Get to know Team QA

The QA team operates in a fast-paced and collaborative environment. Their primary focus is ensuring that quality standards are being met across Moneybox. When they’re not baking quality into every stage of the delivery process, they’re championing innovation and continuous improvement initiatives. One of the best things about being part of the QA team is the variety of the work — each day brings a new challenge to solve.

How big is the team and how is it structured?

The QA team is currently 21 people, up from around 8 in November 2020! They are split across a range of different functional and mission teams, including investing, pensions and automation.

How do Team QA like to work?

Team QA follow an Agile methodology. They generally have a very flexible and fast moving working environment, with three key timelines to keep them all focused:

• 8 week ‘orbits’ — Inspired by basecamp, these allow the team to scope what they want to achieve at a high level in that timeframe.
• 2 week sprints — Within the orbits, 2 week sprints allow the team to hone in and divide the orbit into valuable, deliverable features for Moneybox users.
• Weekly app releases — We’re beginning to introduce weekly releases, which will remove the nerve-inducing ‘end of spring deadline’ that most developers can relate to. Because the release goes out every week, there isn’t any pressure to hurry a feature into a release. Plus, this allows the QA team to continuously improve and hotfix features on a weekly basis.

Which tools and libraries do the team use?

They use Postman to test APIs, Postman Monitors for automated API testing, and Appium with Java and Cucumber for automated UI testing. They also use Charles Proxy for monitoring/mocking network traffic, and in-built tools like Android TalkBack and iOS VoiceOver for accessibility testing.

What are the learning opportunities like?

Everyone at Moneybox is encouraged to set aside time for growth and learning opportunities. Everyone has access to an annual learning budget, which is most often used to gain industry standard certifications or attend important workshops.

What is it like working at Moneybox?

Working at Moneybox is a great experience! There is a lot of action, learning and teamwork involved every day. Collaboration with and between different teams is highly appreciated, and there is a lot of fun within the QA team and across the whole of Moneybox.

What’s a typical day like in QA here?

There’s no typical day in Team QA and the days can be quite varied, as they tend to work across the Cloud Apps and Mobile teams and take on side projects for continuous improvement. The goal is for everyone in the team to be multi-skilled.

Which devices do the team use for manual testing?

The team use Android and iOS devices of varying sizes. Everyone receives at least one test device so they can test on both platforms, and strives to keep up-to-date with the latest major releases.

What’s the best thing about working in the QA team at Moneybox?

Like everyone at Moneybox, everyone in the QA team is very open and friendly, and always willing to help. Whenever there’s an issue or a setback, someone is always happy to step in and help out. When one team has a lot of features going out in a release for instance, other QA team members are pulled from teams with less work to help out.

How do you ensure everyone feels involved in the new hybrid working world?

There’s a very strong team culture and wins are celebrated for everyone in the team, whether big or small. From promotions to anniversaries and especially birthdays, everyone is made to feel welcome.

What does the onboarding journey look like?

All new joiners follow a structured onboarding programme. You get to meet lots of different teams when you join so you really get a feel for how the business runs. You’ll be assigned a buddy, and you’ll catch up with your line manager on a regular basis. There will be lots of opportunities to learn on the job and get stuck in.

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