Frequently Asked Questions

We have added some frequently asked questions about the services we provide and about testing in general. If you can`t find the question you are looking for, please feel free to email us or give us a call on the details above.

You can filter the FAQ's by Category by selecting the appropriate category in the drop-down menu then clicking on "Go"

Show all FAQ'sAccounts Procedures & Contract Documentation Candidate Placements General Recruitment Referral Scheme Software QA Testing Services Training, Education & Mentoring

What training courses do you provide? Are your courses open to the general public? Do you provide on-site courses? We are looking for some mentoring, do you provide this? How do I make further enquiries about a training course? Who is responsible for risk management? Will automated testing tools make testing easier? What can be done if requirements are changing continuously? Does every software project need testers? What is 'Software Quality Assurance'? What is 'Software Testing'? What is the 'software life cycle'? How quickly can you place candidates? Do you provide test resources for work outside the UK? Do we need to register with QAIST beforehand? How do I register my CV? How much do your services cost? Do you provide online learning facilities? Will you email me when new jobs are posted? Do you post all your jobs on your website? I`m registered with you, how do I update my profile? Do you do a "referral" scheme? Why should I register with you? Do you advertise your jobs on any other website? How much do you charge to find the right candidate? What makes you different to all the other recruitment agencies? How do we advertise our job vacancies? Where do you advertise the vacancies that we send to you? I have submitted my CV online and received a reference number. What's it used for? What happens if I have submitted my CV more than once? I`ve lost my unique reference number - what do I do? Do you provide bespoke courses? I`ve submitted my CV, how long will it be until you contact me? What do you do with my details? I`ve tried to contact you by phone, but no-one answers. Why? We are a UK registered company with offices in Europe. Can you provide us with consultancy services? We are a non-UK registered company. Can you provide us with consultancy services? What size projects can you support? Are you members of any professonal groups? Are you ISO9001:2000 accredited? Can you just supply us with some document templates? How does your referral scheme work? How can we pay for courses? How much can we save by using your Offshore Services? What is the shortest consultancy period you can do? Why are your training courses so cheap? Following commencement of my assignment, when should I submit my first invoice? Why does QAIST Recruitment require a copy of my passport or working visa? Why does QAIST Recruitment require the contact details for my next of kin? Where and how should I send my invoices to QAIST Recruitment? If I am claiming travelling expenses through my umbrella company for travel to and from work, should these be highlighted to the Client in the timeshe How soon do I need to return the contract documentation to QAIST Recruitment? Do I need to sign and return all copies of the contract documentation that I have received from QAIST Recruitment or do I keep a copy for my records? Q: What training courses do you provide? A: QAIST Education are able to provide a full range of training courses and services to meet your personal and business requirements. We have partnered with a leading ISEB/ISTQB certified training provider and have negiogiated some competitive prices on your behalf. Courses provided include: ISTQB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing ISEB Practitioner in Software Testing Risk Management User Acceptance Testing .... and many more For more information visit our web page at QAIST Education    Q: Are your courses open to the general public? A: Yes. We provide public sessions where the general public can attend alongside companies that have registered their candidates. This allows a great mix of skills and personalities on the courses and aims to enhance your course experience and network with some great people. We have had attendees from Spain, France and Belgium attending our courses in London.    Q: Do you provide on-site courses? A: Yes. If you have 6 or more delegates wishing to attend the same course, we can arrange an on-site training session and can even tailor it to meet your business need where appropriate. We can even arrange for you to sit your exam on-site as well if the course requires it.    Q: We are looking for some mentoring, do you provide this? A: Yes we can. We have a skilled pool of test consultants who have a wide range of experience in a range of market sectors. We will discuss with you beforehand your mentoring requirement which will allow us to asess which consultant to provide. We will also discuss if you require a short or long-term mentoring programme. For instance, we can provide an ongoing mentoring programme for your test department and will enter your organisation as and when is required. We will not leave until you and your mentees feel that they are confident enough to undertake the role or piece of work on their own.    Q: How do I make further enquiries about a training course? A: Simply click on the "Book Course" button on the required course page and complete the details. This does not guarantee the booking or commit you to the course, it simply registers you`re interest. A member of our training team will then contact you to discuss in more detail. Alternatively, go to our "Downloads" page, print off the booking form and email it to us or post it. We will then contact you back. Or, just pick up the phone and contact us.    