Software Quality and Development Standards
While each developer enjoys a high degree of freedom, each project has an internal supervisor tasked with verifying that the results are as expected and that the development process has been followed correctly.
At Viaro Networks, we value the quality of the product and service provided to you. We are constantly looking for defects and strive to correct them as early in the process as possible.
You can rest assured that your project will be handled with care and that it has been reviewed by experts at every step of the process.
Getting it right, from the start
Quality assurance starts early in the process. Early on, the developer will put together a document detailing the project objectives, resources needed, and a solution proposal. The supervisor will review this document and ensure its correctness before moving forward.
Rigorous Testing
The work is continually tested during development, following a checklist of what to test and the correct way to test it, as agreed upon by the developer and supervisor. The same checklist will be applied and verified on all available environments. These environments are usually categorized as: Development, Quality Assurance, and Production. We aim to develop this in a way that facilitates testing, which is better when automated.
Everything is Reviewed
After working on a development task, the resulting product will go into a "code review" phase, led by the supervisor and involving the developer. This review aims to detect, early on, any possible error introduced to the system, whether it is in the logic or the code. In addition, the review ensures that good practices have been followed during the development and that the project's coding standards have been respected, producing code that is easy to read and maintain.
Performance Management
Time Management
The most precious resource we have at Viaro is time—the correct use of your time and our developer's time is our main priority. Every activity at Viaro goes along with a record of the start time, end time, and any possible interruption during the performed work. The weekly plan also works to save time when deciding what to do next.
Daily "Scrum"
At the start of every work day, the developer will share with his supervisor and teammates the following information in response to the following questions:
- What was completed the previous day?
- What will you be working on today?
- Do you have any obstacle preventing you from working correctly?
This is equivalent to the Daily Scrum meeting, as described in many "Agile" methodologies. This message is expected to be short and clear, with a possible follow-up meeting if the supervisor finds it necessary.
Keeping track of progress
After finishing each task, the developer will log the start and end times, in addition to any useful information about the work (description of changes, next steps to follow, the status of the task, etc.) The supervisor will constantly monitor the project's progress, working to remove any obstacles and to correct the course when needed. Communication with the client regarding progress and deadlines will also be handled by the supervisor.
Constant review
At the end of the week, each developer will perform a review of the work done, listing what has been completed, what was left unfinished, what estimates did not match the actual time invested, and what obstacles or unscheduled tasks appeared during the week. This information is collected and stored to be used as a guide about the developer's performance. The developer will have complete access to this information since we hope it will help him to set new goals, detect areas that need improvement, and predict more accurately future time estimates.
Tracking software
Supporting software
To effectively put this in practice, we at Viaro have developed a software platform to facilitate as many steps as possible. This system helps the developer to quickly obtain the information he needs, while simultaneously providing an overview of the project status for the supervisors.
Enhancing time management
One of the main functions of the system is helping the developer to keep track of time, automatically registering the start and end of tasks, suggesting the next steps to be taken during a task, giving reminders about actions to take, and letting the developer focus on his task while keeping track of everything else. The system provides the means to easily create the weekly work plan, even for weeks far ahead in the future. Specialized forms that register each log type assist the developer in his daily activities.
Creating a healthy cycle
We handle the main activities of creating tasks, assigning them to the schedule, registering the time worked on those tasks, and evaluating them. This creates a healthy cycle where the developer will always know what to do next and where continuous improvement becomes the key to reaching your project goals.
