Test Case Management, Made Easy

Let's be honest here. Test Case Management Software might not exactly get your blood pumping to your baby-making bits, but for some people, it's their thang.

The challenge was laid down for us to create an engaging and humorous video that would give viewers a good idea of what TestLodge is and how it's going to make their lives a ton easier.

We had a good think about how best to tackle it. With the general trend being a sway towards the animated route, we agreed that taking a live-action approach would be a more interesting take on it. With a lot of tech-related companies recently going for live-action videos with a hint of comedy and personality, we thought that this would be a great choice for TestLodge.

We kicked off by working closely with TestLodge to identify the real benefits of using the system and how it can help solve problems that many teams face. With ease of use and simplicity being one of the biggest advantages of TestLodge, it means that teams can be more productive in their testing and get more done in less time. We wanted to show this benefit in a real (well, mocked up) scenario to give context, which allows the viewer to relate to a scenario that they will have likely faced in their day to day work.

Using TestLodge means the testing team working more efficiently, which unfortunately for the developer who has to deal with these identified bugs, means they will have work coming their way much quicker. We decided that it would be great to play on this idea and thus, “Dave” was born—our introverted snowed-under developer. With the team (John and Charlotte) being able to deal with testing at a much more efficient pace, it leaves poor Dave having to deal with the torrent of incoming defects. He's our relatable and sympathy-inducing comic relief.

Another benefit of TestLodge is that it’s a cloud-based system, which means users can work together from anywhere in the world. This was an essential selling point, and for this one, we called once again on our old friend Dave to act as the butt of the joke. His character is the “why are people bothering me again?” kind of guy, which lent himself well to being pestered and interrupted whilst stuck in an office with a chipper and upbeat John. Much to the dismay of Dave, he could be anywhere in the world, but unfortunately, he's stuck in this infinite white space of unending bug fixes.

Is this what hell looks like? Who knows. At least you get a laptop, though. That's something.

In terms of the aesthetics, we decided on a light, non-descript look for the “office space”. This helps illustrate that the software works for any kind of testing team at whatever kind of scale, as well as the overall look being nice and bright and airy. The added benefit of using this kind of space is that the graphical elements will have room to breathe when integrated into the scene.

We worked with TestLodge to create a more simplified version of the UI which encompasses the simplicity of the system. Complicated UI designs, can sometimes have a bit too much going on for a 5-second glance, so this allowed the viewer to have a more focused view on what is happening on-screen in a short amount of time.

The end result is something we’re all dead proud of. The casually comical nature of the delivery helps explain the facts in an easy to digest way, with the simple graphics giving a walkthrough of the processes without viewers feeling drowned in UI elements. With TestLodge being all about efficiency and simplicity, we feel the video echoes this in both its look and feel and the way information is delivered. We are excited for the video to get out there and for people to see the benefits of using TestLodge for their team, as well as scare a few slacking dev!