Q: Who is responsible for risk management? A: Risk management means the actions taken to avoid things going wrong on a software development project, things that might negatively impact the quality, timeliness, or cost of a project. This is, of course, a shared responsibility among everyone involved in a project. However, there needs to be a 'buck stops here' person who can consider the relevant tradeoffs when decisions are required, and who can ensure that everyone is handling their risk management responsibilities. It is not unusual for the term 'risk management' to never come up at all in a software organization or project. If it does come up, it's often assumed to be the responsibility of QA or test personnel. Or there may be a 'risks' or 'issues' section of a project, QA, or test plan, and it's assumed that this means that risk management has taken place. The issues here are similar to those for the LFAQ question "Who should decide when software is ready to be released?" It's generally NOT a good idea for a test lead, test manager, or QA manager to be the 'buck stops here' person for risk management. Typically QA/Test personnel or managers are not managers of developers, analysts, designers and many other project personnel, and so it would be difficult for them to ensure that everyone on a project is handling their risk management responsibilities. Additionally, knowledge of all the considerations that go into risk management mitigation and tradeoff decisions is rarely the province of QA/Test personnel or managers. Based on these factors, the project manager is usually the most appropriate 'buck stops here' risk management person. QA/Test personnel can, however, provide input to the project manager. Such input could include analysis of quality-related risks, risk monitoring, process adherence reporting, defect reporting, and other information.    Q: Will automated testing tools make testing easier? A: Possibly. For small projects, the time needed to learn and implement them may not be worth it unless personnel are already familiar with the tools. For larger projects, or on-going long-term projects they can be valuable. A common type of automated tool is the 'record/playback' type. For example, a tester could click through all combinations of menu choices, dialog box choices, buttons, etc. in an application GUI and have them 'recorded' and the results logged by a tool. The 'recording' is typically in the form of text based on a scripting language that is interpretable by the testing tool. Often the recorded script is manually modified and enhanced. If new buttons are added, or some underlying code in the application is changed, etc. the application might then be retested by just 'playing back' the 'recorded' actions, and comparing the logging results to check effects of the changes. The problem with such tools is that if there are continual changes to the system being tested, the 'recordings' may have to be changed so much that it becomes very time-consuming to continuously update the scripts. Additionally, interpretation and analysis of results (screens, data, logs, etc.) can be a difficult task. Note that there are record/playback tools for text-based interfaces also, and for all types of platforms. Another common type of approach for automation of functional testing is 'data-driven' or 'keyword-driven' automated testing, in which the test drivers are separated from the data and/or actions utilized in testing (an 'action' would be something like 'enter a value in a text box'). Test drivers can be in the form of automated test tools or custom-written testing software. The data and actions can be more easily maintained - such as via a spreadsheet - since they are separate from the test drivers. The test drivers 'read' the data/action information to perform specified tests. This approach can enable more efficient control, development, documentation, and maintenance of automated tests/test cases. Other automated tools can include: code analyzers - monitor code complexity, adherence to standards, etc. coverage analyzers - these tools check which parts of the code have been exercised by a test, and may be oriented to code statement coverage, condition coverage, path coverage, etc. memory analyzers - such as bounds-checkers and leak detectors. load/performance test tools - for testing client/server and web applications under various load levels. web test tools - to check that links are valid, HTML code usage is correct, client-side and server-side programs work, a web site's interactions are secure. other tools - for test case management, documentation management, bug reporting, and configuration management, file and database comparisons, screen captures, security testing, macro recorders, etc. Test automation is, of course, possible without COTS tools. Many successful automation efforts utilize custom automation software that is targeted for specific projects, specific software applications, or a specific organization's software development environment. In test-driven agile software development environments, automated tests are built into the software during (or preceding) coding of the application.    