Interview of TAdviser with the chief executive of Aplana company Pyotr Mozhaev

Pyotr Mozhaev: Software testing as the business direction of our company first of all is connected with quality of implementation of requirements of the customer to information systems. Often we do not even need to know in what language the tested software application what software and hardware tools are used for its work is written. It agrees the terminology accepted among specialists, it is called black box testing. In this case the specialist works with the application as the ordinary user – looks at the interface, reads the requirement description, checks functionality of the application. Testing by a method of "a gray box" assumes partial idea of that, the tested product from the point of view of a "invisible" part of the application how exactly works. It should be considered when developing test sets and data. Most often the second method is used together with method of "a black box" in projects on integration testing when not the autonomous application, but a set of the interconnected components or systems, web services, files is checked, and we understand including structure and a format of the circulating data. In quality check of a program code (a method of "a white box") when process is monitored at the level of step-by-step execution of operators, we are practically not engaged, such tasks are carried out in most cases by software developers.

Pyotr Mozhaev: 15 years ago the Russian outsourcing market – as in general, and regarding services of quality control of software products – was poorly developed. Today, despite a certain lag from the West, the Russian market of testing became much more mature. The number of the companies specializing in provision of services on quality control of software increased. If in the first years of market grouping of such players there were units, then today – tens. Thus, the market became more saturated, competitive, the customer had big freedom regarding the choice of contractors for work on testing of IT solutions. Also the customer's attitude to outsourcing of this work type was to the best changed. Today it is not required to explain to the client outsourcing elements any more: why it is necessary to attract a third party what advantages this scheme of cooperation what reefs can meet gives. The customer already knows all this.

Pyotr Mozhaev: We do not draw line on a scope of the tested applications, but we have a certain specialization. We range customers on the volume of business and criticality of IT systems for key business of the client. As you know, IT solutions are crucial for representatives of the financial sector, telecom industry, retail and FMCG (they are the consumer goods). Respectively, we implement the lion share of the projects in the field of finance. I will emphasize that our specialists working at the main direction have knowledge not only in the field of IT, but also understand that industry for which the tested application is intended. If we start project implementation in few acquaintance for us of area, it simply requires extra time for immersion of specialists in a subject part, but from the point of view of the organization and carrying out the process of testing of a big difference is not present.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Certainly. In our case there is a certain professional gradation - beginning from the trainee, the junior tester and so on, up to leading specialists ("test leads") and project managers. For more effective training of specialists and their project orientation a few years ago we started and actively we develop own Corporate University within which our specialists study at rates of different subject and orientation.

Pyotr Mozhaev: The crisis phenomena resulted in need of optimization of our business. The matter is that costs (first of all, it is the salary of specialists) continue to grow, despite crisis. At the same time budgets of customers did not increase, in some cases were even reduced. Respectively, the marginality of projects decreases and to continue to work effectively at the highly competitive market, we should optimize expense structure. One more important change – in the market there passed euphoria from outsourcing when to the third-party companies a lot of things were assigned. Customers began to revive own centers for testing, to create at themselves groups of specialists with key IT competences, managing directors of work of contractors according to the specialization. It allows the company not to become attached to one outsourcer and to flexibly control quality control processes.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Business development requires more intensive recruiting. Recently we changed approaches to employee development. Taking into account that it is quite difficult to invite sufficient number of the developed specialists, we willingly take beginners – trainees, investing in their training. Yes, at first beginners work slightly less effectively, than experienced employees (according to our data, for 20-40%), but their cost as specialists at the initial stage is rather low that allows to keep marginality of projects at the acceptable level. It is understood and accepted by our customers. In one command with experienced specialists young testers quickly accumulate experience, and internal training contributes to the development of necessary competences.

Pyotr Mozhaev: For testing a separate environment on which the copy of the application is unrolled is always created. In exceptional cases testing (most often load) is held on a "fighting" circuit, but even in this case for the period of tests the circuit becomes test. At what stage testing is performed – depends on the specific project. We build up the long relationship with the customer. Therefore if, for example, we participate in development process and implementations of a new information system, our purpose it is not simple to check the solution for compliance to functional requirements, to help to deliver it in commercial operation and to leave. It is important that the customer was convinced that our participation allowed it to reduce risks which he undertakes, implementing a new system, and helped to accelerate its implementation. Therefore we try to help the customer further, for all lifecycle of the application, in process of its development, completion, emergence of new releases with updates.

Pyotr Mozhaev: We also work only with big customers. Our profile clients – the companies of an Enterprise segment. In general, outsourcing of services of quality control is generally used by such companies.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Yes, recently it became the general rule. About five years ago the conclusion of long-term agreements about the service layer was considered as exotic, and today we have SLA practically with all clients. I will note that in these agreements among other also penalties which we pay in case of the admission of crucial defects of the tested system are fixed.

