The art of software testing wasn’t given much attention in the past because of a lack of followership. The condition of a software tester is even grimmer. Rather than employing those who aim for a software testing job, companies manage with people just settling for it.
Many software testing departments are filled with those who resort to testing only because of their inability to write codes. The growth of this field was also seriously hampered by the misconception about the costs of conducting such tests. Besides hiring and training testers, companies were also worried about scheduling their valuable time for testing.
But the rapid change in technology demanded more from less and hence agile testing started becoming a trend. Gradually the need for testing became important as companies found that they could save more with the implementation of a testing process. To thrive as a great tester, one needs these 5 qualities at their disposal:
1. A Thirst to Seek Improvement
Everyday there is a new technology in the market. A tester must stay updated about these technologies. He should constantly keep improving his skills which will help him gel with the emerging trends in software testing. A tester should be willing to come out of his own comfort zone in order to push the boundaries of his testing knowledge.
Learning about constant growths in a product domain should be part of every tester’s routine. Together with knowing the product, he should also have a good idea about the domain, whether he is a software tester or a game tester. Having no clue about the domain of a test system can lead to improper testing.
2. Programming Skills
A person lacking the skills to write even the basic program code cannot be an effective software tester. Developers and system engineers are greatly benefitted during the testing phase if the tester is able to relate and imagine the code structures.
3. Need for Innovation
Testers must constantly think of how they can do things in different ways and still produce an effective result. Varying the testing scenarios and seeking improved testing methods will surely bring some innovative thoughts. Being a good tester is one thing, but having the capability to innovate can take you a long way.
4. Communicate
Being able to communicate clearly, accurately and demonstrate a high capacity of comprehension are great qualities for a tester. Communication skills can be different, depending on the need of the hour. A tester might be required to read and understand specifications, translate those into structured test cases, report bugs and to write a clear and concise report to management.
A tester must be able to convey their findings during meetings in a logical and unambiguous way so as to make others understand their ideas. This requires the software tester to have exceptional spoken and written skills.
5. Accountability
There are two forms of accountability that a software tester has to deal with.
a) Accountability to the test product
Most testers are content with completing their tasks for the day and put no effort in trying to learn a bit more about the product at hand. They fail to understand where their product fits and how it influences the economy, markets, businesses, consumers and end users. Having such an idea will help testers to put in better effort towards the work that they do. This will help cultivate a sense of ownership which makes him closer to his work.
b) Accountability to Errors or Mistakes
Making errors is part of working in a high stress environment and focus should be given to prevent these from recurring. Testers should own up to their mistakes instead of finding someone else to blame it on.
You need to have the courage to admit these and push forward for a solution. Apart from gaining the respect of co-workers, this will also help maintain a good working condition within the team. Hence, moving away from blame and focusing on the solution is what matters. As the saying goes “To err is only human”.
Category: Web App Testing
10 Simple Ways You Can Improve as a Tester
Being a software tester is no easy task. The ones who strive hard to continuously improve on their skill sets and keep themselves updated about the need of the hour achieve success in this profession. It isn’t just enough to be good tester; you need to be the very best.
Whether you are into mobile application testing or web application testing, the following tips are sure to help you.
1. Always Go For Quality
Identifying the most important bugs and glitches is a talent that needs to be nurtured. This is what companies look for rather that messing it all up by testing for some 10,000 bugs. This talent can alone ensure a fruitful career with the company you work for.
2. Prioritization
This is similar to finding bugs. Know what is of extreme importance and test these critical areas of the application before going into the minute details. This will help you identify the most valuable bugs first thereby allowing the development team to get rid of these as soon as possible.
3. Develop Your Written Communication Skill
A good written communication skill is part of a software tester’s job description. Why? Because more often than not a software tester will have to write a good test case, bug reports and so on. This is an essential part of QA and should be detailed but at the same time simple to understand.
4. Have a Thirst For Knowledge
Learning from your own and others mistakes can help you go a long way. Each time you commit an error, ask yourself; how can I prioritize better during the next test cycle? How can I communicate with the development team better? Your search for the answers will lead you to a better career as a software tester. Also be ready to ask questions to your fellow testers.
