QAE – CQE

Quality Assurance & Engineering – QE&A

Getting control of your estate and infrastructure

Design and run the practices that prove your software does what it should, at the speed the business needs: risk‑based strategy, smart test automation, non‑functional checks, realistic test data, and auditable evidence.

QE&A News

Interview with Apwide

Our EaaS Practice Director Dom Blair was recently interviewed by one of our tooling partners, Apwide on the benefits of Environment Management tooling and his approach to client implementations.

What is Quality Assurance?

What QA & Engineering means at CQE We design and run the practices that prove your software does what it should, at the speed your business needs. That covers test strategy, smart automation, non‑functional assurance, data and environments for testing, and the evidence trail for compliance.

Core capabilities:

Risk‑based test strategy: align test depth to business impact, define entry/exit criteria and Definition of Done.
Test design & execution: functional tests across API, UI, and integrations; contract testing for services.
Test automation engineering: pragmatic automation pyramid (unit – API – UI); reliable, maintainable suites integrated with CI.
Non‑functional assurance: performance, reliability, and basic accessibility checks; coordinate specialist security testing.
Shift‑left quality: quality gates in pipelines, static analysis, and peer reviews; embed SDET practices in teams.
Test data & environments for QA: masked/subset/synthetic data; on‑demand datasets; stable environment booking and refresh ro
Evidence & traceability: dashboards, reports, and auditable artefacts for releases and regulatory needs.

At CQE we have some of the UK’s most talented and experienced Test & QA consultants who have shaped and delivered large and successful transformation programmes. We provide advice and guidance to our C-suite clients to help them optimise their testing to save money, improve quality and increase speed to market. This ranges from helping to select and integrate the right delivery partners, through development of complex programme test strategies and onto ensuring you have the right mix of skills and ability within your own team.

QA&E Coverage

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CQE’s functional testing approach is a context-driven, risk-based functional testing service that harnesses the power of heuristics, exploratory testing, and automated regression testing. Designed to efficiently streamline the software testing process, we deliver reliable results without the time-consuming procedures typically associated with comprehensive testing protocols.

Context-driven Testing

We adapt our strategies and focuses on specific areas based on the nature of the application, the users, and the overall business needs. By paying attention to the nuances of each project, the testing process is more targeted, ensuring important areas aren’t overlooked.

Risk-Based Testing

We analyse each application to identify high-risk areas that are more susceptible to bugs. This allows the testing efforts to be concentrated where they’re most needed, optimizing the testing process and potentially preventing major issues down the line.

Heuristic Analysis

Heuristics are experience-based techniques that help in problem-solving, learning, and discovery. CQE’s approach leverages heuristics to make educated guesses where necessary, significantly reducing the amount of time and resources needed to uncover potential issues.

Exploratory Testing

Along with our strategic, focused testing methods, we also use exploratory testing to mimic user behaviours and interactions. This approach can often reveal issues that more structured testing might miss.

Automated Regression Testing

CQE’s functional testing incorporates an automation feature for regression testing. This enables it to quickly and efficiently verify that previously tested and verified software still performs after a change. This saves a lot of manual re-testing time, allowing more focus on new features and their quality.

Real-time reporting

Our real-time reporting system ensures that you stay informed of the testing process at every stage. It includes details about what has been tested, issues discovered, and recommendations for solutions.

At CQE we specialise in holistic quality assurance that elevates your software solutions. Our focus goes beyond the essential functional aspects of your application, extending to its performance and efficiency under diverse conditions. Our comprehensive suite of Non-Functional Testing services covers performance engineering, resiliency, scalability, operational readiness, usability, and security testing.

Performance Engineering

We strongly believe in integrating performance considerations early in the software lifecycle. Our performance engineering services aim to identify and resolve performance-related issues during the initial development stages. By building performance testing from the start, we ensure that your software exhibits outstanding speed, stability, and responsiveness, even under high-demand scenarios. This proactive approach helps to enhance user experience and customer satisfaction, while also reducing the costs and delays that can come with late-stage modifications.

