IQ Inc.

🚀 **Connecting Hardware and Software in the Cloud: Why It’s a Game Changer!** 🚀 In today's tech-driven world, **cloud technology** has transformed the way hardware and software work together, especially in fields like healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics. 🔗 **Seamless Connectivity:** By using the cloud, devices and systems can now communicate effortlessly, no matter where they’re located. Imagine the possibilities for real-time monitoring and proactive maintenance! 💡 **Scalability & Flexibility:** Cloud platforms allow us to scale up (or down!) as needs change, so you’re always equipped to handle fluctuating demand. 🔒 **Enhanced Security:** Data can be stored securely, with compliance options tailored to industries, ensuring that privacy and safety are always a priority. ⚙️ **Actionable Insights:** When hardware and software work together through the cloud, you gain access to valuable data and insights that can drive better decision-making and more efficient operations. Is your organization leveraging the power of cloud to connect your tech seamlessly? Let’s talk about how we can make it happen! #CloudTechnology #IoT #DigitalTransformation #CloudEngineering #Innovation #AWS #Azure

IQ has been celebrating our 30th anniversary over the course of this last month! Let’s take a trip down memory lane to relive the growth and expansion of this great company since its inception in 1994. The world has changed a lot since the mid-90s, but what hasn’t changed is the reason why IQ was founded; our mission remains: “Improving the Quality of Life through Technology.” IQ has worked with hundreds of companies worldwide over these last 30 years and has proudly served some of those companies for almost all those 30 years!  This customer loyalty speaks to our high quality of service and customer care IQ has exhibited to help our customers solve their most challenging software problems. For 30 years, our expertise has been centered around the following service offerings: End-to-end turnkey custom software development Onsite and remote consulting support  Direct Placement The timeline below is an excellent summary of IQ’s growth and change over these last 30 years! TIMELINE 1994- Barbara VanKirk launched IQ Inc. in 1994 in Murrysville, PA, with a focus on contracted personnel 1998- Enter the transportation sector 2000- Moved into our original office on Route 22 in Murrysville 2006- Moved into a larger office on Lillian Ave in Murrysville 2008- IQ entered the medical device sector for the first time 2008- Awarded our first major medical device project 2014- Began building out a senior leadership team 2018- Moved into current 7000+ sq foot office space 2021- Began investment into Innovation and Product development 2022- Crested 70 total total employees 2024- Celebrating 30th Anniversary! Other Notable achievements: Worked with 100s of companies across the world Developed expertise in regulated industries and have become a trusted software partner for many companies Named Best Places to Work by the Pittsburgh Business Times Top Places to Work by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Tech 50 CEO of the Year 2020 And so much more! We could write about so much more to celebrate 30 years of success here at IQ, but we hope this gives you a good idea of how far we’ve come. The exciting thing is, we’re only getting started!  Learn more about us at www.iq-inc.com.

IQ's annual Professional Development Conference took place at the end of September. The day was all about learning and growing our technical and professional acumen. However, engineers don't just love to learn about technology, our presenters focused on personal finance, an explanation of GeoGuessr, do-it-yourself home cloud storage/networking, and alternatives to Excel. The day concluded with a demonstration of a real-life Clark Griswald-esque holiday lights extravaganza that involved a whole bunch of Raspberry Pis! It was a great day; enjoy these photos.

The IQ LinkedIn team had a chance to sit down with one of our very own, Bill Powers, to talk about his work at IQ, his story, and his exciting start-up! Check out the article for more details!

🎇IQ Inc. is celebrating its 30th anniversary this Fall! Congrats to Barbara VanKirk on this huge achievement! https://lnkd.in/e9gZGcjk

It's always nice to team up with Pittsburgh Area Community Schools (PACS). These supply drives really make a difference to the students in our area! Consider hosting a drive in your office next year! 📚

Students in our surrounding communities recently headed back to school, and as in years past, IQ Inc. collected supplies to help support them. Throughout the month of August, items such as crayons, notebooks, backpacks, and other school supply necessities were brought into the office. Hygiene kits which included toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair necessities, and other essentials were also purchased and donated as well. IQ was grateful to partner with Pittsburgh Area Community Schools (PACS), a non-profit organization that works in and with schools to connect students and families with community resources, for this initiative. PACS works to break down barriers students face in education, both in school and beyond and their staff can work directly with families and community providers to get vital resources to kids and teens who need them, from academic support to basic needs like food and clothing. 

