Tips

Tips

• The link between automated UI tests and exploratory testing

  Smart agile teams typically mix automated UI tests with manual exploratory testing to achieve better coverage this is a good practice but still has potential problems. Learn how to provide an improved user experience by following this expert tip ...  Continue Reading

• Exploratory vs. planned testing: Which yields better results?

  Software test expert Chris McMahon tests in an exploratory manner side-by-side a colleague who tests with a methodical, planned manner, comparing the rate of defects found over time. The results may surprise you.  Continue Reading

• The secrets to getting started in your software testing career

  The way to advance in your career includes learning, experience and networking. Software test expert Kevin Beaver gives advice on best ways to further your career. By doing what you love and staying current with continuous learning, you will become ...  Continue Reading

• Building solid security requirements

  Security expert Kevin Beaver describes the steps required to build solid security requirements. Beaver walks through key questions that must be asked to ensure both business and technical needs are considered.  Continue Reading

• Change management: Change in requirements

  When requirements change late in software development project things have a tendency to go wrong. Learn methods one expert uses to avoid complication when adapting a project t to meet revised requirements.  Continue Reading

• Success factors for distributed teams

  Distributed agile expert Lisa Crispin describes the structure, management-style and level of acceptance required in order for distributed agile teams to find success.  Continue Reading

• Strategies for minimizing regression defects

  Regression defects, those unexpected defects that result from a fix of another defect, are often the most challenging to find and fix. Expert John Overbaugh describes why these defects are so challenging and offers up techniques, such as automation...  Continue Reading

• Choosing the right defect tracking system for your organization

  Does your software organization need a purpose-built defect tracking system but you don't know where to turn? Expert John Overbaugh explains what criteria should determine the proper defect tracking tool selection for your organization.  Continue Reading

• Seven quick tips for better performance requirements

  An expert tester explains seven useful tips for determining appropriate performance requirements that can be tested throughout the development cycle. Knowing the right conversations to have with stakeholders and project team members will lead to ...  Continue Reading

• How to use Scrum effectively: Book review and conversation with Elizabeth Woodward

  Learn about Scrum methodologies and how best to collaborate and communicate for all development sizes in this book review and discussion with author and IBM employee Elizabeth Woodward.  Continue Reading

• Software testers beware: Finding and fixing defects

  Software testers are responsible for performing two tasks: finding application defects and preventing bugs. Testers can become victims of their own work ethic and skills causing mistakes. Expert Chris McMahon explains ways testers can avoid these ...  Continue Reading

• Four key responsibilities for the lead QA professional

  Being a modern tester requires you to wear many hats and possess many different skills. Gaining exploratory and automated testing expertise are great paths to follow for a career in QA.  Continue Reading

• Effective bug reporting techniques

  If you've ever had a terrible bug come back "unable to reproduce" or "not worth fixing," you know the pain of writing bug reports. This tutorial covers the basics of effective reporting and provides a few advanced tricks to make the reproduction, ...  Continue Reading

• Beyond testing: Diversify your testing and development skills

  Modern development organizations are requiring new and diverse skill sets from the testers they employ. Knowledge in programming and ability to communicate problems well are becoming standards in tester employment.  Continue Reading

• Tools designed for testers working in Agile development environments

  Agile testers must be able to keep up with the pace of constant changes – not only to the code being written, but to the user requirements. Along with this challenge comes the need for tools to provide speed and accuracy in testing. This ...  Continue Reading

• Agile software testing strategies for managers

  How will agile testing methods be determined? What are the best testing tools? Learn what agile project managers need to know to assure high quality in their tests.  Continue Reading

• Selecting an Agile test tool: What to look for in vendor and open source offerings

  Most project managers and agile teams know they need tools to help them develop and test but they aren't sure what to look for in tools or where to get them. Learn how to identify which open source and vendor tools provide the most versatility, ...  Continue Reading

• Embrace changing project requirements but minimize rework

  Successful agile practitioners excel when the entire team embraces true flexibility to changing requirements and project needs. Learn how to interpret and implement proven team traits from the Agile Manifesto in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Mobile testing: Three vulnerable areas to test

  Mobile access to the internet is growing rapidly making it imperative that companies test primary concern areas to ensure quality. Key vulnerabilities to test for on mobile devices are SSL, HTML-rich Web pages and outbound operations, says an expert.  Continue Reading

• Horseshoes, hand grenades, and Acceptance Test Driven Development (ATDD)

  The best way to determine how an application should function is by running tests. The results of which will dictate how the application should feel and perform. Acceptance Test-Driven Development guides application development by providing test ...  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Introducing Selenium IDE, an open source automation testing tool

