day duties involve working with clients in different areas by helping them access the resources they need to facilitate seamless software testing and project management. We begin by going through the client list and checking if there are major problems that need attention. While doing so we also advise our clients on the usage of different tools to make their work easier.
What project management practices do you use?
We use a number of project management practices to facilitate testing. These include test case management, which offers seamless integration and a reliable system ideal for scale. We also use JIRA Integrations that allows JIRA users easy-to-use test management processes. Most importantly we apply test metrics and reporting tools that help produce simple and complex reports.
We use a varietof tools for managing projects including the ROI calculator that allows our clients to gain useful insight into their projects before they proceed to implement. We have also been utilizing datasheets to provide statistical representation of information. And our visual heat maps allow you to easily identify parts of the program that have issues.
How does your process differ from other product creation projects?
One of the ways product management is different for our field is that our focus is not more on completing a project, but on ensuring the end user gets the quality expected. This has been a great incentive to most of our clients. As they are able to gain more when they offer better products that have flawless quality.
What difficulties do you face?
One of the most common problems we have had to solve is cases where some of our clients want solutions to revive their almost sinking strategy, and on this we have to provide a new way of doing things that helps to revive the business and offer an alternative strategy that guarantees growth. However, I want to report that we have been successful in helping these businesses craft a strong management strategy.
Whenever these problems are presented before us we engage our experts. First, they query the root cause of the sluggish progress the business has been experiencing. From this point we are able to identify what needs to be changed and immediately we take measures to help the business come back to life.
Have you tried Agile project management practices?
As a company our focus has been delivering services that suit each specific business, so indeed in most of the cases we have used agile project management, which is ideal when you want to release products continuously based on the feedback received from users.
Agile project management practices work well and this is a good approach when quality is the first priority. It allows you to focus on delivering high quality products that are customized to the needs of users in various categories.
Anything you would like to add?
My closing statement is to urge businesses to embrace project management if they would like to enhance performance. We have great packages that suit both established and upcoming businesses, and our support team has always ensured clients use only methods that are suitable and geared towards delivering success.
Gina Kawalek is a Senior Marketing Manager at QASymphony, a leading provider of QA testing software for agile developers. Prior to QASymphony, she spent 5 years in B2B marketing at ExactTarget, Salesforce and Insightpool.
