by Jan Heller -

Introducing the ottonova Tech Radar

ottonova Tech RadarDaniele Franchi

We always promoted openness when it came to our tech stack. The ottonova Tech Radar is the next step in that direction.

What is the Tech Radar?

The ottonova Tech Radar is a list of technologies. It’s defined by an assessment outcome, called ring assignment and has four rings with the following definitions:

  • ADOPT – Technologies we have high confidence in to serve our purpose, also in large scale. Technologies with a usage culture in our ottonova production environment, low risk and recommended to be widely used.
  • TRIAL – Technologies that we have seen work with success in project work to solve a real problem; first serious usage experience that confirm benefits and can uncover limitations. TRIAL technologies are slightly more risky; some engineers in our organization walked this path and will share knowledge and experiences.
  • ASSESS – Technologies that are promising and have clear potential value-add for us; technologies worth to invest some research and prototyping efforts in to see if it has impact. ASSESS technologies have higher risks; they are often brand new and highly unproven in our organisation. You will find some engineers that have knowledge in the technology and promote it, you may even find teams that have started a prototyping effort.
  • HOLD – Technologies not recommended to be used for new projects. Technologies that we think are not (yet) worth to (further) invest in. HOLD technologies should not be used for new projects, but usually can be continued for existing projects.

What do we use it for?

The Tech Radar is a tool to inspire and support engineering teams at ottonova to pick the best technologies for new projects. It provides a platform to share knowledge and experience in technologies, to reflect on technology decisions and continuously evolve our technology landscape.

Based on the pioneering work of ThoughtWorks, our Tech Radar sets out the changes in technologies that are interesting in software development — changes that we think our engineering teams should pay attention to and use in their projects.

When and how is the radar updated?

In general discussions around technology and their implementation is driven everywhere across our tech departments. Once we identify that a new technology is raised, we discuss and consolidate it in our Architecture Team.

We collect these entries and once per quarter the Architecture Team rates and assigns them to the appropriate ring definition.

Disclaimer: We used Zalando’s open source code to create our Tech Radar and were heavily influenced by their implementation. Feel free to do the same to create your own version.

by Jan Heller -

The QA Engineer position at ottonova

ottonova services GmbH
Some information about our QA Chapter and the QA Automation Engineer position at ottonova

We would like to use this article to give some insights on the QA Engineer position here at ottonova and to answer

This article gives some insights on the QA Engineer position here at ottonova. Since the position can be interpreted quite differently we want to answer some common questions. Here we go.

1. Is test automation part of the QA activity? If yes, what experience in which programming languages and frameworks is required here?

Yes, test automation is a very important part for us. For the automation of the web tests, we use Python and JavaScript.
The UI tests from the iOS and Android apps are implemented in Appium. Experience in using classic frameworks like Page Object Pattern and common build tools like Jenkins or GitLab CI is also a big plus.

2. Exactly what kind of tests are performed and developed (acceptance testing, regression testing, UI testing, backend API testing…)?

Regression and acceptance tests are developed and executed. The development and execution of the automated UI and backend tests is also part of our daily activities.

3. Which application are tested? The ottonova app? If so, are both versions (iOS and Android) tested?

In our QA team we test our various web applications as well as our mobile apps (iOS and Android).

4. How big is the development team and how many members does the test team consist of? How many releases would be tested per day? 

There are several engineering teams consisting of backend, frontend, mobile and QA engineers. The teams use Scrum and are organized cross-functionally. They therefore also include, for example, product owners or members of our insurance departments.

Each of our cross-functional teams has at least one dedicated QA Engineer.

6. What are the weekly working hours at ottonova? What further development opportunities do I have in your company in the area of QA?

We are flexible on all points and are happy to accommodate the wishes and ideas of applicants, both in terms of weekly hours and contract terms.

Working student contracts are limited to one year by default and have a fixed hourly wage. A permanent position after a student job (or internship) is always our highest goal.

In our employment contracts for a full-time position, there is always a probationary period of 6 months.

The development opportunities are individual depending on the employee, we support the realization of your goals where we can.