5. Professionalism
Having more than one perspective to a problem can help you become an expert at software testing. Test the software without bias and don’t let any past experience with the software make you cocky. Remember!!! No bugs are too big or too small for you to handle.
6. Be Innovative With Your Thoughts
Don’t just test the software in front of you and think that your job is done. Having your own opinion about the software is welcomed by the developers, provided you don’t deviate from the core concept.
7. Question Yourself
Does this work as planned? Does it support all devices? Does it work under every possible use-case, every time? Keep asking these questions at every level of your test to ensure that you get maximum output from the software.
8. Think as a User
Having a user’s mindset helps you to imagine his expectation and experiences of the software. This will help to evaluate the software from a user perspective, even before its launch at a consumer outlet. It will also help you identify the most valuable bugs.
9. Improve Bug Report
To ensure that the developer gets proper information which he/she needs to understand the bug and fix it, try attaching screen shots and providing detailed bug reports. Where, when, how many times, on what devices, which operating system and under what circumstances will throw light on the bug. A bug is useless to a development team without the right details.
10. Let Your Passion Drive You
Passion is the key to succeeding in any field. Always be a step ahead of you competition and be informed, seek new training opportunities, engage with your fellow testers, attend testing conferences and classes. Try getting close to all things QA.
Why Software Testing isn’t Complete without Test Coverage?
Test coverage or code coverage is a term widely used in software testing services and is considered a part of software maintenance. It is a very useful tool that lets software testers identify untested areas of a code base. By providing data on different coverage items it helps in evaluating the effectiveness of testing.
Together with covering those areas that have not yet been tested, test coverage also helps to monitor and maintain the quality of testing. Measuring test coverage quantitatively will help to determine its quality, as they are indirectly related. It also helps to identify redundant test cases that prevent any increase in coverage thereby providing better software testing services.
How can the output of test coverage help?
- Test Coverage helps to measure traceability between requirements and test cases.
- With the availability of a proper Test mechanism, change tracking and impact analysis will become more effective.
- With proper Test Coverage, defect leakages can be easily prevented.
- It gives an easy way to find gaps in requirements, test cases and defects at unit level.
Read Also : 10 Must-have Tools for Software Testing Services
Tools for Test coverage
The Test Coverage tools are useful as they can easily locate application functionalities and allows exercising the functionalities of interest. What part of the application code is executed will be indicated by the test coverage tool. This helps to easily locate functionality in a very effective manner, especially those in a large, difficult to understand system. Coverage tools help in checking how thoroughly testing has been done.
Tool Features:
- Helps to identify coverage items.
- It lets you calculate the percentage of coverage items that were tested by a set of tests.
- It reports on the coverage items that haven’t yet been tested.
- Generate stubs and drivers.
It is very important to know that achieving 100% statement coverage doesn’t mean that your software is completely tested and error free. This is because coverage tools can only measure the coverage for those items that they can identify. Coverage tools needs to be run often to look at these bits of untested code.
Benefits of Test Coverage
- Helps identify defects during the early stages of a project life cycle.
- In order to increase coverage, additional test cases are created.
- Provides a considerable reduction in UAT defects and production defects which helps achieve a better ROI.
- It helps in finding areas of a program that are not exercised by a set of test cases
- Full control over time, cost and scope.
- Managing the Risk based testing approach makes testing life smoother.
- Determining the quantitative measure of code coverage measures quality of the application or product indirectly.
Recommended Read : Role of Software Testing in Software Development
Drawback of code coverage measurement:
- It can measure only the coverage of what has been written. This means that the code itself cannot say anything about the software that has not been written.
- It can only look at a structure which is already there. If a specified function was omitted or function has not been implemented, then structure-based techniques cannot say anything about them.
7 Reasons to Get Your Software Tested
We live in a world that demands perfection, where mistakes are least tolerated. Though some mistakes can be ignored due to lack importance, some mistakes can lead to grievous after effects. You may loss a fortune or may be it can strip you off your reputation.
Same applies to software developers. They are not super heroes and therefore, you can’t expect the software they develop to be error-free. Making a mistake is not a crime but at the same time you should find a solution for maximum damage control.
