"The Mis-education of Softw are Testers: Rethinking and - - PDF document

BT4

Concurrent Session 6/14/2012 10:15 AM

"The Mis-education of Softw are Testers: Rethinking and Relearning Softw are Quality"

Presented by: Clinton Sprauve Micro Focus

Brought to you by:

340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073 888‐268‐8770 ∙ 904‐278‐0524 ∙ sqeinfo@sqe.com ∙ www.sqe.com

Clinton Sprauve MicroFocus

The director of product strategy for the Borland Solutions Division of Micro Focus, Clint Sprauve provides the strategic direction for the Silk functional and performance testing

• solutions. Clint has more than seventeen years of experience in the software quality

assurance industry. Previously he was the senior product marketing manager for the Silk Testing Solutions at Borland Software and Segue Software, and served as a senior technical sales engineer for both companies. Clint has been an independent consultant, specializing in test management and test automation.

The Mis-Education of Software Testers

Rethinking & Relearning Software Quality Clint Sprauve Director Product Marketing & Strategy – Borland Director, Product Marketing & Strategy Borland Solutions

You Will Learn…

• Why I chose this topic

Why I chose this topic

• Why challenging the status quo is very important
• How to make better decisions regarding software

quality

• How to reassess your current processes

My Story…

• Why I chose this topic

We will discuss why you should RETHINK:

• Test Automation: who should do it, what works, what

, , doesn't

• QA Vendor Solutions : Why single vendor solutions don't

always work

• Traceability: How much is enough? How effective are our

efforts?

• Tool Expertise: Do I really need to be an automation

tools expert?

• Simplicity: Easy of Use vs. Anyone can do it
• Buzzword‐Driven Testing: Is it a solution or a hindrance

to the team's productivity?

• Testing Certifications: Are they worth it?
• Mobile and Cloud: How should this REALLY be done?
• Reporting: What is the critical information needed to

make an informed release decision?

RETHINK: Simplicity – Ease of Use vs. Anyone Can Do It

• Who are the primary users of functional test tools?
• DO NOT force BAs to do test automation
• Work within your team members strengths
• BAs & SMEs are vital to the success of the project

RETHINK: Test Automation

• Use what works for your project needs, not the entire

y p j ,

• rganization
• Be flexible
• Don’t over‐complicate it
• Choose automation engineers based on specific criteria,

such as complexity of the app under test, skill set of team, and release time frames

RETHINK: Single Vendor Solutions

• No need for a single vendor all or nothing solution

you

• No need for a single vendor, all‐or‐nothing solution – you

have a choice

• Use a mix of open source, and multi‐vendor solutions

where necessary

• Test Assets are your IP, no need to standardize on tools

RETHINK: Buzzword-Driven Testing

• Keyword Model Driven Design Driven Test Driven
• Keyword, Model‐Driven, Design‐Driven, Test‐Driven,

Data‐Driven, Futility‐Driven!

• Assess these methodologies the same way you assess

tools and vendors: with EXTREME CAUTION

• What works for one organization doesn’t work for others

RETHINK: Traceability

• Understand How Much is Enough
• Understand How Much is Enough
• Keep it simple – don’t build the traceability matrix from

hell

• Don’t spend more time tracing requirements to tests

than you do defining the right requirements to build test from from

RETHINK: Tool Expertise

• You don’t need to be a tool expert but you do need the
• You don t need to be a tool expert, but you do need the

right skills

• Bring in the right skill sets to build good automation

(java, .net, perl, ruby on rails developers, etc.)

• Don’t depending too much on one resource for

automation (i e uber‐tester keeper of the framework) automation (i.e., uber tester, keeper of the framework)

RETHINK: Testing Certifications

• Continuing education is always a good thing
• Continuing education is always a good thing
• Certification does not guarantee you a job, or give you an

edge (in MOST instances)

• Use certs to show that you continue to improve and

value your craft

• Don’t stop at certs improve in other areas (domain
• Don’t stop at certs, improve in other areas (domain

expertise)

RETHINK: Reporting

• Think real time dashboards vs static reports
• Think real‐time dashboards vs. static reports
• You want information that is always up‐to‐date
• Consume “good enough” information, not everything
• Don’t over‐complicate

RETHINK: Mobile Testing

• Private Cloud vs Public Cloud
• Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud
• Understand that the testing requirements for mobile are

different than traditional app functional testing

• You can’t (and shouldn’t try) to test on every device and

configuration

• Understand the limitations of various platforms (iOS vs
• Understand the limitations of various platforms (iOS vs

Android vs. Windows Mobile)

RETHINK: Cloud Testing

• Private Cloud vs Public Cloud
• Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud
• You can use Amazon or Rackspace to create your own

private test environment

• Some external cloud options can be very costly
• Use cloud vendors when necessary (i.e. performance

testing for a major release) testing for a major release)

Summary: RETHINK EVERYTHING!

• Skype for communications among team members‐ file sharing,

h i i t l t ll All f f screen sharing, virtual team calls. All for free

• Get a basic team subscription to 37 Signal's BaseCamp for project

and task management

• Selenium for functional testing of web based applications
• Bugzilla for defect tracking
• Evernote for document sharing and collaboration
• Frameworks like Cucumber or FitNesse for basic test management

and documentation blended with automation

• Performance testing with jMeter or periodically using any of the
• Performance testing with jMeter or periodically using any of the

cloud performance test vendors when necessary

• Spin up multiple test environments in the cloud for pennies on the

dollar using a platform like Amazon's EC2

• Run my mobile test directly on device using cloud and open source
• ptions
• employ crowd sourcing to increase coverage for functional,

performance,and security testing when necessary

Q & A Q & A