Giving Clockwork Dog confidence in every release

Clockwork Dog is the creative technology company behind COGS, a powerful desktop application to support in-person immersive experiences - everything from escape rooms and immersive theatre to experiential marketing and live golf.

COGS integrates with a variety of hardware controller elements to create complex, real-time interactive systems. Despite its intuitive interface, the sheer power and customisability of COGS posed Clockwork Dog a challenge: how to ensure high software quality in an agile, hardware-integrated environment without overloading a small internal development team.

The background

‘With many of our users trusting our system to run their shows every day, there can be a huge impact in letting bugs slip into releases.’

- Tom Dixon, Co-Founder and CTO at Clockwork Dog

Clockwork Dog faced a series of interlinked quality assurance challenges that could impact internal workflows and customer confidence:

Limited in-house bandwidth

As a small, agile team developing a highly flexible software product that interfaces with a wide variety of hardware, they had limited in-house bandwidth to carry out the level of thorough, cross-functional testing required to maintain reliability.

Developer bias in testing

This constraint was compounded by the natural bias that can occur when developers test their own code, increasing the risk of critical issues being unintentionally missed.

Risk of customer dissatisfaction

Clockwork Dog’s customers rely on COGS to run live, time-sensitive experiences. Even a minor bug has the potential to stop a production mid-flow. Such interruptions would not only disrupt the customer experience but also carries the risk of negative reviews, reputational damage, and financial losses due to refunds or cancellations. 

Rising post-release costs

The cost of fixing bugs after a release significantly more costly and time-consuming than addressing them during development. Post-deployment issues may require urgent attention, which could consume valuable developer time – delaying or disrupting other work.

Together, these factors created a growing need for a robust, external QA partner that could integrate into their development process and safeguard the reliability of every release.

Our solution

The project began with a trial period to build mutual understanding and establish a solid foundation for long-term collaboration. It kicked off with a hands-on workshop at our head office, where our team were introduced to the COGS application and the various hardware components it integrates with. This in-person session was crucial in allowing our testers to fully grasp the complexity and versatility of the system, ensuring that the testing approach would be comprehensive and aligned with the needs of Clockwork Dog.

‘Zoonou spent the time to really understand our product and have used their expertise to give us the extra confidence we need before releasing new features and updates.’

- Tom

Following the workshop, we developed a set of initial draft test scripts that were reviewed by Clockwork Dog. They were then executed to establish a baseline for functional testing coverage. This initial testing phase was vital to assess the product’s stability and identify any immediate risk areas. To maintain alignment, we set up regular feedback loops early in the process, allowing both teams to validate the integration of Clockwork Dog’s development methodology with our tailored QA approach.

‘They have taken the initiative to build a test harness that works well for their team and an issue reporting system that fits well with our development workflow.’

- Chetan Padia, Head of Software at Clockwork Dog

A key part of the collaboration was the creation of a dedicated test rig that replicated the hardware and environment used in real-world experiences. This allowed us to test COGS in an environment that mirrored the conditions in which it’s used, ensuring that we could identify potential issues related to hardware interaction or environmental variables. This test rig has become an essential part of our ongoing support, ensuring that the software is thoroughly tested against both edge-cases and unexpected user behaviour.

This collaborative start not only demonstrated the value of external testing but also laid the foundation for an ongoing partnership. We now provide monthly support to maintain test scripts, execute regular smoke tests, and conduct regression testing. The service is designed to fit seamlessly into Clockwork Dog’s release cycle, providing consistent, scalable testing support that adapts to the evolving needs of their product and development team.

The impact

‘Building a complex product, especially when interfacing with a variety of hardware, takes a lot of careful regression testing and in-depth exploratory testing with new features. Zoonou's attention to detail during the QA process gives us much more confidence in the code we're shipping to our customers’

- Chetan

We delivered a complete solution that combined QA strategy, test management, and execution - offering an experienced, dedicated team with a diverse skill set. This approach provided not only flexibility and affordability but also the long-term reliability needed to support their evolving product and business goals.

Clockwork Dog has seen a range of outcomes from our partnership, resulting in enhanced code quality, streamlined workflows, and greater confidence in their product releases:

Increased confidence in quality

Our quality assurance testing gives Clockwork Dog the confidence that new releases are stable before they are deployed to their customers.

Reduced risk of disruptive bugs

The risk of disruptive bugs in production has been significantly reduced, ensuring that both user experience and Clockwork Dog’s brand reputation are protected.

‘We're very happy with the detail and rigour they bring to bug reports especially.’

- Chetan

Streamlined development workflows

Testing and issue reporting is now seamlessly integrated into Clockwork Dog’s development process – making it easier to catch and fix bugs, preventing issues from slipping through and saving valuable time in the long run.

Ongoing value for consistent quality

Our deep understanding of the product, technical adaptability, and commitment to rigorous testing helps Clockwork Dog to deploy with confidence, knowing that each release has undergone thorough testing.