Q: What can be done if requirements are changing continuously? A: This is a common problem for organizations where there are expectations that requirements can be pre-determined and remain stable. If these expectations are reasonable, here are some approaches: Work with the project's stakeholders early on to understand how requirements might change so that alternate test plans and strategies can be worked out in advance, if possible. It's helpful if the application's initial design allows for some adaptability so that later changes do not require redoing the application from scratch. If the code is well-commented and well-documented this makes changes easier for the developers. Use some type of rapid prototyping whenever possible to help customers feel sure of their requirements and minimise changes. The project's initial schedule should allow for some extra time commensurate with the possibility of changes. Try to move new requirements to a 'Phase 2' version of an application, while using the original requirements for the 'Phase 1' version. Negotiate to allow only easily-implemented new requirements into the project, while moving more difficult new requirements into future versions of the application. Be sure that customers and management understand the scheduling impacts, inherent risks, and costs of significant requirements changes. Then let management or the customers (not the developers or testers) decide if the changes are warranted - after all, that's their job. Balance the effort put into setting up automated testing with the expected effort required to refactor them to deal with changes. Try to design some flexibility into automated test scripts. Focus initial automated testing on application aspects that are most likely to remain unchanged. Devote appropriate effort to risk analysis of changes to minimize regression testing needs. Design some flexibility into test cases (this is not easily done; the best bet might be to minimize the detail in the test cases, or set up only higher-level generic-type test plans) Focus less on detailed test plans and test cases and more on ad hoc testing (with an understanding of the added risk that this entails). If this is a continuing problem, and the expectation that requirements can be pre-determined and remain stable is NOT reasonable, it may be a good idea to figure out why the expectations are not aligned with reality, and to refactor an organization's or project's software development process to take this into account. It may be appropriate to consider agile development approaches.    Q: Does every software project need testers? A: While all projects will benefit from testing, some projects may not require independent test staff to succeed. Which projects may not need independent test staff? The answer depends on the size and context of the project, the risks, the development methodology, the skill and experience of the developers, and other factors. For instance, if the project is a short-term, small, low risk project, with highly experienced programmers utilizing thorough unit testing or test-first development, then test engineers may not be required for the project to succeed. In some cases an IT organization may be too small or new to have a testing staff even if the situation calls for it. In these circumstances it may be appropriate to instead use contractors or outsourcing, or adjust the project management and development approach (by switching to more senior developers and agile test-first development, for example). Inexperienced managers sometimes gamble on the success of a project by skipping thorough testing or having programmers do post-development functional testing of their own work, a decidedly high risk gamble. For non-trivial-size projects or projects with non-trivial risks, a testing staff is usually necessary. As in any business, the use of personnel with specialized skills enhances an organisation's ability to be successful in large, complex, or difficult tasks. It allows for both a) deeper and stronger skills and b) the contribution of differing perspectives. For example, programmers typically have the perspective of 'what are the technical issues in making this functionality work?'. A test engineer typically has the perspective of 'what might go wrong with this functionality, and how can we ensure it meets expectations?'. Technical people who can be highly effective in approaching tasks from both of those perspectives are rare, which is why, sooner or later, organisations bring in test specialists.    Q: What is 'Software Quality Assurance'? A: Software QA involves the entire software development PROCESS - monitoring and improving the process, making sure that any agreed-upon standards and procedures are followed, and ensuring that problems are found and dealt with.    Q: What is 'Software Testing'? A: Testing involves operation of a system or application under controlled conditions and evaluating the results (eg, 'if the user is in interface A of the application while using hardware B, and does C, then D should happen'). The controlled conditions should include both normal and abnormal conditions. Testing should intentionally attempt to make things go wrong to determine if things happen when they shouldn't or things don't happen when they should.    Q: What is the 'software life cycle'? A: The life cycle begins when an application is first conceived and ends when it is no longer in use. It includes aspects such as initial concept, requirements analysis, functional design, internal design, documentation planning, test planning, coding, document preparation, integration, testing, maintenance, updates, retesting, phase-out, and other aspects.    Q: How quickly can you place candidates? A: It all depends on your requirement. We have a comprehensive database of registered candidates ranging a cross a number of disciplines throughout the UK. We can usually provide 2 or 3 suitable CV's for contract positions within 48 hours of your request. If you are looking for permanent positions then we aim to provide you with suitable candidates within 72 hours. We can also screen candidates beforehand for permanent positions before an interview if you so require.    