Overview

The Sr Quality Assurance Analyst is responsible for leading the design, development and execution of testing scope, testing strategy, execution plans, test scenarios and test cases associated with both traditional Systems Development Life Cycle and Agile methodologies. These activities support strategic initiatives and must provide results consistent with stakeholder expectations, system functionality, and established processes. This role also provides technical and consultative oversight for the delivery of quality strategic and operational activities and is responsible for collaborating with business, information systems, analytical communities, Plans, and external partners to understand impact on business and operating systems to formulate quality assurance strategies.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Works directly with business owners, business partners and project teams to develop comprehensive test execution plans, to include:

Testing Scope:

• Identification of what will be / will not be tested as constrained by testing limitations and defined by project scope
• Identification of items that will be excluded from testing as they are deemed to be not directly related to the fix / enhancement

Testing Strategy:

• Testing Cycles
• Testing Phases
• Number of Resources to be utilized

Test Data and Environment:

• Detailing of data required to test
• Detailing of roles / security permissions required for testing
• Detailing of test Environments to be utilized and timing of activities

Test Tools:

• Detailing of systems, tools and technologies including automation tools utilized for testing and an outline of how test cases and results will be tracked and communicated

Status Reporting:

• Outlining of the frequency, type, breadth and delivery vehicle for status updates

Entry / Exit Criteria:

• Detailing of the activities and quality standards that are required before each phase of testing can begin and end

Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies:

• Outlining of the mechanism that will be used for the tracking defects, assigning defects out for resolution, retesting and sign-off

Defect Management:

• Outlining of the mechanism that will be used for the tracking defects, assigning defects out for resolution, retesting and sign-off

Testing Schedule:

• Detailing of when activities will start / end, whether they be specific dates or defined milestones that must be achieved

Deliverables:

• Identification of documents, reports or other work-product output that will be generated throughout the life cycle of the project / initiative

Works directly with business owners, business partners and project teams and utilizes requirements and technical artifacts to develop detailed test cases and execution timeframes, to include:

Test Scenario Creation:

• Review and analysis of Business Requirements to determine the types and functions to be tested

Estimation of Time to Develop Test Cases:

• Analysis of test case scenarios and the Functional Requirements Specifications (FRS) to determine hours required to develop test cases

Creation of Test Cases:

• Identify preconditions required for each test case
• Workflow setup
• Data requirements
• User Roles
• Reports required
• Develop execution steps
• Develop expected results
• Enter test cases into testing tracking tool

Estimation of Time to execute test cases:

• Analysis and review of developed test cases to determine testing time required to include:
• Regression testing
• Test case execution
• Re-testing of defects
• Logging and tracking of test case results

Review and Assessment of technical specification artifact changes:

• Analysis and review of changes to FRS, if applicable, to determine required modifications to test cases, required preconditions or regression testing

Execution of test cases and associated activities, to include:

• Test Execution:

Execution of test cases to include:

• Testing
• Tracking of test case results for each step in test execution worksheet / system
• Screenshots, reports or other documentation of test case results

Analysis of test execution results / defect determination:

• Review of test case results to identify any test cases where the result was not 100% as expected
• Identification of defects

Defect Logging:

• Determination of severity of each defect
• Logging of defects in appropriate system

Re-testing:

• Execution of test cases for identified defects that have been fixed, to include:
• Testing
• Tracking of test case results for each step-in test execution worksheet / system
• Screenshots, reports, or other documentation of test case results
• Identification of defects
• Logging of defects in appropriate system

Tracking, reporting and communication of testing defects and associated activities, to include:

Communication of Defects:

• Providing updates on current list of defects to include the following as applicable:
• Clear identification and communication of the nature and impact of the defect(s)
• Creation of defect reports
• Discussion during testing / project status meetings

Prioritization of Defects:

• Conducts impact analyses to determine scope and severity of defects
• Aligns defects with business priorities
• Determines order in which defects will be resolved

Works with business owners, project teams, information systems teams, analytical teams, Plans, and external partners to provide technical and consultative oversight for the delivery of quality strategic and operational activities to understand the impact on business and operating systems and formulate quality assurance strategies.

Works directly with business owners / project teams to develop resource requirement estimates for projects to ensure resources, project funding and project timelines are aligned with the work effort required for user acceptance testing activities

Qualifications

Required Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's in business administration, statistics, information technology, information systems, health care administration, project management or related discipline, or equivalent work experience
• Minimum of 6 years' experience within a business/testing environment
  
• Minimum of 6 years' PC experience using spreadsheets and word processing tools, including all components of MS Office
  
• Minimum of 3 years' experience within a health care solutions delivery setting with applied experience in data analysis, business information systems, healthcare informatics or information technology
• 1 year applied experience with Agile methodologies
  
• 1 year experience with Agile tools such as Jira, Rally, VersionOne, Contour and Storyteller
  
• Technical experience with systems, networking, databases, Web development, Mobile App development, and user support
• Database management, modeling and data extraction experience
• Working knowledge of business requirements, data infrastructure, information systems, business applications and analytical methodologies
• Working knowledge of software systems and technology to include relational databases, client / server applications and web-based systems
• Knowledge of mobile apps with web services (e.g., REST, JSON, XML)
• In-depth knowledge of traditional Systems Development Life Cycle
• Excellent critical thinking skills and the ability to present findings and recommendations concisely
• Ability to develop methodologies, approaches, and concepts to solve business problems and answer analytical questions
• Ability to effectively communicate verbally and orally and interpersonal skills with an ability to communicate to small and/or large audiences (both internal and external to BCBSA)
• Ability to lead quality assurance, user acceptance testing and/or verification programs for business information systems.
• Ability to build consensus cross functionally for business results, relying on excellent process management and conflict management skills including advanced time and resource management skills
• Advanced analytic skills with the ability to analyze and interpret data through complex analysis

Preferred Basic Qualifications:

• 1+ years applied experience working in an Agile SCRUM environment utilizing 2 week Sprints
• 1+ years applied experience working in a Structured Agile Framework Environment (SAFE)
• ISTQB Foundation Tester Certification (or equivalent)
  
• ASTQB Mobile Tester Certification (or equivalent)
  
• ISTQB Agile Tester Certification (or equivalent)
  
• ISTQB Advanced Tester Certification (or equivalent)
  
• ISTQB Advanced Security Tester (or equivalent)
  
• ISTQB Advanced Test Automation Engineer (or equivalent)
  
• ISTQB Expert Tester (or equivalent)
  

Equal Opportunity Employer

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, gender identity, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other legally protected characteristics