Dr. Udo Kolender

Dr. Udo Kolender

Field Reports

Team Coordinator Test Center

Everyone has certainly had problems with defective software a time or two and experienced some exasperation. You've probably had a 'blue-screen experience' where your system crashed. Many folks have certainly waited impatiently for that next software update. Developing software is anything but a walk in the park. Especially with more complex programs that involve numerous third-party products. Our software involves cameras, microscopes, stages, etc. This can create complications quickly. Any change to the interface of this kind of third-party product that is not communicated and the interaction with the software no longer functions. This is a delicate situation – for the user and the manufacturer.
Our quality department expends extensive effort to put software on the market that is as error-free as possible and to maintain this level of quality in subsequent versions. These efforts include planning support for new software projects and testing final products before they are turned over to production.

My task as Team Coordinator for the Test Center is testing our various software products thoroughly before turning them over to our Production department. These tests are generally laid out very clearly. We have detailed and documented testing sequences to follow. This ensures that all tests are reproducible. Some of these tests – which have to be run repeatedly – have also been automated.