Hands-On SQA: Testing New Releases Before Customers Do
Pre-release & post-release testing · 61 releases · Android POS Testing
The Issue
Software releases were historically being validated heavily after deployment, meaning defects could reach live restaurant environments before they were identified.
Issues included printer command failures, UI freezes, inventory discrepancies following payment voids, and synchronization problems between cloud systems and POS terminals.
This created reactive troubleshooting for frontline support and unnecessary risk during live restaurant operations.
Troubleshooting
I introduced a structured pre-release verification approach, testing builds before they reached production and comparing DEMO/staging behavior against production environments.
Across these 61 release cycles, I identified 68 issues across DEMO and PROD, spanning functional, integration, UI/UX, payment, peripheral, and synchronization-related problems.
Testing covered:
- POS transactions and payment flows
- Modifier pricing and inventory behavior
- Star ESC/POS peripherals and scanners
- Cloud-to-POS synchronization
- UI/UX behavior
- Regression scenarios
- Production-vs-staging differences
When defects were identified, I documented them in structured PDF reports with reproduction steps, expected vs. actual behavior, regression evidence, and supporting technical details.
Resolution
I helped establish a repeatable release-validation and defect-documentation process, giving engineering and support teams clearer information before and during releases.
Impact
Across 61 release cycles, 68 issues were identified, and formally reported to Development.
The process moved SQA upstream, reduced reliance on reactive production troubleshooting, and produced structured PDF QA reports that gave Engineering clearer, better-organized release results.