Software testing is the best way to minimize the errors in software. Also, the best option is to hire a software tester to do it for you. If you perform the software testing yourselves, you may not really detect majority of the mistakes. Therefore, it is important for someone else to check it for you.
Apart from checking for errors, here are 7 reasons that underline the importance of software testing:
- Software testing points out the errors in software. If you wait for software to be tested after the completion of its development, you may have to start from the beginning in case of errors. Therefore, it is always wise to test software at its developmental phase
- The popularity of software depends on how comfortable it is for the customers to use and how satisfied they are after using it. Therefore, it is always necessary to test the software and ensure that there are no errors before the software reaches the customers
- While buying any product, customers give priority to the quality of the product. A product of poor quality can lead to the customers losing trust in you and this can affect your business. Therefore, it is important to have the software to be tested for errors
- People always go for the products that are affordable and have a low maintenance cost and gives accurate and consistent results. Software or application full of errors can lead to extra expenses and you may end up losing your customers. Therefore, software testing is important
- No customer accepts a product with poor performance. Therefore, it is necessary to do software testing to detect errors before introducing the software or application amongst clients
- It’s necessary to ensure that an application or software does not end to be a failure. It can lead to losing lots of money and all the efforts put by people to develop the application will be wasted
- An application or software of poor quality and performance can tarnish you image in the market. People will lose their trust on you and your company’s reputation will suffer
Software testing allows you to check all aspects of software such as browser compatibility and in case you find any mistakes, you get an opportunity to rectify it. This can save you from complaints after the software or application reaches the customers.
The reputation and persistence of your company depends on customer satisfaction. Unless they are not happy with your product, your reputation will be at risk. This can affect you badly, leading to monetary losses and the clients may not trust you anymore. So, why not have your software or application tested?
Software Testing – How testbytes can help you (video)
Yearly, millions of dollars are saved by the implementation of software Testing. Comprehensive testing helps improve the overall quality of software by finding bugs.
Testbytes provides testing the way you want it to be – precise and comprehensive. Here is a video which showcases what Testbytes can offer you.
From this video you can clearly get an idea on the services provided by testbytes in the field of software testing. It throws light on several issues you may face as a software developer, which mounts due to lack of testing. In the video you can also see a couple of high-impact incidents from the recent past, where the absence of a testing protocol have culminated to give disastrous outcomes.
Watch the video below:
testbytes is a community of software testers who work with the goal of testing software. They help to create an in-depth understanding of the applications under test and include software testing strategies that deliver quantifiable results. They have helped development teams deliver best quality software on time.
Apple’s $23 Billion loss and the role of Testing
Apple has been in news for all the wrong reasons in the past few weeks. First was the ‘Bendgate’ controversy closely following the launch of Apple’s much awaited iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The next issue came up when Apple’s latest version of iOS became bug-plagued. Customers complained that they were finding it difficult to make calls. And the much touted fingerprint ID sensors were also malfunctioning. This forced Apple to pull the OS updates within hours after its launch. In addition to that, Apple’s OS X operating system is said to have operating flaws. The amount Apple had to pay for these flaws were indeed huge. Apple lost about $23 billion in the market, which means that its market value fell by 4%.
Now, why exactly did this happen?
The news mentioned above is a clear example of what happens when software is not tested properly before being launched. Apple would not have incurred such a huge loss if they had thoroughly tested the products before launching them. When customers purchase an everyday product, they expect it to work properly, let alone something as costly as an iPhone. No one will spend money to purchase error prone software that becomes a constant headache. Software testing can help you under such circumstances.
What is software testing?
Software testing is an important part of software development. It is the process of assessing software to analyse its defects and quality. Software testing can be manual or automated.
How does software testing help?
Testing a software can help in
- Identifying faults in software
- Revealing errors even in hidden codes
- Checking if software is reliable
- Ensuring that software meets customer expectations
- Saving money and energy
When should software testing be done?
Some do it at each phase of software development while some do it after the entire coding process is complete. It is always safe if you start testing during the early stages of software development. This can help in detecting bugs and finding a solution as early as possible. This can indeed help in saving energy and money.
