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Another year, another successful Bottle Rocket Quality Assurance Boot Camp!
Every year, the QA team puts on an informative and interactive event for testers outside of the company. Interested participants come from all over DFW to learn about a variety of topics covering the test approach to mobile and connected devices. This gives people outside of the mobile space a chance to get more exposure to the mobile world as well as how Bottle Rocket’s QA team works – and this particular boot camp was our most successful yet.
In 2017, the QA Bootcamp was a half day affair with about 20 participants.
In 2018, a full day was needed to cover all of the topics given and the audience grew to 25.
But that’s not the only thing that changed – this year, the boot camp had its first ever sponsor. It was so great to be supported by Beacon Hill Staffing Group. As a neighbor in our building, they have seen the boot camps of previous years and wanted to be a part of this year’s fun. Thank you so much for your support!
What Happened at our QA Bootcamp?
Our speakers went over the following areas of interest:
- Bottle Rocket’s general test approach as it pertains to mobile and connected devices
- A detailed overview of mobile automation
- Our preferred testing tools
- Different mobile platforms
- Advanced testing types such as performance, security, and load testing
The topics covered were similar to last year’s agenda, but the added time allowed the speakers to go more in depth. A full day event gave them an opportunity to kick up their presentations to the next level. Instead of giving an overview of each idea, they were able to go into more technical details, which gave the attendees a clearer picture of what it would be like to work with these tools and processes. One of the attendees said the experience was “very enriching” and that it “enabled [them] to gain insights and understanding of the concepts of mobile”.
But it wasn’t all lectures – there was also an introduction by our Director of Quality Assurance, awesome guest speakers from our User Experience and Engineering departments, a tour of our quirky space-obsessed office, a fantastic Q&A, and the delicious lunch provided by Beacon Hill Staffing Group.
Why Do We Host Bootcamps?
This type of event is not only a benefit to the participants but also to our QA team and department as a whole. As the saying goes, the best way to learn something is to teach. We believe in giving our team members the opportunity to share what they’ve learned whenever possible because this helps the people they share it with as well as strengthening their own proficiency in the subject. The QA Boot Camp is a great way to do this.
One of our new presenters this year, Jyoti Pothukuchi, commented that “sessions like this help us share our expertise and experience with the testing community” as well as “helping us improve based on the feedback”. Another presenter, AJ Mejorado, called out that the audience “had a series of really great questions during the Q&A panel” and that this gives us “an updated perspective on how many individuals in the area are really interested in not only QA but also in increasing their knowledge and skillset”.
In the end, connecting with people who share our passion for quality is what keeps us working hard on this event every year. The increase in attendees this year really boosted the amount of feedback and questions we received, so thank you so much if you were able to come and participate!
If this year’s growth is any indication, you won’t want to miss next year’s boot camp. Look out for the LinkedIn post for more details.