Q: Do you provide test resources for work outside the UK? A: At present, we only deal with the UK market, but plans are in place to expand our operations into Europe in 2008.    Q: Do we need to register with QAIST beforehand? A: Yes. Before we are able to provide any clients with CV's we do require you to register you`re details with us first. This process only takes a few hours and can be done over the phone if required. Once you (your organisation or department) have registered with us, then we can provide you with placement services as and when is required.    Q: How do I register my CV? A: Registration is simple. You can either upload your CV on our website, just visit our CV registration page or email us your CV to our recruitment department or fax us your CV to 01746 714286. Once you have sent us your CV we will contact you back to discuss your job requirement in more detail.    Q: How much do your services cost? A: Our candidate recruitment services are FREE. Under the Employment Agencies Act, no recruitment agencies can charge candidates for employment services for this type of work.    Q: Do you provide online learning facilities? A: Yes we do. We launched our Learning Management System in 2007 and now provide a limited number of courses you can now take online. More information can be read on our Distance Learning page.    Q: Will you email me when new jobs are posted? A: No. Any new jobs we post on our website will automatically be available through our Jobs RSS feed facility. All you need to do to stay up-to-date is copy and paste the URL feed into your favourite RSS reader or if you are use IE7 then utilise the RSS reader facility built-in. The URL feed is: http://www.qaist.co.uk/rss/content/jobsrss.asp Just copy and paste the above into your RSS reader and when we post a new job you will automatically be notified.    Q: Do you post all your jobs on your website? A: Not always. Any new vacancy requests we receive we will automatically scan our candidate database for registered users first to ensure that we can provide a rapid response for our clients and registered candidates. In the event that we are unable to match a suitable candidate to the vacancy, we will then post the vacancy onto our website, usually within 24 hours.    Q: I`m registered with you, how do I update my profile? A: At present we do not have an online facility for candidates to update their profile, i.e. their CV or availablity dates. Please do keep in touch with us and provide us with upto date information on your employment status, so we avoid calling you whilst you are on assignment.    Q: Do you do a "referral" scheme? A: Yes. See the section "Referral Scheme" on our FAQ's page.    Q: How does your referral scheme work? A: Further details can be found at our Referral Scheme page. But at a high level, QAIST are offering a referral fee for each new contractor candidate that you pass onto us and we manage to succesfully place into a vacancy. We will give you upto a maximum of £500.00. Please read the relevant page for more details.    Q: Why should I register with you? A: If you are a candidate looking for work on a contract basis then we like to think that we are different from all the other agencies in the market place to date. We are here to make sure that you are placed into the right vacancy for your skill-sets and that you enjoy the work provided. We will: stay in touch with you throughout your assignment, provide you with any support you require throughout your assignment, provide you with discounted training courses that we provide (usually 15%) discount, only contact you when it is convienent for you, never ask you "do you know someone" if you are not able to fulfill the vacancy, and pay you or your umbrella company on-time, everytime.    Q: Do you advertise your jobs on any other website? A: Yes. Besides posting jobs on our RSS feed and website we also post jobs on the following sites: Jobserve CW Jobs Professional Tester Monster Jobsite    Q: How much do you charge to find the right candidate? A: If you are looking for contract staff then we don`t charge you any up-front fees. You will need to register with us and one of our account managers will contact you to discuss a favourable rate card, which we will then charge any candidates we place to you as per their agreed rate throughout the duration of the assignment. We can also offer fixed-rate charges for contract staff, so, you don`t pay for a contractor as per a typical daily rate, which in some circumstances can be cheaper for your organisation. Please contact one of our account managers for further details. If you are looking for permanent staff, then we are happy to discuss a "finders-fee" with you depending on the type and number of candidates that you are looking for.    Q: What makes you different to all the other recruitment agencies? A: We are not a traditional recruitment agency….. QAIST has been designed to be a cost effective alternative to traditional recruitment services. Whether you are looking to find a job in the test area, or are looking to recruit someone with test experience, our web based solution will enable you to find the right match for your needs. We know your problems... Our industry experts who have spent many years within the testing & quality assurance field, and who have themselves had the problems associated with recruiting talented staff to the organisations they worked for. Fast, effective recruitment... The key to your successful business, are the employees that you recruit. These days, test encompasses so many disciplines, from high level management to production line operatives, from software developers to hardware designers. This site was born out of a desire to make the recruitment process a quick and simple one, where like minded test professionals and forward thinking companies can be introduced to each other. Increased productivity... To increase the productivity of any organisation, the right talent must match the vacancy on offer, this is even more important in the test area, with production deadlines, reduced product margins and the need to bring product to market quicker, a vital part of many current test strategies. With such a focused site, we are sure that you will find your right job match quickly and easily.    