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Move over Commonwealth Games… introducing the Software Testing World Cup!

Posted by Mark Kalkwarf in: open box

​As if we needed more proof that we're working with the best software brains in the business, we are proud to announce that an Open Box team has taken first place in Africa in the qualifying rounds of the first ever international Software Testing World Cup (STWC). In November, our team of four will be heading for the world cup finals in Germany to go up against the winning teams from continents around the globe. There they will battle for the title of Best Software Testers in the World.

The qualifying round took place at the end of June, where the Open Box teams competed against 23 other teams from all over Africa. We are especially proud that our three competing teams ranked 1st, 2nd and 4th in the tournament's African qualifying round.

Move over Commonwealth Games… introducing the Software Testing World Cup!

​Our guys were buzzing with excitement, not knowing what to expect while looking forward to the opportunity to test and showcase their skills with some of the world's best testers. Going into the competition, they were armed only with the knowledge that they were tasked to deliver a test report on a real system and log as many bugs as possible within a three hour period. To provide more insight into the system's requirements, competitors could also interact with the client via a live YouTube stream.

Without knowing their parameters, it was difficult to strategize ahead of time, but each member of the team knew their role and was committed to working together to achieve the best possible result. The team decided to maximise their coverage by delegating a different area to each member, while one member was in charge of monitoring the YouTube stream for relevant information. One of the biggest challenges of the competition is that you literally don't know what you're in for until a few minutes before it begins, making it a great way to enhance your exploratory testing skills.

As a team, they attribute their success to effective communication, time-management and collaboration. They also focussed on prioritization - under these time constraints, it's all about knowing which 'fish to fry' first. By applying all the principles that they work with on a daily basis at Open Box (scaled proportionately due to time constraints), they were able to deliver a winning test report and effectively log the system's bugs within the three hour period.

As the second half of the year flies past us, the team is mentally preparing and looking forward to showcasing their software testing skills on a global scale against 6 other international teams in Germany (during Europe's Agile Testing Days 2014 event). They plan to stick to their winning formula which took them to the top in the qualifying rounds, and are ready to show the world what Africans are really made of!Watch this space for more…

 

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