Quality assurance testing on video games : The importance and impact of a misunderstood industry

The aim of this research was to provide a more holistic insight of the video game quality assurance industry to video game industry professionals and prospective employees in order to promote the importance and impact of quality assurance testing in video games. The motive for this thesis came from the author's work experience in video game quality assurance testing, and from realizing how little is known about the industry. The research question was defined as 'what is video game quality assurance, and what is its impact on an end product?' This thesis was executed as a qualitative research, as it used structured interviews as the main method of data collection. Other methods of data collection were an online survey, literature and Internet sources. The results gained from this research were that quality assurance consists mainly of functionality quality assurance, localization quality assurance, and platform certification quality assurance. Quality assurance testing is an important part of game development, because it detects and reports defects within a game, which helps improve the product. Another result gained was that the future of the industry is expected to boom, as video games become the major form of entertainment, and thus the role of quality assurance will increase. Hence it is important to understand quality assurance testing as an essential part of game development. The conclusion of this thesis was that quality assurance is an important matter in today's game development, but some game companies still do not view it as necessary for their games. With the time and money invested in quality assurance testing, the game companies could, however, avoid financial and reputation losses in the eyes of end users. By understanding the importance of quality assurance testing and investing in it on time, the booming future of the industry can also be secured. Due to the author's signing of a non-disclosure agreement with their previous employer, confidential information such as intellectual property, any detailed information about the company, its clients or any other game industry company was excluded from this thesis

Meeting the Changing Need for Herbage Seed Quality Assurance in the 21st Century

Quality assurance is a key element in the herbage seed supply chain. The measurement and management of seed quality is discussed in terms of its four main parameters - genetic, physical, vital, and phytosanitary quality - which provide information on the expected performance of herbage seed when sown in the field. During the past century, seed quality management systems have evolved in response to national and regional differences in economic development, crop characteristics, merit testing, and the demands of international trade. The pace of change in the management of seed quality assurance has intensified in developed countries over the past decade or so, driven mainly by the ability to protect intellectual property, the consolidation of seed companies into larger units, and government policy aimed at deregulating the delivery of quality assurance. In developed countries, this has seen the strong private seed sector taking increasing responsibility for seed quality assurance, both economically and legally, together with the emergence of private seed testing laboratories and in-house certification programs. However, developing countries without a strong private seed sector are better served by the more traditional model in which government takes on the role and responsibility for managing seed quality assurance in the public interest. This paper explores recent trends in seed quality management and their strategic implications for different countries now and in the future with particular reference to herbage seed

Reasons, Circumstances and Innovative Trends in Mobile Environments

In this paper are presented the reasons why the sale of mobile devices has greatly increased in the last period. It is presented the evolution of mobile devices sales in the last 20 years. The main types of applications used today and how it will evolve in the near future. Development and using trends in mobile computing are presented. Key aspects of quality assurance in mo-bile application development projects are presented. Factors that influence the management process of a project are highlighted. A comprehensive analysis of the positive or negative im-pact that these factors exerts on the quality of the project is performed. Tools and methods used in the quality assurance process for mobile applications development are presented. The importance of quality assurance testing process is underlined

Practical application of AAPM Report 270 in display quality assurance: A report of Task Group 270

Published in January 2019, AAPM Report 270 provides an update to the recommendations of the AAPM\u27s TG18 report. Report 270 provides new definitions of display types, updated testing patterns, and revised performance standards for the modern, flat-panel displays used as part of medical image acquisition and review. The focus of the AAPM report is on consistent image quality and appearance, and how to establish a quality assurance program to achieve those two goals. This work highlights some of the key takeaways of AAPM Report 270 and makes comparisons with existing recommendations from other references. It also provides guidance for establishing a display quality assurance program for different-sized institutions. Finally, it describes future challenges for display quality assurance and what work remains