Who can test software?
Since software testing is part of software development, some of the companies give the job to the developers itself. It is actually an attempt from their side to save money. But this has its own consequences. Since the developer’s main job is to develop the software, they tend to give less importance to software testing. They may not test the software deeply and as a result, errors prevail, causing problems in future. However, if you hire independent testers, they look into the software deeply to find as many errors as possible. Software testers give importance to quality and hence there will be fewer flaws.
testbytes is one such example of software testers.
Who is testbytes?
testbytes is a team of software testers who have years of experience in the field. They are committed to testing softwares, thus helping you to have your softwares free of errors.
Why testbytes?
Anyone may find it difficult to choose from the multitude of choices they have, be it in the case of software testing services or for any other purposes. Here’s why we have an edge over others in testing software:
- Young and vibrant team passionate about their work
- Years of experience in software testing
- Quality is our first priority
- We are always on time
- We value your suggestions and deliver your needs on time
- Our services are affordable
Enjoy the benefits of reusing Test Cases with Testbytes
As a testing team, you might be used to writing test cases that are exclusively tied to single applications. Each and every time you want to test a new application, you start writing from scratch. After testing that particular application, you simply scrap the test that you worked hard to write. But is that actually necessary? At Testbytes, we have a huge repository of test cases from our rich experience across different clients and applications. This helps us to reuse standard test cases that can be used for repetitive development work items. In this way, our resources are able to save 20% on end to end testing efforts for the client.
How can Test Cases be reused?
What we do is quite simple. A lot many applications, while being different on the whole, will have features that are generic. For example, shopping carts are a constant in eCommerce applications. A test case written for one application’s shopping cart can invariably be reused with another application’s shopping cart. We also maintain utmost confidentiality while reusing the test cases and any proprietary information is not included in such an activity. The similarities increase as we go down to lower levels. There will be a lot of features that will be using the same functions or objects, making it a more specific test case.
So, instead of writing a test case for the application as a whole, we write test cases for individual features or rather for functions and objects. So, to test an entire application, we can link test cases for relevant features and write new test cases only for the features that are truly unique.
Advantages
More Effective – As test cases are being written for a specific function rather than the entire flow, attention is given to each function, making the test cases more effective.
Lowers Maintenance Costs – If a function changes in one of your products, then you just need to rewrite one test case rather than several test cases across your different products. Thus, your maintenance cost gets lowered.
Saves Time – There are lesser test cases to be written, which means you do not have to spend extra time rewriting the same function over and over again.
What is the role of Testbytes?
As mentioned earlier, Testbytes maintains a huge repository of test cases, and therefore can reuse a lot of test cases in most scenarios. This means a lot of effort and time are saved for the client. In fact, it would be a convenient method with a lot of cost, time and effort savings.
Why Is Independent Testing Necessary?
Development Team works with the mindset of “how to make this work?”. If the same developer is deployed to test the application then it becomes difficult for developers to detect any defect as they always worked with the thought of “how to make this work?”. A good tester works with the mindset of “how to break this?” and that’s what is required to test the application thoroughly. Owing to this fact, it becomes absolutely necessary for the application to be tested by an independent tester even for minor changes.
Here are 5 major reasons as to why independent testing is necessary and should be mandatory.
Reduced Cost
Quality testing requires automated testing techniques, which involves buying specialized tools. These tools are quite costly and it doesn’t make sense to buy them for a relatively small amount of testing. At times, you will have to test on multiple platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc. There will be variations in the hardware too. Testing would happen in a series of highs and lows through the year. Maintaining the infrastructure throughout the year even during the low times is an unnecessary expense.
On the other hand, an independent testing company with focus on testing will definitely invest in quality tools, and it makes perfect sense for them to maintain the infrastructure all through the year. So, it is a convenient solution that reduces your expense.
Shorter Testing Time
In house testing usually happens at the last stages of development. This can be problematic, particularly if the development itself takes a little more time than initially thought. You have to make the most out of available time. For that, readily available testing resources with proper preparation are required. This can easily be availed from an independent testing company, and as a bonus, you might even get services such as our own “Develop by Day, Test at Night”, which makes brilliant use of the difference in time zones. In short, your testing process will be a lot faster and comprehensive than when it is done in house.
