DEV Community: Amidat Sule

Stage 3 of the HNGi13 QA Track: API Automation

Amidat Sule — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:42:57 +0000

Stage 3 focused on increasing testing skills through comprehensive API testing on the Gradific platform. I explored four main resources: Auth, Users, Workspace, and Workspace Members, executing various requests across positive, negative, and edge case scenarios.

Using Postman and Newman CLI, I ran structured tests that validated core functionalities such as registration, login, password resets, workspace creation, member tracking, and role updates. Along the way, I encountered several issues, including unexpected status codes, delayed response times, inconsistent handling of invalid or missing inputs, and struggles with Newman report generation. Initially, only CLI outputs were generated, and I had to troubleshoot to export HTML and JSON reports correctly. I also faced challenges with environment variables, particularly with the id variable, which was sometimes not read correctly, causing endpoints to fail or return 404 errors. These challenges highlighted the importance of robust input validation, clear error messaging, and proper API setup.

Key Learnings

Proper setup of environment variables and authorization tokens is critical for smooth API testing.
Edge case testing reveals gaps that are often missed in standard flows.
Configuring Newman correctly is essential to generate usable reports for review and documentation.

API testing in Stage 3 reinforced that beyond just sending requests, it’s about understanding the communication between systems, predicting potential failures, and ensuring resilience of backend logic.

QA #SoftwareTesting #Postman #Newman #APITesting #HNGi13 #HNGInternship

Stage 2 of the HNGi13 QA Track: API Testing

Amidat Sule — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:32:50 +0000

Stage 2 focused on exploring backend quality through API testing using the Gradific platform as a case study.
I tested four core resources: Auth, Users, Workspace, and Workspace Members. Using Postman, I imported the Swagger documentation and organized the endpoints into structured folders for each resource.
I wrote and executed 80 comprehensive test cases, covering positive, negative, and edge scenarios. These validated login flows, workspace creation, user updates, and member role management... ensuring each endpoint behaved as expected.
Along the way, I learned how to handle authorization tokens, set up parameterization and environment variables, and manage protected endpoints effectively. These skills improved my workflow and deepened my understanding of backend logic.
💡 Key Takeaway
API testing isn’t just about sending requests, it’s about understanding how systems communicate. It builds precision, technical intuition, and confidence beyond UI testing.

QA #SoftwareTesting #Postman #APITesting #HNGi13 #HNGInternship

Translating Requirements into Test Plan & Strategy: My HNGi13 QA Journey

Amidat Sule — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:08:07 +0000

Stage 1 of the HNGi13 QA Track focused on reviewing requirement documents and translating them into an actionable test plan.

For this task, I worked on Gradific, a grading and task management platform for educators. My goal was to understand how features like workspace creation, assignment setup, and grading flow together, and then design a testing strategy around them.

I started by analyzing the PRD and FRD, identifying core functionalities and edge cases. From there, I created a structured Test Plan outlining objectives, scope, approach, risks, and deliverables. I also designed 10 detailed test cases to validate and verify that the requirements are met and the system works as expected.

This experience taught me how important it is to plan before testing commence, understanding requirements deeply helps uncover gaps early and ensures focused, efficient testing.

Key Takeaway
Translating requirements strengthens both product understanding and tester intuition.

HNGi13 #QA #SoftwareTesting #HNGInternship #TestPlanning #QualityAssurance #BugDetective