Q: How do we advertise our job vacancies? A: Its simple. You can do it in 1 of 3 ways: send us your job specification by uploading your vacancy requirement through our website, email us your request to our recruitment advisor, phone us on 01746 714300. We will review your request and if you are a new customer, one of our account managers will contact you to discuss your requirement in more details and walk you through the process. If you are an existing customer of ours, we will immediately start to match your requirement with our candidate database.    Q: Where do you advertise the vacancies that we send to you? A: In the first instance, we will see if we can match your vacancy requirement with our candidate database. If we find suitable candidates we will pass on their CV's to you and await further instructions. If we are unable to match your vacancy requirement, then we will advertise on the following sites: our own website (QAIST Recruitment), Jobserve, CW Jobs, Jobsite, Professional Tester, and local newspapers.    Q: I have submitted my CV online and received a reference number. What's it used for? A: When you register you`re details with us, our system generates a unique reference number for you. When making any future correspondance with us via email, fax, in writing or by telephone, please use this unique reference so we can quickly allocate your details on our systems. At present, we do not supply facilities for you to update your profile on-line, however, when this feature is available in mid-2007, you will need to use the supplied reference number to update your details.    Q: What happens if I have submitted my CV more than once? A: Each time you submit us your CV online, our system will automatically generate a unique reference number. Our overnight batch processes matches all new CV's placed that day with our candidate database, and if it finds a duplicate i.e. your name and email address matches, we will update your CV but nothing else. Your new unique reference number will be discarded, so make sure that you keep your original reference number safe.    Q: I`ve lost my unique reference number - what do I do? A: Don`t panic. Either email our recruitment department or phone us on 01746 714300 and give us your name and email address. We will match your details with our candidate database and ask you some questions about your employment history to make sure that we are speaking to the right person. We can then email you your reference number.    Q: Do you provide bespoke courses? A: Yes. We can undertake 1:1, group sessions, workshops etc.. on a range of testing topics, such as: defect management, risk identification and management, testing techniques, testing tools, and much much more... We will discuss with you the content, produce the required documentation and undertake the training session to suit your business needs. Our senior consultants undertake the sessions, who all have at least 10 years industry experience and have worked across a multitude of market sectors. If your companies testing department have a specific training requirement then please contact our training office to discuss in more detail.    Q: I`ve submitted my CV, how long will it be until you contact me? A: We aim to make an initial contact with you within 48 hours of you submitting your CV to us. We will discuss your CV, your aspirations, preferred location etc... Using your permission, we will then scan our vacancy database to find suitable positions for you. We will then discuss with you the positions we have found before proceeding with your CV.    Q: What do you do with my details? A: Absolutely nothing without your consent. We NEVER pass on your details to any other 3rd party and comply with the Data Protection Act. We will only ever pass your CV onto our clients with your consent and if we believe your profile matches the vacancies we have on our database. We will NEVER "fire" your CV off to multiple clients and will ALWAYS manage your details respectfully.    Q: I`ve tried to contact you by phone, but no-one answers. Why? A: We are a small testing solutions provider and our offices are not always manned. If you are unable to reach us by phone, then please try the following options: email us on info@qaist.co.uk, or phone our Director on 07976 518365 Either option, we will contact you back ASAP. We are looking at alternative solutions as well, but we do ask that you bear with us and keep trying.    Q: We are a UK registered company with offices in Europe. Can you provide us with consultancy services? A: Yes. Although we are a small consultancy compared to some of our competitors, we do have facilities already set-up in some European countries. Where we haven`t, our consultants will be pleased to accomodate. Please contact us to discuss your requirement in more detail.    Q: We are a non-UK registered company. Can you provide us with consultancy services? A: Yes we can. We can provide the same level of service for our non-UK clients that we do for our UK based clients.    Q: What size projects can you support? A: We have supported some major clients over the past 18 months and have partnered with some key suppliers. This allows us to support projects of any size, however, once we have discussed your initial requirement with you, we will let you know if we believe that we are not the right company to support your testing requirement and will provide you with an alternative testing solutions provider if required.    