Need help in a software engineering question

Question

You have called into a software company as an independent consultant .In recent months, the quality of the software being sold has taken a distinct drop. You have been asked to identify ways in which the quality can be increased. Initial investigation shows that testing has been poorly carried out, and since the retirement of the production manager, has become virtually nonexistent.
The company has three separate software divisions, namely
• Computer games
• Office applications
• Production control systems

Identify the types of testing that need to be initiated in the company
Determine the division where testing is to implemented

Answer 1

Types of testing that need to be initiated:

1. Unit Testing - Test individual components/functions in isolation
2. Integration Testing - Test how modules work together
3. System Testing - Test the complete integrated system
4. Acceptance Testing - Verify software meets user requirements
5. Regression Testing - Ensure new changes don't break existing functionality
6. Performance Testing - Check speed, scalability, and stability
7. Security Testing - Identify vulnerabilities and security flaws
8. Usability Testing - Ensure user-friendly interface and experience

Priority order for implementation:

1st Priority: Production Control Systems

1. Most critical - failures can cause physical damage, safety hazards, or major financial losses
2. Often controls real-world machinery or industrial processes
3. Requires rigorous testing at all levels, especially safety and reliability testing
4. May have regulatory compliance requirements

2nd Priority: Office Applications

1. Business-critical - affects productivity and data integrity
2. Bugs can cause data loss or workflow disruptions
3. Important for company reputation and customer retention

3rd Priority: Computer Games

1. Less critical but still important for market success
2. Focuses more on user experience and performance
3. Quality issues affect sales and reviews but not safety

Recommendation:

Start immediately with Production Control Systems because failures here have the most severe consequences. Implement a comprehensive testing framework with emphasis on safety, reliability, and compliance testing.

For all divisions, establish a formal testing process with dedicated QA resources to replace the gap left by the retired production manager.

Answer 2

Instigate a formal testing process with test strategies, test plans, test cases, and recorded test results at each level of testing: unit, system, end-to-end, performance, and acceptance.  You may need to hire a test manager or add that function to an existing job or jobs.  For example, this could be added to each project manager, product  line manager or support manager to approve each change going into production, by verifying tests have been properly performed. There may be different levels of testing for the different divisions but all need to follow the guidelines.  Customer facing applications would need to do the most testing.  Production control requires significant testing compared to standard applications.  However, all software needs to be tested.  As part of this, you would need to institute metrics for testing at each stage which can be tracked to see improvement.  I could write a book on the subject but I do not think you need a book.  I did this kind of thing for many years.