Reflection On Internship As Quality Assurance Tester

I have been interning at Beemac Trucking, LLC for two months now. During my time here, I have been introduced to several new software applications/technologies that are primarily used for the Windows platform, and occasionally for Apple’s operating system. The initial assignment has been to act as a Quality Assurance (QA) tester to include conducting User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with the new transportation management and trucking software. This software is the leading provider of transportation dispatch, accounting, operation and brokerage management, and also a document management system.

With the addition of the new functionality, called integrated visual workflow, to achieve more stability and usability in the software, I was tasked to perform testing of the product. This new functionality allows document capture, storage, and business automation and document delivery functionality. It allows drivers, customers, and carriers to submit or capture documents via scanners, fax, email, printer, mobile, and so on to meet specific needs. Before this functionality was added, users had to manually enter documents for billing & settlements and accounts payable purposes. This functionality would help users to perform routine workflow tasks with relatively ease and in less time. I was assigned to test the software that Beemac Trucking was using to make sure it can handle the vital tasks in the real-world scenarios. I would perform random tests, and log all the bugs with relevant comments, so the software developers can make final adjustments to make the software bug-free. I have learned this part to be most important phase of the software development process because this testing phase makes sure the required functions are operating in the way it’s supposed to be in the real world scenarios. Being a part of the small team, I also have additional job responsibilities to help run the company smoothly.

I am also serving as a project manager for internal projects associated with technical workflow and process improvements and how it involves software/hardware applications used by the business. Internal projects include maintaining and updating IPs for all printers, maintaining inventory of all devices, software installations, documenting IT workflow, and so on. I also use Active Directory to create accounts for new users. I perform remote troubleshooting to diagnose and fix user problems. I also maintain daily performance of all computers hardware and systems.

During my time here, I have definitely been challenged. Starting out in a company with a relatively young IT department, I was tasked with being a tester of a buggy software alongside with various other responsibilities. The first few weeks were challenging because I had to first learn the functionalities within the software to understand what the software does in order to figure out the impact of new functions. These weeks were also very challenging because, at the university, I never learned or experienced testing a real-world software. However, with the help of mentors and various online documents, I was able to explore the use and role of the workflow software. As weeks passed by and being more familiar with the new software and its functions, I was challenged to reflect back on some projects I did individually and as a team in school. It taught me the importance of testing the product before deploying it. I reflected back on a group project we did for Information System Analysis class where we always talked about “Why should we invest in QA?”

Now, I come to appreciate its value. It is very interesting to see the distinction between the value of investing in QA prior to testing and after. I always thought testing the software before release was important, but I also argued that investing a lot of time in it looking for insignificant bugs was waste of time and resources, but now as a tester I see more value in it. Testing is important because it ensures effective performance and eliminates software failures, which would only help user experience. The short time I have spent here at Beemac Trucking has been challenging, yet very fruitful and enjoyable. I never imagined I would be exposed to this level of technology while being an intern.

The experience I have gained while interning has been immense. I have grown a lot in last two months and I hope to apply the lessons/experience I have learned interning here to secure a full-time employment opportunity in future.