IQ's Testing Process (Part 4) Last week we looked at Test Case Creation, Test Case Execution, Test Report Generation, and Traceability/Trace Matrices. This week we'll cover Demos, User Acceptance Testing, Test Team Planning, and Test Metrics. Demos and User Acceptance Testing: Mockups and demonstrations of working or partially working software regularly or on an as needed basis is an excellent method of getting client feedback and ensuring quality. User acceptance testing is another way to request client feedback. Clients can take a hands-on look at the updated software and provide feedback based on their testing. Test Team Planning: When test work is being planned, the test work should be divided among the testers after discussion with the team. Factors to consider when dividing the work include capacity, availability, and familiarity with the area under test. Test Metrics: The test plan, test procedure, test report, and trace matrix, along with other project, test, and requirement management tools as needed, should allow the test lead to capture test metrics throughout the current software release. Example test metrics include: -Total number of new test cases written -Total number of new test cases to be written -Total number of test cases executed -Total number of passed/failed/blocked test cases -Total number of test cases not yet executed -Total number of new defects identified, including the severity/priority of the defect This information can be used to determine whether test work is on track to complete on schedule. We at IQ hope you have found this series of posts informational, and useful. If you're looking for software development or testing services be sure to reach out! ~Scott Plummer Many thanks go to Tim O'Brien who is the primary author of the latest version of IQs' Test Management Process from which the above information was taken. For more information on IQ's software development services, please visit our website at iq-inc.com.

✨We have some incredible Testers at IQ Inc.!✨ If you're looking for software development or testing services be sure to reach out!

IQ's Testing Process There are three things for certain in software. It is developed by humans. It is tested by humans. It is used by humans in ways that the developers and testers could have never fathomed. Nobody is perfect and we can't predict every way a user will interact with the software. That's where the defects emerge. We can and should predict the happy paths, and the corner cases to make sure that our software is as robust as possible. Every piece of software that you use has defects in it. From your phone, to your gaming console, to you smart refrigerator. While the primary focus of QA is to ensure that the software adheres to the requirements, the secondary focus is to find as many of those gremlins made of ones and zeros, and get rid of them. In short, you need a strong QA process. There are two paths that we can follow when it comes to the testing process that we use. The first is using the client's process, when it is available. If the client does not have a defined process, we use our own. Let's take a (summarized) look at part one of that process. Test Management Tool Selection: Depending on the size of the project, we have two options. As a general rule, for a longer term project with larger teams, we would manage the project in a purpose built tool like Azure DevOps. For smaller, shorter projects, we lean towards using documents, spreadsheets stored in a centralized location like Google Drive. Determining Testing Responsibilities and Rigor with the Client: Who is responsible for what level of testing? The testing responsibilities may be split between IQ and the client. For example, IQ may be responsible for exploratory and informal testing, but the client will perform all formal testing. All aspects are to be signed off on by the client and IQ. Test Plan Creation: Test plans differ depending on the rigor, complexity, and scope required for the project. From formal plans that require approvals, to informal and lightweight. A test plan should be created at the start of the project. The test plan is a high level document describing the testing approach and expectations for a project. The test plan can cover the entire duration of a project, or for larger, longer term projects, they can cover a subset of the project. The test plan can include, but is not limited to: -Objective and scope -Assumptions made regarding testing -Notable risks  -Test environment -Types of testing to be performed -Who is doing the testing, their capacity, and their responsibilities -High level description of features -Timeline for deliverables The next time, we'll take a look at Test Procedure Creation, Exploratory Testing, and Developer Testing. ~Scott Plummer Many thanks go to Tim O'Brien who is the primary author of the latest version of IQs' Test Management Process from which the above information was taken. For more information on IQ's software development services, please visit our website at iq-inc.com.