Improved Quality
Independent testing companies are fully dedicated to testing products thoroughly. They bring a lot of technical expertise long with them. And, unlike in-house testers, they would be reporting bugs at the right time as it is a matter of reputation for the company. As the client, you would want the product to be as bug-free as possible, and the independent testing company would want to prove their efficiency by reporting more bugs. Also, the company would probably test your product against quality standards set by regulatory bodies, helping your sales process to be smooth.
Experience and Expertise
An independent testing company is a bunch of testers, who would keep up with the latest tools, techniques and trends. This would not be possible if you hire an in-house tester. These people would interact with each other and share ideas. Hence a seemingly undetected problem in-house might be uncovered by an independent testing company within no time. Also, as they are dealing with testing on a regular basis the employees of the testing company will have the know-how to operate on different testing tools.
Convenience
You don’t need to worry about maintaining a testing team in-house, or when your product testing will be complete. An independent testing company will provide you with deadlines. Your tester might fall sick at the most inconvenient time or might suddenly decide to leave the company. All such issues won’t bother you when outsourcing testing. It provides you the space and convenience to focus on your core area – development.
So, if convinced that outsourcing testing is the way to go, you might want to check out our amazing testing team. We have 1 week FREE TestDrive service that helps you find out how good we are.
Test Engineer – Is This Role Inspiring?
Around 1500 hundred year ago, Aryabhata while TESTING his experiment/theory felt need for zero which he ENGINEERED,basically one way of looking at invention of ZERO is out come of TEST ENGINEERING which helped mathematics and computing world to evolve.
General notion of responsibilities that falls with Test Engineer is people who create test cases, test data, test scripts and other testing related artefact, these created artifacts are used for execution and outcome is published as test results.
Above work does not involve much of “Engineering”, it is pure testers job profile as document in Roles and responsibility document that is available in our QMS. Based on the role definition the only activity that can qualify as Test Engineer is Performance testing where TEST is followed be ENGINEERing performance scripts.
Test Engineer role captured my attention during a client visit back in early 2008, when we decided to do a floor walk primarily to get out of the board room and see our experts in action. An automated script developed using excel was demoed to us, this was amazing piece of ENGINEERING that excited and charged us, on request from client we spend more time on the floor than planned and rearranged subsequent schedule.
There would be many such instances where our Test Engineers are innovating and applying “ENGINEERING” to enhance the value and utility of the product/service.
- Surprising observations is that there are lot of places where we don’t involve our test engineers For example
- Are our Test Engineers involved in testing recommendation that comes for process improvement?
- Are our Test Engineers involved to test Organization wide initiative it to ensure we can measure the benefits upfront
- Why Infrastructure Management does not have any requirement for Test Engineers? We see requirement from client for Architects, project managers, specialist etc.
Above list is a small illustration, there are test engineering opportunity in abundance, last week news was that India have 500 million mobile users.
If we apply simple mathematics this space itself was 500 million $ market assuming 1$ to test one handset/hardware before it hits the showroom, that is awful lot of work. It does not stop here as product life cycle does not end with selling, servicing and fixes follows. If we consider only 1% of current mobile handset in Indian market brought to service centres for repairs, that is additional 5 million $ market again assuming 1$ to test the repair before handing out to customer.
If we estimate 50% of India’s population to use mobile in near future we still have market for additional 100 million mobiles which at 1$ of testing per handset amounts to 100 million $ market plus the 1 million $ on service/repair testing.
Like wise there are many areas where Test Engineering can add value and generate $$$, point is how we can expedite the process of demonstrating and marketing Test Engineering?
I am a firm believer in this role, it can do wonders to the world, there is lot of work that still has to be done, this post is to INSPIRE both the provider (Test Engineer) and consumers to value the role and get maximum out of it until we see “TESTED OK” on every thing we use directly or indirectly including this article J. Test Engineers please acknowledge and lets work to bring out the true ESSENSE of this role and INSPIRE.