A multi-purpose phantom kit for magnetic particle imaging

Phantoms are essential tools for the development and characterization of Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI), an imaging technique that can quantitatively map the spatial distribution of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP). The objective of this study was to develop and validate a modular MPI phantom kit with high versatility for platform-independent quality assurance and the assembling of defined geometries in MPI. It was shown that the developed MPI phantom kit can be used for both application scenario testing and quality assurance in MPI which provides the basis for future reference phantoms to directly compare existing scanners within the MPI community

SPR-4230: Alternative Quality Assurance Methods for Compacted Subgrade

This presentation introduces and summarizes SPR-4230 (Alternative Quality Assurance Methods for Compacted Subgrade), which aims to establish performance-based QA test methods for subgrade treatment construction. The presenter will review the current state of subgrade treatment QA testing methods and then discuss proposed QA testing methods that SPR-4230 is currently assessing. Because SPR-4230 is not scheduled for completion until March 2020, preliminary results and future work for the project will be presented

Implementation of and experiences with new automation

In an environment where cost, timeliness, and quality drives the business, it is essential to look for answers in technology where these challenges can be met. In the Novartis Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance Department, automation and robotics have become just the tools to meet these challenges. Although automation is a relatively new concept in our department, we have fully embraced it within just a few years. As our company went through a merger, there was a significant reduction in the workforce within the Quality Assurance Department through voluntary and involuntary separations. However the workload remained constant or in some cases actually increased. So even with reduction in laboratory personnel, we were challenged internally and from the headquarters in Basle to improve productivity while maintaining integrity in quality testing. Benchmark studies indicated the Suffern site to be the choice manufacturing site above other facilities. This is attributed to the Suffern facility employees' commitment to reduce cycle time, improve efficiency, and maintain high level of regulatory compliance. One of the stronger contributing factors was automation technology in the laboratoriess, and this technology will continue to help the site's status in the future. The Automation Group was originally formed about 2 years ago to meet the demands of high quality assurance testing throughput needs and to bring our testing group up to standard with the industry. Automation began with only two people in the group and now we have three people who are the next generation automation scientists. Even with such a small staff,we have made great strides in laboratory automation as we have worked extensively with each piece of equipment brought in. The implementation process of each project was often difficult because the second generation automation group came from the laboratory and without much automation experience. However, with the involvement from the users at ‘get-go’, we were able to successfully bring in many automation technologies. Our first experience with automation was SFA/SDAS, and then Zymark TPWII followed by Zymark Multi-dose. The future of product testing lies in automation, and we shall continue to explore the possibilities of improving the testing methodologies so that the chemists will be less burdened with repetitive and mundane daily tasks and be more focused on bringing quality into our products

Quality assurance of teachers’ continuing professional development: design, development and pilot of a CPD quality assurance system - evaluation report

In 2018, the Wellcome Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation commissioned a project to explore the potential development of a quality assurance system for teachers’ Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This scoping work explored existing quality assurance systems and sought to test the potential for widespread, sustainable engagement in such a system. The study included stakeholder consultation, through workshops and surveys, and a review of evidence from literature and policy. We now build upon this earlier scoping study with the design, development and piloting of a quality assurance system for teacher professional development. This pilot project was commissioned by the Wellcome Trust and delivered by a consortium of the Chartered College of Teaching (CCT), the Teacher Development Trust (TDT) and Sheffield Institute of Education (SIOE) – part of Sheffield Hallam University. Full details of the design, testing and outcomes of the quality assurance system are provided in a separate report, which contains a summary of the outcomes of the scoping work, and findings and conclusions from the two cycles of design, testing and evaluation undertaken in the pilot. It also identifies key recommendations for how the quality assurance system may be utilised moving forward to increase the quality of CPD experienced by teachers, including offering guidance to support school leaders in making informed decisions about commissioning CPD which is more likely to lead to positive pupil outcomes. In this report we describe the evaluation, which was delivered in conjunction with the design, development and piloting of a quality assurance system for teacher CPD. This internal, formative evaluation ran alongside the two cycles of testing of the system of quality assurance, to inform both the development of the system during piloting and also future developments of the project beyond this pilot. In this report, we describe the evaluation aims and methodology, detail findings from each participant group, assess the effectiveness of the system, and offer recommendations for the future development of the quality assurance process