IT QA Analyst I

This is an exempt position. Pay rates are based on education, skill, experience level and internal equity.

Follow Your Calling, Find Your Career
The success of Mecklenburg County rests on strong, competent talent at all levels of the organization. We are a growing team of talented and passionate IT professionals who are dedicated to delivering creative tools and innovative solutions to engage and serve more than 1 million County residents as well as 6,000 employees. Our mission is to serve the residents of Mecklenburg County by providing business-valued IT solutions and services that are flexible, engaging, and innovative. Whether your passion is architecture, development, quality services, engineering, desktop support, or operations, we have a position for you. If you enjoy working with the public and are looking for a career where your work is important to the community, come be a part of Mecklenburg County and help us provide a community of pride and choice for people to live, learn, work, and recreate.

POSITION SUMMARY
Assists in the creation, preparation, and implementation of systems quality assurance reviews and the development and execution of test plans and test cases/test sets. Interacts with users to share information and clarify instructions. Creates basic test plans using templates and guidelines. Works with more experienced analysts to create and execute test cases and create test scripts. Performs simple test data conditioning, regression testing, testing validation and reports on testing progress. Logs, tracks, and verifies resolution of software and specification defects. Documents all QA/Testing phases of the SDLC process.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Perform full life cycle testing for the applications, platforms, and related interfaces.
• Follow System Development Lifecycle (SDLC), quality and project management best practices, complies with internal processes related to regulatory or compliance requirements, and adheres to Change Control and Problem Management procedures.
• Actively participate in requirement development meetings to gather/document software testing objectives from business units. Participates in functional and technical meetings, from the beginning of the project through the entire life cycle.
• Assist with analyzing business requirements to determine the range and scope of testing scenarios needed to fully exercise new or changed code.
• Identify test objectives from requirement documents / technical design specifications, and maps test sets/test cases to objectives to ensure test coverage.
• Participate in the development of test strategies/test plans.
• Assist with writing test scenarios, test plans and test cases/test sets in compliance with Quality Services and industry standards.
• Assists with identifying and/or creating test data following data compliance standards and requirements.
• Execute end-to-end manual and/or automated tests, documents results, and work with developers to remediate issues/retest defects.
• Collaborate with other teams to achieve end-to-end process quality.
• Use testing tools to record testing results and to store testing evidence.
• Own defects from identification, through triage and retest of the corrected code.
• Support change management/release management activities with detailed information regarding dependencies or risks identified during testing.
• Maintain and update test documentation, user guides and help note to ensure accuracy of applications and related documentation.
• Assist in the coordination with end-users to test when additional business/functional subject matter expertise is needed.
• Experience with database testing tools, such as SQL Developer, SQL Server Management Studio, and how to use them to perform various tasks, such as data verification, data comparison, data migration, data manipulation and error handling.
• Assist with the designing and building of the regression test bed of repeatable test sets/test cases.
• Track and report test results for the application's compliance to the functional specifications.
• Track, report and review test results and associated metrics with Quality Services leadership team.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Experience: Minimum of one year of experience in software testing and quality assurance.
Education: Associate's degree in Information Technology or Computer Science
Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted: Yes

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
Knowledge of

• The SDLC as it relates to standard software testing processes.
• Industry standard QA tool sets and processes as well as Quality Assurance Methodologies.
• Statistical reporting and analysis.
• MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).

Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to read and process moderately complex technical information.
• Good analytical, organizational, decision making and presentation skills.
• Some project management skills and/or exposure to project-based work structures.
• Proven data analysis, data verification, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to communicate ideas in both technical and user-friendly language.
• Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment.
• Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Detail oriented with significant emphasis on the quality of their work.
• Self-motivated, driven and directed.

Abilities

• Contributing to Team Success: Actively participates as a member of a team to move the team toward the completion of goals.
• Building Partnerships: Identifies opportunities and acts to build strategic relationships between one’s area and other areas, teams, departments, units, or organizations to help achieve business goals.
• Communication: Clearly conveys information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the message.
• Collaboration: Works effectively and cooperatively with others; establishes and maintains good working relationships.
• Customer Focus: Ensures that the customer perspective is a driving force behind business decisions and activities; crafts and implements service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs.
• Decision Making: Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; compares data from different sources to draw conclusions; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; takes action that is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probable consequences.
• Technical/Professional Knowledge and Skills: Has achieved a satisfactory level of technical and professional skill or knowledge in position-related areas; keeps up with current developments and trends in areas of expertise.
• Driving for Results: Sets high goals for personal and group accomplishment; uses measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals; tenaciously works to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.
• Planning and Organizing: Establishes courses of action for self and others to ensure that work is completed efficiently.
• Managing Conflict: Deals effectively with others in an adversarial situation; uses appropriate interpersonal styles and methods to reduce tension or conflict between two or more people.

COMPUTER SKILLS
Proficient in various computer applications

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

DISCLAIMER STATEMENT
This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, requirements or working conditions. Other duties may be assigned based on business need and the supervisor’s request. Mecklenburg County reserves the right to revise the job description at any time. Designated positions may be required to assist in emergency and/or disaster situations.