Pyotr Mozhaev: There are two main classes of tools for testing – the testing automation equipment (functional and load) and management tools testing. In respect of automation we use the most different tools, generally it depends on opportunities of this or that tool and also on preferences of our customers. In our portfolio there are also multifunction products from large vendors (IBM, HP, Microsoft), and tools of other developers – often with the functionality limited in comparison with solutions of large producers, and even free programs (based on OpenSource). In a product line for testing process control a deal approximately same: tools from large vendors are provided, it is simpler than means with functionality, allowing to arrange management process, and there are absolutely simple free tools.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Restrictions are connected generally with opportunities for work with different application classes. If it applications for stress testing, then it is necessary to estimate a possibility of interception of traffic the instrument of stress testing. If this application for the automated functional testing, then is about opportunities for work with components of the user interface here – whether is capable to distinguish the tool them? If the customer has certain exotic software which is supported by only one testing tool, – that it is not necessary to select tools. If the solution is created on the standard platform, then, as a rule, it is possible to manage also free testing aids. Finally when choosing tools all depends on what are set the tasks. If it is required to make a full-fledged research of application performance, a hardware-software configuration, to study all components of process, the server – in this case the free tool, most likely, not to manage. At least, it is necessary to use a professional tool of administration to trace all parameters of performance. In some cases we develop own tools for testing, in particular, if it is about testing of integration interaction, for example, of Web services.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Yes, and we do it too. The special division of the company – the Center of consulting – carries out similar works for our clients. Audit allows to define efficiency of use of IT systems of the customer, to estimate a maturity of business processes and to develop the actions plan on IT activity improvement. Objects and a technique are selected under specifics and the purposes of each customer, and many appreciate such not sample approach.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Distinctions are also quite essential. In the western projects the role of the tester is accurately outlined, it is limited to the solution of a certain set of tasks, accomplishment of any extra works is not required. In the projects implemented in the Russian companies from the testing specialist often, in addition to actually development of a test script or accomplishment of tests, it is required to specify requirements, to configure servers, to execute some other the accompanying works.

Pyotr Mozhaev: In 2015 we managed to expand a circle of clients. So, we won large tender for testing of information systems in Yota telecommunication company, started the interesting project in independent laboratory Invitro. In the large international company the project on implementation of a cloud integration bus of Dell Boomi within which stress testing of data centers of Dell was held was executed.

Pyotr Mozhaev: Really, main "whale" on whom there is a business of Aplana company is the sphere of testing. About 80% of volume of the rendered services are the share of it. Two less large "whales" - consulting and maintenance. The center of consulting of our company, relying on practice front lines, proposes effective solutions for implementation of business challenges of different level of complexity. We specialize not only in audit of IT systems, also we optimize business processes, we help to update and develop from scratch methodologies, we improve processes of corporate development. The center of support of Aplana, as a rule, participates in implementation projects of IT systems when integration of different, including rare software is required. For example, the customer needs to integrate the HP solution with the Redmine application. The vendor will not be engaged in such works, community Open Source – too, but for the customer it is critical, and we come to the rescue.

Pyotr Mozhaev: As you know, the main directions of cloud services is IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. Infrastructure as service (IaaS) helps at stress testing when the customer needs a certain hardware platform for the short period to check application performance on a specific set of hardware. It is obvious that it is inexpedient to buy the equipment for carrying out one testing, and simpler, more convenient and more profitable to lease. Testing in the field of SaaS lags behind so far though in the market there are already examples when testing tools are offered as cloud solutions (for example, it does IBM). I think, as other vendors will bring to the market effective remedies of testing on cloud model in the near future.

Pyotr Mozhaev: The Russian market of testing goes in a waterway of the North American and Western European markets. Respectively, that with quite high accuracy to predict a status of our market in two-three years, it is necessary to look what occurs today in the West. What is interesting, there solutions on a customer site (on-premise) in an Enterprise segment substantially (approximately) are already replaced with 50% with cloud solutions. In a segment of SMB, apparently, penetration of clouds is even higher. In the Russian market penetration of cloud computing is still considerably lower, than in the West, and is estimated at the level of 5-10%. But in the long term, it is possible to predict that solutions on platforms of the Russian customers will also be forced out by cloud services.

Pyotr Mozhaev: In the press there is information on possible creation of building tools softwares which will initially contain verifiability of the code from time to time, including – functional requirements to the developed software. But so far all this at the level of a talk. It is personally difficult to me to provide how the similar solution can be implemented in practice. In my opinion, emergence in the market of a certain versatile tool of software testing which would lead to dying off of quality check of software products as the separate direction of business is not expected yet. The cost of development of the test is rather high, and the functionality which is reasonable for automating is rather narrow. All software products and information systems which are developed and implemented in the market should be tested manually, from it so far not to leave anywhere.