State of Testing Survey 2016

The State of Testing Survey 2016 goes live on Thursday, January 7th, 2016. This is a worldwide survey that tries to identify the existing state of testing. Taking the survey is one step into bringing more transparency into our profession. If you are a professional tester, I strongly recommend participating in the survey. Like most surveys, you will receive a […]

Designing your testing tiers

This post is for early stage startups who have only a production tier and do their testing on their development environment. We have a short checklist of things to consider, some suggestions on evolving your test tiers and finally some advice on dealing with data. A checklist for setting up your testing tier A well designed test tier will efficiently […]

Expertise and the people component

Key takeaway: Consider thinking about how the personalities of your colleagues and their inter-personal relations influence the work you do. I had been a chess addict for most of my life. A few years ago, I decided to give up playing chess altogether. Chain smokers looking to break the smoking addiction often take refuge in nicotine patches. Poker became my […]

Thank you, Selenium!

Selenium recently turned 10 years old. I want to point out a couple of under-appreciated contributions that Selenium has made towards my profession and my career. 1. Selenium makes testing memorable An under-appreciated aspect of Selenium tests are their inherent theatrical nature[1]. Testing performances rarely evoke positive emotion. Good testing is usually not memorable. Not many testing artifacts make testing […]

Where can I find applications to practice software testing?

Problem: Testers rarely test products outside of their workplace. Limiting your testing to only the applications available at your workplace slows down the rate at which your skills grow. Why this post? Too many testers leave career and skill development in the hands of their employer. Often times, employers are unable to provide the learning opportunity that the tester wants. […]

Testing and interviewing

Problem: Our non-tester colleagues tend to overestimate the importance of checking in a testing performance. Why this post? I have had to counter statements and field questions like: 1. It’s not in the requirements! 2. When can we release? 3. Have you fully tested the product? 4. Why don’t you just automate everything? These questions/misconceptions come from people overestimating the […]

Rethinking “manual testing”

Problem: “Manual testers” are often treated as second class citizens in the world of software. Are you fed up of being branded as a “manual tester”? Are you tired of how often people place automation on a pedestal? Do you tear your hair when people ignore your creative thought process and rush to “automate” the excellent information you uncovered? If […]

Client-User balance

Takeaway: Clients and users are not always the same entity. Clients pay for the product. Users use the product. Clients and users can have different success criteria for your product. Client-User balance Clients and users may not always have overlapping needs. Clients and users can have different success criteria for your product. As the client, I may care about: * […]

Add ‘all’ to questions

Alice was crossing the street, lost in her iPod, unaware of traffic. Bob was in his Toyota Prius driving towards Alice. Unknown to both of them, the traffic signal had a bug causing the walk sign to overlap ever so slightly with the end of the green light. Bob saw Alice and slammed the brakes. Unfortunately, the Prius’ braking system […]