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This article follows-up with the series of  articles about tackling test complexity, adding a view on the importance of product knowledge, when coping with the complexity of testing. Let's assume that you understand already, who your customers are;) I managed testing of a large integrated suite of software products on one of my past projects. Each product had its years of individual history already, when the decision was made to release them as a suite. And each of them was quite complex on its own, even without considering integration with…

Working patiently and passionately on implementing the strategy to deliver best-in-class Software Testing and Software Quality Assurance services to our customers and partners we see it paying off over the time. To be able to satisfy the increased demand from our clients for specialists in Software Testing, we are looking for (more…)

A problem you might face while extending the OpenDJ functionality with a plugin is to develop proper unit tests. OpenDJ comes with a set of tools to facilitate the testing, but since they are tightly integrated within the build framework, you might find it difficult to execute your unit tests from outside of the framework. This article will try to give you short guidelines on how to integrate and execute your tests. (more…)

Software complexity is one of the most significant challenges that a software tester may face. Testing software that is complex usually requires a breadth of knowledge and experience. The goal that the tester needs to accomplish with regards to complexity is: to test the software in a reasonable time and at a reasonable cost. As an example, think about ways to test upgrades of a database system with the following support matrix that gives altogether billions of combinations to test. Can this test scope be reasonably covered? Maybe. Let's see…

Do you know the joke? "What's the difference between a methodologist and a terrorist? Well, you can negotiate with a terrorist.". It was perhaps more true for terrorists of the 20th century than those of the 21th, but you get the point. We met a "methodologist" the other day and that gave me the impulse to write this blog. (more…)

Here comes a universal recipe that I often hear on software release projects that are planning outsourcing of functional testing responsibilities. Take an experienced test designer to define test cases. Then take several clickers to do the execution based on those pre-defined test cases and you are done with your testing team. A clicker is meant to be a human being, literate and having some user experience with GUI based applications. Assuming that instructions are well written, the person will click through GUI based tests reasonably well. No need for…

Whether you need to test web applications or troubleshoot software system deployment you may need tools that will help you understand what is actually happening. During our projects we came across couple of handy tools (available as Firefox add-ons [1]) that we found useful. (more…)

Testers often debate about testers' place in the world of software engineering and the world's perception of testers. Both well known names ([1], [2]) and the broader community ([5], [6]) contribute. We (testers) often get frustrated, deffensive, when non-testers say that testing doesn't need thinking, that it is only about pressing buttons, that experience or qualification are not imporant. Basically that anyone could do it. In a response, we try to define ourselves ([3], [6]), suggest ways to deal with non-testers ([4]), educate them ([1]) or trying to challenge ourselves ([5]). The more I…

We argued in a previous article that independent testing is about the way testers act and the quality of information that they provide, rather than about the way they are organized or governed. Organization and governence still tend to have a crucial impact on independence. That's perhaps the reason, why some of defined standards approach testing independence from the point of view of the organization ([1], [2]). I prefer to talk about organizationally or governence-wise separate testing rather than independent testing in this context. Here is why. (more…)

Testing independence is being referred to in various ways: organizational independence of a test team on other teams within a company, independence of a testing service  vendor on other vendors, or testing as an independent engineering or scientific discipline. This blog site intends to refer to software testing as a business function and its in/dependence on other business functions (e.g. software development or other, even non-technical functions). Let me hence, share my perspective on independent testing from this angle and contrast it with outsourcing testing services, given that I see…