So they're switching from a terrible system (testers in a completely different location) to a less bad but still awful system (testers in a slightly different location).
When I was an EA tester, even just being on a separate floor in the same building was the cause of massive communication failures daily. Ever since I've been convinced that QA should be as tightly integrated into the development environment as any other job. The whole "us and them" mentality is bad.
QA is always stinky, best to keep them off site or in a vacuum, this really is the best option.
Kidding aside, sounds like a good move, not as perfect as Valve's Cabal system but still a step up from what they had going. I hope the next notice we read about isn't about lay offs...
I used to work for a company with 300 testers. They took on projects from all the major players, if things got bad the testers were drafted in to test on site.
They even have an office in India. No problems major problems with the system and no complains from the clients. Wheres the beef?
List of bugs - > send to testers - > list of confirmed bugs.
list of languages - > send to testers - > ammendments sent back.
Being forced to enter bugs into a bug database will pretty much ensure that they will be addressed and fixed. Getting up and interrupting someone to tell them about a "new bug" you just found (that actually is entered in the DB 20 times already), causes more bugs to be generated. Not documenting a bug or documenting it in the wrong place i.e. E-Mail, is also a good way for the bug to be ignored or forgotten about.
Using a bug DB also forces testers to think about the bug logically. I can't count the times someone has spent 10+ min trying to figure out how best to explain the bug while standing in my cube. Let me keep working when you get it figured out, write it up, that way I spend 2min reading the bug and can fix it in the time it took the person to stand there grinding their rusty gears.
With that said, there is only so much you can describe in text and with screen shots sometimes you just need to see it first hand. But having a procedure that keeps people out of my cube so I can work is paramount to not falling behind. Being able to work on bugs when I have time set aside for them is a great way to work.
I see it as a blessing and a curse having testers so close. If they follow procedures and to their job well I don't mind having them close. It's great for testers because its less of a dead end job when you have access to people that can actually help get you hired doing something else. It's the ones that just want to hang out and end up wasting everyones time that I wish they all would be moved far far away.
and sometimes when your explanation of a bug makes perfect sense to you, but confuses the coder who needs to fix it, it's easier to be nearby so you can talk with him for a few seconds and explain it better rather than playing e-mail tag over the course of a day or two.
If the bug makes perfect sense to you, but confuses the coder, you're not doing the job properly. Part of my job is to not only explain the bug in great detail, but to add any useful information I can to it, add screenshots, and write out a step-by-step testcase that not only the devs can follow and fix, but so can the verifying tester who may have much less experience than me, and assign it under the correct category. I also try to keep all related issues under one task, to save the devs time in search and organizing them. Having some knowledge of game engines and production is very handy for this. QA is an important department. If they have issues with the product, or don't do their job, it doesn't sell. I believe QA should work closely with devs, but not interfere with their current workload. If there are issues with that, hire better testers, pay them well, and release more stable titles.
[ QUOTE ]
BUG #01: Cargo box does not produce wood particle effects when shot.
BUG #02: Cargo box produces wood particle effects when shot.
[/ QUOTE ]
BUG #03: Cargo box should not produce blood particle effects when shot.
BUG #04: Cargo box cannot be shot.
BUG #05: Shotgun cannot be used.
BUG #06: Error when loading game.
BUG #07: Coffee pot is empty.
They should emphasize more in the article that the QA staff is not employed by Epic. And why is this newsworthy?
I'm not wearing any pants. Print that.
A bug (high priority): if you press the x button 2,023 times in a row and hop on one foot with a burrito in one hand and a dildo in the other while your mom calls you on a tuesday the font for spanish subtitles is changed from 14p to 16p.
A bug (high priority): when entering a castle while you are not looking at the screen and having a camel lick your taint in the month of march the frame rate drops from 60 to 59
C bug (low priority): when pressing the directional buttons the character dosent move..
C bug (low priority): character dosent jump when you press the jump button.
Replies
When I was an EA tester, even just being on a separate floor in the same building was the cause of massive communication failures daily. Ever since I've been convinced that QA should be as tightly integrated into the development environment as any other job. The whole "us and them" mentality is bad.
Kidding aside, sounds like a good move, not as perfect as Valve's Cabal system but still a step up from what they had going. I hope the next notice we read about isn't about lay offs...
Hold me.
They even have an office in India. No problems major problems with the system and no complains from the clients. Wheres the beef?
List of bugs - > send to testers - > list of confirmed bugs.
list of languages - > send to testers - > ammendments sent back.
Using a bug DB also forces testers to think about the bug logically. I can't count the times someone has spent 10+ min trying to figure out how best to explain the bug while standing in my cube. Let me keep working when you get it figured out, write it up, that way I spend 2min reading the bug and can fix it in the time it took the person to stand there grinding their rusty gears.
With that said, there is only so much you can describe in text and with screen shots sometimes you just need to see it first hand. But having a procedure that keeps people out of my cube so I can work is paramount to not falling behind. Being able to work on bugs when I have time set aside for them is a great way to work.
I see it as a blessing and a curse having testers so close. If they follow procedures and to their job well I don't mind having them close. It's great for testers because its less of a dead end job when you have access to people that can actually help get you hired doing something else. It's the ones that just want to hang out and end up wasting everyones time that I wish they all would be moved far far away.
noobzzz
BUG #02: Cargo box produces wood particle effects when shot.
Frank the Avenger (Game QA Supervisor at Epic)
BUG #01: Cargo box does not produce wood particle effects when shot.
BUG #02: Cargo box produces wood particle effects when shot.
[/ QUOTE ]
BUG #03: Cargo box should not produce blood particle effects when shot.
BUG #04: Cargo box cannot be shot.
BUG #05: Shotgun cannot be used.
BUG #06: Error when loading game.
BUG #07: Coffee pot is empty.
They should emphasize more in the article that the QA staff is not employed by Epic. And why is this newsworthy?
I'm not wearing any pants. Print that.
This is now the "Favorite Bugs" thread.
A bug (high priority): if you press the x button 2,023 times in a row and hop on one foot with a burrito in one hand and a dildo in the other while your mom calls you on a tuesday the font for spanish subtitles is changed from 14p to 16p.
A bug (high priority): when entering a castle while you are not looking at the screen and having a camel lick your taint in the month of march the frame rate drops from 60 to 59
C bug (low priority): when pressing the directional buttons the character dosent move..
C bug (low priority): character dosent jump when you press the jump button.
I HATE A REALLY GOOD IMAGINATION YOU BASTARD!
Spark
Frank: You're getting a whole new building for yourself?
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, I am house shopping, maybe that was misinterpreted by the interviewer...
Spark, I like to think so.
Frank the Avenger