Roq Quality Engineering Academy – Our Bootcamp Journey

Learn more about our Roq career opportunities and apply for the next Academy intake here, or get in touch with Shaheen.gul@roq.co.uk

Quality Engineering Academy Week 1     WC 11/10/21 

The first official week of the Roq Academy started off with a BANG! An introductory week led by both Steven Knowles and Gill Worden, it consisted of sessions including team building, having the right attitude to work, as well as an informative talk on Traction by Founder of Roq, Stephen Johnson. From creating foil horses, to consuming unhealthy amounts of pizza, and a mixed bag of talent at the local bowling alley. This was the beginning of turning a garden of weeds into a blossom of trees.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 2    WC 18/10/21 

The hard work really started in week 2. This was the launch of a carefully designed testing bootcamp constructed collaboratively by Roq and external training providers Credersi. The Roq Academy Consultants were split into three teams and given the task of creating their own transportation applications. This led to the birth of Look2Fly, On-Track, and BUSline. We were also introduced to the different types of testing, as well as the seven principles of software testing, beginning our preparation for our ISTQB exams (an industry recognised software testing qualification).

In week 2 we also started a pool tournament, with members competing against each other to race to the top of the pool league table and grab the mystery prize!

We ended the week with Roqtober, an annual event held by Roq! And I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate a week’s hard work! It was a chance to meet the rest of the Roq family, enjoy a three-course meal, as well as entertainment such as guest speaker Geoff Ramm, who gave an insightful talk on ‘celebrity service’ and how to make every client feel like they are Beyonce or Brad Pitt. 

Quality Engineering Academy Week 3     WC 25/10/21 

The third week of the bootcamp consisted of remote learning – getting to grips with MS Teams and getting used to working more independently. Whilst online, we learnt simple but very useful GIT commands and practiced creating Arrays in JavaScript. The more theoretical side of the week was based on the Software Testing Lifecycle (STLC), which was very insightful and will be of great use going forward for sure!

Quality Engineering Academy Week 4     WC 01/11/21 

At the beginning of week four we were given a small individual project to complete, which consisted of writing test cases including numerous variables. This was a good challenge as it allowed us to pull together what we had learnt over the last couple of weeks and implement it into one project. The project was then showcased with the rest of the team, and it was interesting to see how other members of the academy completed the project and which approach they took.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 5     WC 08/11/21

This week we were introduced to the concept of DOM (Document Object Model) and we used HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create our own online profiles. This was a great challenge as everyone used different elements and styles in CSS to really make their personality shine through their profiles. We also developed our understanding of Agile methodology and played some planning poker which was great fun!

Quality Engineering Academy Week 6         WC 15/11/21   

Week 6 started with a whole lot of Java, which was actually a lot simpler than expected! Following this, we went through the four principles of OOP (Object Orientated Programming) and the week was rounded off with learning how to create different branches on our GIT repositories. 

We had reached the halfway point now and everyone was in full swing with the training and the pool competition was still going strong!

Quality Engineering Academy Week 7     WC 22/11/21

To start this week off we were set a challenge, in which we were required to create three branches in GIT: Main, Development, and Production. We also picked our own websites to test using test automation tools. One of the chosen websites was for a floristry business, which at first seemed to be working reasonably fine but once tested thoroughly had several faults, such as users being able to minus quantity of items into their cart which resulted in the customer being owed a refund.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 8     WC 29/11/21 

The highlight of week 8 was understanding the roles and responsibilities of different individuals involved on a project, and therefore the kinds of people we would soon be working with; such as test engineers and test managers. We also created battle simulation games where two objects were created to battle each other, a bit like Top Trumps but using Java. This was really fun and it was great to see the different, rather imaginative objects created to battle each other, from John Cena and The Undertaker, to Paul and Barry Chuckle. 

Quality Engineering Academy Week 9     WC 06/12/21    

This week we were at the Credersi office at The Bonded Warehouse in Manchester and it was great to see everyone in person after a few sessions online. Upon arrival we were welcomed by a big, beautiful Christmas tree which really set everyone in the Christmas spirit.

The most exciting part of the week was being introduced to the final project of the bootcamp and we spent an entire day with the subject matter expert of the Credersi-Vend software, getting to understand the application and requirements of the project. 

Quality Engineering Academy Week 10   WC 13/12/21     

Week 10 was the official start of the final project as we got our eager hands on the code. Following this, teams spent time together deciding on an approach to tackle the project. The tasks were split between different team members, and everyone got on with their work. The project consisted of using the four test levels; component, integration, system, and acceptance testing, in order to test the software provided. It was fantastic to end the week with a day out and spend the time bonding over paintballing. The cold weather meant lots of pain! Though it remained very fun and enjoyable to spend time with the fellow Academy consultants in an out-of-work environment.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 11   WC 20/12/21   

During our last week of training with Credersi the final projects were completed, and the teams prepared to present during the project showcase. Each group presented how they tested the application and the approaches they took. It was great to see the differences in the methods each group undertook to complete the project and deliver the presentation. We couldn’t have been prouder of ourselves for putting everything we had learnt over the past few weeks into practice.

We also hosted the first ever ‘Happy Hour’ session for Roq. The theme of this session was to give others at Roq an insight as to what we had been getting up to at the Roq Academy over the last few weeks. We also received some great advice from more experienced individuals on what to expect when we get put on client projects. 

Quality Engineering Academy Week 12   WC 04/01/22   

First week back after Christmas and we were all feeling refreshed. It was a short week and the main focus was revision for the ISTQB Foundation exam, going over the terminology and providing practice exams to try. Steven Knowles and Gill Worden supported us through the week and broke up the sessions with team building and soft skills training.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 13   WC 10/01/22   

This week was all about automating with Kittens!  Senior Test Engineers at Roq introduced us to the Roq framework ‘Kittens’ and we spent the week learning how to make it purr. It was great to work closely with Roq colleagues and understand more about how our training so far can be applied on real-life projects.

Quality Engineering Academy Week 14   WC 17/01/22   

The last week of the Academy bootcamp and there were two key highlights: finding out which client projects we were going on to the following week, and the away day walking up Rivington Pike!

It was exciting to know which client projects we were assigned to and start to learn more about them and meet the teams. Everyone was helpful and welcoming, and we couldn’t wait to get started. On our last day, we were out of the office and hiking up Rivington Pike with the Founder and CEO of Roq, Stephen Johnson. It was great to spend time chatting and getting to know them in such a relaxed environment, and the views from the top were amazing! 

Overall, the journey from the beginning of the bootcamp to the end was brilliant. Every day was insightful. Not only was I given an introduction to all things testing but also to many other things that I had not previously come across, as well as the training and knowledge necessary to gain my ISTQB Foundation qualification. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to develop my Java skills, and found the experience surprisingly enjoyable. Not forgetting to mention that I also met some great people along the way. Now that the training is all completed, I feel fully confident in myself and my abilities and I am really enjoying getting stuck into some real projects where I can help maintain and improve the quality of software.