Resiliency Testing

With our resiliency testing services, we ensure your software can withstand and recover from unexpected challenges. We assess your system’s robustness, fault tolerance, and recovery mechanisms, ensuring uninterrupted operation and consistent user experience even in adverse situations. By enhancing your software’s resiliency, we help safeguard your business reputation and user trust.

Scalability Testing

Our scalability testing services ensure that your software can efficiently handle increased user load, data volume, and transactions as your business grows. By proactively testing and addressing scalability you can confidently expand your operations knowing your software will continue to perform effectively.

Operational Acceptance Testing

Our operational readiness testing services ensure that your software is prepared to go live and perform seamlessly in a real-world environment. We rigorously evaluate system workflows, operational procedures, and infrastructure capabilities, identifying and resolving any issues that could hinder your launch. This ensures a smooth and effective system deployment, minimising potential disruptions to your operations and users.

Usability Testing

Our usability testing services are designed to ensure your software is intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to navigate. We work closely with your team to understand your users’ needs and preferences, providing you with valuable insights that can help you improve the user experience of your applications. We assess user interface design, interaction flow, and responsiveness, aiming to optimise your software for an outstanding user experience. Greater usability leads to increased user engagement and satisfaction, contributing to your brand’s success.

Security Testing

In today’s digital landscape, strong security is non-negotiable. We conduct exhaustive security testing, including penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and security audits. Our services help identify potential threats, vulnerabilities, secure user data, and protect your system from breaches; thereby shielding your business from potential reputational damage and liability.

How it works

Upon receiving a new project, CQE’s expert testers first evaluate the software’s context, understanding its intended use, user base, and more. Then, we analyse the software to identify high-risk areas and designs a testing strategy that focuses on these areas.

Utilising heuristic and exploratory testing methods, our method effectively imitates real-world user behaviour, exploring the software’s functionality and searching for any issues that might affect user experience.

Meanwhile, our automated regression testing system works in the background, checking for any issues that might have arisen due to changes in the software. If a problem is detected, the system immediately alerts the team, offering solutions for rectification.

With this intelligent approach, CQE’s approach reduces the time and resources needed for functional testing, while ensuring a thorough and reliable analysis of your software’s performance.

Built using either Java or C# to suit most technology stacks

Stubbing Simulating APIs, enabling higher test coverage earlier in the SDLC

Multitiered testing capabilities covering the UI, APIs, database

Audit logging tracing and search capabilities

Reporting can be integrated or stand-alone

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Test Automation

Automated testing offers significant time savings by eliminating repetitive manual tasks. By automating the testing process, test cases and scripts can run much faster than manual testing, providing prompt feedback on software functionality and quality. Test scripts can be reused and executed repeatedly, reducing the need for retesting and saving time and effort. If you’re unsure about how to begin automation, CQE’s Automation Accelerator can help your teams get started efficiently and effectively.

These are Testing Times let’s have a chat and go through our QE&A solutions in more detail.

QE&A Tooling

Our go to tooling is the Apwide Golive Jira plugin, building on the functionality of the Atlassian Jira platform, it allows you to create specific application & environment entities which can then have attributes (server id, ip address, version # etc.) applied to them and then be allocated to jira requests for bookings, scheduled for deployments all the while being tracked via custom timelines within new screens.

The Golive Environment Hub is a single source of truth to share information, manage and orchestrate Environments. Our experts use a methodology that classifies EaaS use cases and product features into 3 categories: Track, Schedule and Orchestrate. Depending on your EaaS maturity level, you may be interested in one or several of them.

No Jira? No problem, we have implemented EaaS on a number of tooling platforms, from Plutora (Planview), Enov8 and even custom built solutions on Azure DevOps. Tooling recomendations are based on suitability for the organisation, functionality required as well as budget, but no matter which tooling option is selected the principles remain the same – Ease of use, seamless integration with existing tools and the best choice for your organisation.