SonarWiz

Introduction

SonarWiz is a highly complex piece of technology designed for very specific use cases that require detailed seabed mapping. It can process almost every type of sonar data and integrate with dozens of other tools used by researchers, the military, and technical specialists studying the seabed for any purpose.

At the time of the last release, the solution can interface with commercially available sub-bottom profilers, sidescan sonars, magnetometers, echo sounders, and bathymetric interferometers worldwide. The information extracted from sonar technology and processed by this application is used in vital areas, including seabed research by oceanographers, undersea cable connections between countries and continents, naval operations, and search-and-recovery missions worldwide.

Challenge

Chesapeake Technology approached us to strengthen their testing strategy by providing manual testing for the SonarWiz desktop app. Due to the complexity of the technology and the system as a whole, they required additional resources, including skilled, experienced testers, to verify the application’s performance and functionality.

The initial scope of the project included smoke testing the application’s core functionality using the client-provided data and test cases.

To help the client ascertain the app was up to the task, we focused on achieving several key outcomes:

• Mastering Technical Complexity: First, we had to ensure that testers working on this project could understand the app’s technical complexity. The client’s developers offered invaluable help, explaining the underlying logic and offering guidance on where QA testers should focus, turning this into a fantastic example of teamwork.
• Handling Multiple Data Formats: SonarWiz uses sonar data, but it comes in over 60 formats, each with its unique peculiarities. Our team had to learn the intricacies of these formats to identify the root cause of the application’s inability to correctly process specific file types.
• Navigating Deep Technical Dependencies: The solution’s complexity makes it hard to track down the cause or implications of any discovered bug. For example, in one notable case, a minor metadata error caused the coordinate system to be off by thousands of kilometers.
• Ensuring Critical Accuracy: As SonarWiz is used by the navies, educational institutions, dredge operators, telecommunications firms, and even police departments for search-and-recovery missions, software accuracy is paramount. Therefore, QAwerk testers trace every issue by hand to ensure the solution delivers reliable data in real time.
• Stabilizing Core Functionality: Beyond complex data processing, we have to ensure that the fundamental user experience, from downloading and installing the application to validating licenses and saving files, remains flawless for every release.

Solution

The QAwerk team tested the SonarWiz desktop app to validate its core functionality and performance. To ensure maximum reliability, we prioritized the specific testing strategies that best aligned with our client’s business needs.

• Regression Testing: We deliver manual regression testing services for a highly complex codebase. Every component update in SonarWiz is a risk of failure for some element of the system. Therefore, our teams validate every change to verify that all workflows perform reliably and remain bug-free. This testing is invaluable considering the importance of the SonarWiz applications across industries.
• Smoke Testing: The scope of our smoke testing covers all core features, including software installation, license entry, file upload, edge behavior validation with minimal input modifications, file saving, and saved content validation.
• Functional Testing: We provide ongoing, end-to-end testing of the application’s functionality to ensure it performs as expected and follows the logic outlined in the documentation. Our testers verify every function manually, testing every possible scenario meticulously and ensuring no issue is overlooked.