THE CLIENT
BlackLine is a leading provider of cloud-based solutions that transform Finance and Accounting (F&A) by automating, centralizing, and streamlining financial close operations, intercompany accounting processes, and other key F&A processes for large enterprises and midsize organizations. Designed to complement virtually all ERP and other financial systems, including SAP, Oracle, and NetSuite, BlackLine increases operational efficiency, real-time visibility, control, and compliance to ensure end-to-end financial close management and accounting automation from within a single, unified cloud platform.
THE QA CHALLENGES
BlackLine was founded in 2001. Their innovative accounting software fueled rapid growth such that by 2007, BlackLine was in need of rapidly scaling up their QA team and testing processes. They needed to transition from developer-driven QA to a formal QA and testing program. After a thorough in-house assessment, BlackLine decided that the optimal path was to outsource to a trusted third-party partner. Because the product is complex and compliance-heavy, the partner would have to demonstrate deep domain expertise in accounting and finance.
THE XBOSOFT SOLUTIONS
Partnering with XBOSoft since 2008 allowed BlackLine to benefit from a wide range of XBOSoft’s software testing solutions and expertise, such as:
Domain Knowledge
XBOSoft worked closely with BlackLine to ensure that their customer’s user stories would be fully covered in the testing process. XBOSoft’s experience in the financial software domain significantly compressed the start-up time while ensuring full coverage test cases.
- For example, the underlying general ledger implements multi-currency capability and imports balances directly from one or more general ledgers, or from a single balance, and then uses imported exchange rates to interpolate other balances.
- Test data design also requires domain knowledge. For instance, the scale of the currency rate should be specified to 6 digits following the decimal point.
- In the machine learning era, BlackLine’s business transactions intelligent matching relies on data seeds and feedback. Testing requires proper labeling and data adjustments to assist and support faster and more accurate matching learning.
- Release dates normally determine when to start the regression test cycle. However, there are many financial time windows that cannot be interrupted that need to be considered when making test plans.
Understanding key nuances such as these is critical to testing all parts of the software.
Test Automation with Platform Compatibility
BlackLine’s SaaS-based product supports both mobile and web browsers. Hence, regression testing across platforms is an intensive and time-consuming task. XBOSoft developed automated test suites for the main supported browsers to provide smoke and regression testing with each release.
Internationalization Testing
BlackLine’s applications have the end-user option to be displayed in a number of different languages including; English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Czech, Dutch, Hungarian, Italian…To ensure maximum test coverage with high build frequency, and while keeping to a tight schedule, XBOSoft’s automated test experts rapidly set up the proper environments for each new build.
Full and Targeted Regression
Today, we provide full regression testing for every software release. Our deep expertise in BlackLine’s software enables us to conduct targeted exploratory regression testing on new features and serve as their insurance policy that their software is ready for the rigors of accountants going their daily tasks whether it be account reconciliation or matching.
QA Partnership
Growing with BlackLine over the last 11 years, we began their outsourced testing team, and have become their QA partner filling in wherever and whenever needed. This has included performance testing, QA consulting on metrics and processes, and test automation.
THE RESULTS
- Long-term improvement in product quality over the last 10 years via test automation and targeted exploratory testing.
- Established foundation for structured QA & testing to support long-term and rapid growth including development of a full suite of test cases for the entire product line.
- XBOSoft has developed a deep understanding and expertise of product serving as a knowledge repository and reliable QA partner that works with minimal direction.
- Worked with BlackLine side by side to evolve with the industry and their client needs; transitioning from waterfall to agile.
- Consultative QA partner providing input and feedback for the entire development process for continuous improvement.
BlackLine has grown from 50 employees to over 500 in the last 12 years, and XBOSoft has been with them every step of the way. Today, BlackLine’s Finance Controls and Automation platform is trusted by more than 227,000 users in over 150+ countries around the world and they’ve been named to the Forbes Cloud 100 list and the Inc. 500/5000 list for the ninth year in a row.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
“BlackLine has grown from 20 employees to over 500 in the last 10 years. We’ve been with XBOSoft every step of the way transitioning from waterfall to agile, incorporating automation, and other testing services. From the beginning, XBOSoft showed a curiosity for the application, to get underneath it and to understand. It’s a very positive relationship.”
“Yesterday was an eye-opening experience for me going through the XBOSoft bugs. I’m impressed with their knowledge of the application’s functionality including the nuances of role-based security.”