Q: Are you members of any professonal groups? A: We are members of the British Computer Society, Professional Contractors Group and REC (governing body for Recruitment agencies)    Q: Are you ISO9001:2000 accredited? A: As yet no. That doesn`t mean that we don`t have quality processes and procedures. We have a number of processes that we work to in accordance with the industry standards and ISO9001 which we continue to review and implement. During 2007 we will be putting ourselves forward for accredition as part of our continual commitment to quality.    Q: Can you just supply us with some document templates? A: Well yes. We will also provide ongoing guidance and support so your organisation knows (a) how to use the documents (b) when to use them and in what context.    Q: How can we pay for courses? A: Courses can be paid for in a number of ways 1. You can using Paypal. Simply choose this option on the booking form when you click on the "Course Enquiry" button when viewing the relevant course. We will send you a Paypal link via email to allow you to pay for the course. 2. You can pay using cheque. Once you`ve completed the booking process we will send you an invoice for the total amount and details of where and who to send the cheque to. 3. Pay using Bank Transfer. Again, complete the booking process and we will send you an invoice and our bank details of where to post the money to.    Q: How much can we save by using your Offshore Services? A: QAIST Offshore Services isn`t always a viable solution for all our client's circumstances, and we will only provide the service if we believe it will be of benefit to you, not only in terms of financial savings, but also overall viability and effectiveness. Those clients where the service has been of use tend to look at saving approx. 1/3 of the total initial testing costs, which is quite a large saving. We still adhere to all industry practices and the resources we have at our offshore facilities are testing accredited and have at least 2 years commericial experience.    Q: What is the shortest consultancy period you can do? A: This all depends on the client and the project requirements. We have undertaken consultancy which has latest jut 8 business days and this was to evaluate an automation test tool for a client before they decided to purhase corporate licenses from the vendor. We don`t set a minimum period; we discuss in detail your specific requirement and then discuss what options you have that we can provide. We then agree a timeframe in which we believe we can deliver too.    Q: Why are your training courses so cheap? A: We are making a huge commitment to the testing industry in trying to promote the role of a tester through career development and training. We have therefore decided that over the next 2 years our training courses will be sold to you at a minimum cost - all we ensure is that we are covering our administrative costs. Therefore, we have cut the price of all our courses down to the bare minimum. You still receive a high quality training course, with all accredited tutors and training materials and where it states, the examiniations and refreshments/lunch are included.    Q: Following commencement of my assignment, when should I submit my first invoice? A: Unless otherwise agreed, the first invoice should be submitted after four weeks of work have been completed irrespective of whether it is the beginning, middle or end of a calendar month.    Q: Why does QAIST Recruitment require a copy of my passport or working visa? A: The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations, known as the EAA Regulations, came into force in England, Wales and Scotland on 6 th April 2004. Under this legislation, we are required to obtain confirmation of a candidate’s identity and prove that they are able to operate legally within the United Kingdom.    Q: Why does QAIST Recruitment require the contact details for my next of kin? A: In the event of an emergency or accident on site resulting in the injury of one of our contractors, we need to be able to inform the next of kin. In order to avoid any unnecessary delays, we always ask for this information from the outset should this ever be needed.    Q: Where and how should I send my invoices to QAIST Recruitment? A: Invoices can be sent to QAIST Recruitment via fax, e-mail or post. They should be marked for the attention of Accounts & Invoice Dept and should be accompanied by authorised timesheets. Post: Use the pre-paid envelopes that we have supplied to you. Tel: 01746 714300 Fax: 01746 714286 Email: invoices@qaist.co.uk    Q: If I am claiming travelling expenses through my umbrella company for travel to and from work, should these be highlighted to the Client in the timeshe A: No, these only need to be brought to the attention of your umbrella company. Expenses should only be claimed from QAIST Recruitment for expenses authorised by your Line Manager.    Q: How soon do I need to return the contract documentation to QAIST Recruitment? A: The contract documentation needs to be returned to QAIST Recruitment within seven days of receipt. However, all documentation needs to be returned prior to commencement of your assignment. If you have any queries regarding the Consultancy Agreement or Schedule of Work, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.    Q: Do I need to sign and return all copies of the contract documentation that I have received from QAIST Recruitment or do I keep a copy for my records? A: You will need to sign and return all copies and keep a copy for records.