In every project (well, nearly every one) there comes the moment, when testing gets squeezed for time. Immediately the next question becomes how to cut back testing in a sensible way.
The immediate reaction of many a tester (especially if she went through some kind formal training) goes a little like this:
Use Risk Based Testing!
I agree but sort of don’t…
SoftEd wrote a blog post about UAT and how hard it was (here). I gave a longish reply and thought it might be good to re-iterate my thoughts on User Acceptance Testing (UAT) here on the blog.
I think the primary premise of what UAT should be, that we have here in Wellington/New Zealand, is wrong.
The second KWST or Kiwi Workshop on Software Testing with be held on the 15th and 16th of June 2012, Wellington, New Zealand. KWST is modelled on the LAWST style peer conferences and is the only testing peer conference in New Zealand. There are a number of things that make this conference unique:-
The twitter hash tag will be KWST2 and we will be tweeting all of the great thoughts and ideas that will flow from this conference. See http://bjosman.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/kwst-kiwi-workshop-on-software-testing/ and http://bjosman.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/kwst-kiwi-workshop-of-software-testing-day-2/ for details of last years event.
Author: Brian
Ever had the scenario in automated testing, that you had something to automate that really didn’t fit any of your tools? Something that was as bristly as an Echidnea?
Normally I try and steer away from anything that doesn’t use standard protocols and/or interfaces. Things like Flash, Silverlight and others. Not that there aren’t test tools that handle these things but it’s just that it’s messy to say the least. For open standards like HTML or SOAP there are gazillions of ways to automate.
So I got surprised by having to test an application on -or should I rather say through- Citrix.
I usually move in the performance testing realm and one of the things I regularly do, is check for obvious omissions in website design before I get into the low down with testing.
What do I mean by that?
There is such a thing as (and I am having difficulty writing this) Best Practice, when it comes to web page development. These are technological imperatives that can be easily checked by using simple tools. You don’t need to be an HTML guru to use these or to gain more knowledge about your website under test.
I spoke with a tester recently about capturing tests to be reused. I had a discussion with them on what they thought about the process. I will outline their task, what they were supposed to do, what they did, and the questions and comments that came from the discussion afterwards. Some valuable lessons and insight were uncovered.
At KWST Brian Osman coined a term: “Possum testers”.
And that got us thinking… what other testing animals make up the testing profession zoo?
A little on the late side but I did want to do a post on thanking Steve Jobs and what he did for me personally.
I’ve wanted an Apple ever since the original Apple II. My first Mac I ever saw was actually an Apple Lisa at my fathers design department. They were using it for CAD with a whopping 5MB Winchester drive. But the world turned out a bit differently. I never got to having an Apple II or a Mac.
Only in 2004, when we immigrated to NZ did we shell out for a MacMini and enter Steve’s world. Today we own several Macs, have had many more, have iPhones, iPods and are 101% Apple followers. We’ve never looked back.
But what has that got to do with a testing?
As it turns out there is/was someone at Apple which had a relentless drive for quality and usability. Now as you can easily guess that person is/was Steve Jobs (still struggling with the was here!). This drive is pervasive in all Apple products.
