While at a client’s site, I was thrown into a schedule of endless agile meetings! Daily stand-up meetings, sit-down meetings, lunch meetings (Seriously, these meetings do really work!)

Lots of productive meetings. This is a good sign. This is one of the reasons why Agile is becoming  “the way to go“  in software development and implementation. More open communication leads to better understanding of the requirements of the product , fast resolutions of the issues resulting to more energized commitment to work as a team.

But one thing I love with Agile is how every member has embraced the idea of “less documentation in words” but more of “documentation in visuals, graphics and drawings“.  This made the white board, sketch pads, post it, markers the most loved  tools in every meeting.  Since I am very visual person, I prefer the graphical representation of stories, process, methods ( or anything you can translate to drawings).
 

 
So what has camera got to do with this post?

Since I find it hard to listen and write at the same time, I found that bringing a digital camera  in any Agile meeting is also “the way to go..”

Here’s what I do :

• I take snapshots of the whiteboard or story board
• Print the photos for easy viewing
• Upload the photos in the Project Management software

Advantages of using camera:

• Since I started this new meeting habit, I found myself more productive.
• I can participate intently in all the discussions first, then capture the diagrams later.
• There is 100% accuracy in the details compared to copying the same by hand.
• Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words.
• And need I say, it is also more fun !!!

From that day on, my QA Tool Kit won’t be complete without a small, simple, reliable digital camera.

Don’t take my word for it, just try it !  Cheers!

Tess Rupprecht

Many testers might have gained training or experience with water fall model and would have spent lot of time practicing V-Model where in the system testing correlates directly with the system specification and testing commences with the completion of software development (in general). In this case tester’s life is straight forward meaning ensure the product works as per specifications.

With agile life becomes a little more complicated, no comprehensive documentation (which were there earlier with traditional models), the feature details are with lest documentation and more of verbal collaboration. Testing starts at a very early stage of software life cycle and continues till product is being developed, in other words target is always in motion.

It’s a real challenge, this is what I feel. Substantiating it I can say upfront writing of test cases before the software is actually developed such that the acceptance test forms a significant part of requirements analysis, test will be automated at low (code) level and will be implemented by DEV’s. The most significant or the important part is the greater emphasis is on the automation of regression testing.

All of it demands changes in the role of a tester (Agile tester)

With my little experience I could say :

• With test case upfront demarcation of requirement analysis and test analysis diminishes.
• User stories dilute the difference between the test analysis and requirement scenario.
• Automation has a significant role.
• With unit test being automated the testers need to ensure the completion of tests and their appropriateness ( all important scenarios have been jotted down)
• Avoid duplication as it increases overhead.
• A proactive and collaborative approach of the team can unanimously make them say “All is well” at the end.

I would appreciate if any one can add more points this article.

Sachin Srivastava

Last week, I had a chance to review ( again..) some of the most popular automation testing tools in the market today.

Based on the my own research and reviews, I am no longer surprised that the free open source tools are still leading the popularity over the more expensive proprietary software from big named vendors.

I picked a couple of tools which were favorites mentioned in a a couple of QA forums. Then I came up with my own list, namely – JMeter, Selenium, Watir, C# and Java.

In this post, we will concentrate on one tool called Selenium.

Learning Selenium was a real breeze.

• First of all, there are so many sites dedicated on teaching the ins, outs and whys of Selenium.
• Second,  it is simple to use with an easy to navigate interface that comes as an Add On to the Firefox browser

Even if you are new to QA but if you have some technical knowledge, then within a day you would be creating your first few Selenium test cases.

My verdict : Selenium is really a good tool for testing web applications. It is free, and there is an excellent community of technical and non technical users who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise.

Instead of making this post too long, I would suggest you get started so you can try it for yourself.

From your Google Browser, just type the following words :

• First, “Selenium Tutorial”
• Or “Selenium Installation” to be more specific
• Then “Selenium Sample Test Cases”
• Or you can go to YouTube to watch videos like the one below

We’ll appreciate if you can also share your experiences in using Selenium!

Thanks.

Learning any new stuff always fascinates me. I never believe that anyone knows too much to quit learning.

Yesterday, I downloaded the demo version of the proprietary testing tool from ThoughtWorks called TWIST.  Within hours, I was already writing my own test projects and creating scenarios. What is amazing with TWIST is its capability to combine both manual test scenarios and the underlying automated script in one place. The BAs can write the use cases or use stories, then QAs and Developers can write the corresponding code to the same use cases minus the tedious and error prone linking steps. Gone would be the days when multiple, separate documents but referring to the same features are maintained by BA, QA and Developers.

When creating my first project, I tried using the Selenium driver since my background is testing web applications. Selenium’s unique  feature of record-and-replay can save the QAs large amount of time typing the code. Thou not all the steps can be automated, it still  speeds up code creation by the Selenium recorder.

Within the TWIST applications are also some very good testing tips on how to best create scenarios.  Its user friendly interface using simple plain text,  English-like constructs make the learning curve less steep.

Anyways, I am not here to sell TWIST, but I strongly suggest you give it a try is you are seriously thinking of automating your software projects.

What I really would like to share today are the higher level testing concepts I learned from TWIST.  Here they go :

• Separate the intent of the test from the mechanics of the test.
• Focus on what the test is suppose to do rather than how does the test work.
• Test scenarios should be independent of the user interface of the application.
• Test scenarios should strive to be at the highest level of abstraction possible, without sacrificing readabilty.
• Don’t repeat the tests: Repeating a series of steps at any level – at a scenario, or in the implementation can increase the maintenance overhead.

Based on my personal experience as QA, all of the above are true.  These are very simple yet neglected concepts in the testing world.  If you are a new tester, try to develop these correct thinking habits that would serve as your solid anchor in your long career.

I would trust that the above concepts are rather simple, but if you have questions feel free to leave a comment ot send me an email.

The technology world evolves faster than most of us would like to admit. But change can either be good or bad, it depends on ones perspective and the actual verifiable results from those who have actually implemented it.

The latest word in computing is “AGILE”. Is it just a fad? Is it for real? It has been around for almost a decade now thou some companies / professionals are still not convinced it is the way to go. How does it affect the way we do our work as QAs?

We wanted to hear first the comments of our respected peers in the testing community. Some of them gladly shared their comments in this video courtesy of CMCMediaInc.