  Selenium, an open source automation testing tool, offers an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) plug-in that unifies the tool with desirable Web browser-based test features. Using Selenium IDE provides easy-to-use record and play back features,...  Continue Reading

• How Agile estimation works

  Without a strong background in development best practices, agile or not, your estimation tactics will likely be futile. According to experts an understanding of TDD, continuous integration and strong code review skills will aid estimation efforts ...  Continue Reading

• Chartering exploratory test efforts in Agile

  Charters outline specific test routes taken when exploratory testing an application. Each charter identifies what is being tested and which system is being subjected to the test. Many agile teams have adopted this method of exploring applications ...  Continue Reading

• Requirements rethinking tutorial: Improving pre-development software analysis - Part 2

  An expert shows how reimagining the software requirements elicitation process can lead to improving business requirements and add value to applications. In this tip, learn how to better evaluate your requirements upfront and throughout the SDLC.  Continue Reading

• Problem pyramid discovering REAL software requirements

  Using the problem pyramid model developed by expert consultant Robin Goldsmith can help make requirements gathering a focused and effective process. By using Goldsmith's model REAL business requirement goal setting is made simpler and results can be...  Continue Reading

• Handling handoffs the Agile development way

  Professional software tester Chris McMahon describes his company's struggle to speed up the testing processes of its C- and COBOL-based system, and how it accomplished this task using techniques that would later fall in line with the Agile Manifesto...  Continue Reading

• Getting started with Selenium Remote Control - Part 2

  Is your software development team interested in using a test tool that can drive any popular browser? In this tutorial, learn how to set up and test environments to run Selenium RC, get directions to all of Selenium's online resources and explore ...  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Installing and running Selenium-RC in Perl

  Used in conjunction with Selenium's online tutorials, this tip will provide additional guidance on how to start out with Selenium RC in Perl regardless of your platform or server. Once you have Selenium set up, this tip explains how to create and ...  Continue Reading

• Why hybrid waterfall/agile process lessens distributed software development problems

  Software development methodologists have broken into two camps, one in support of waterfall and the other in favor of agile. While both methodologies differ drastically, a combination of the two (the hybrid waterfall/agile model) fills in many of ...  Continue Reading

• ITIL Change Management: How change management fits in an ITIL methodology

  Documentation in the IT Information Library (ITIL) outlines how change management processes should service teams that are adapting source code, but these guidelines aren't always straightforward. In this tip, learn how to use ITIL processes to ...  Continue Reading

• Lean software development cuts costs and production time, but is not fool-proof

  Lean development practices can be used to bypass expenditures tied to traditional development methodologies, but plenty of accident-prone areas exist and mistakes remain costly. By aligning process flow, prioritizing tasks and creating concrete user...  Continue Reading

• Change Control Councils: The key to successful software releases

  Software teams are usually pressed for time which causes them to be poorly-organized and build weak product release packages. In this tip, an expert identifies and explains how to overcome this issue by constructing Change Control Councils (CCC). ...  Continue Reading

• Effective ALM planning and how to appoint a change and configuration management team

  Proper ALM planning and the appointment of a change and configuration team can help align business goals with application development goals, explain concepts to management and improve quality throughout the SDLC. For application development teams ...  Continue Reading

• Application lifecycle performance testing and monitoring strategies

  Testing and monitoring an application's performance capabilities often consists of a series of tradeoff's and compromises, says expert Mike Kelly. In this tip, learn how to approach performance testing, tie together business metrics and gauge an ...  Continue Reading

• The full team approach to managing requirements

  Making changes to existing code poses a significant risk in software development. As requirements change, teams need to be aware of how changes will effect the project and plan ahead for adverse effects. In this tip, expert Chris McMahon explains ...  Continue Reading

• The importance of critical thinking in software test

  Even though there are numerous definitions for the term "software testing," there is common ground. Testers need to use critical thinking skills when diving into the testing of a software application. In this tip, expert Chris McMahon explains ways ...  Continue Reading

• Reliably estimating the requirements effort - Part 2

  In this second part of a two-part article describing techniques to estimate the requirements effort, bottom-up estimates and requirements definition tasks are described. Accurately estimating the requirements effort will help ensure overall project ...  Continue Reading

• Managing test data in complex systems

  Managing data in complex systems can pose a challenge for testers, as the data being tested is dependent on variable data and time-based information contained within the system. If changes are made it affects other aspects of the application. In ...  Continue Reading

• Reliably estimating the software requirements effort

  Differences in how business analysts and project managers define "requirements estimation" frustrate the software requirements elicitation process. No matter what methodology is in use, without adequately defining requirements, software projects are...  Continue Reading

• Performance test metrics

  How fast is your performance testing system? In this article, explore different means for gathering and interpreting these performance metrics, including common graphs and terminology.  Continue Reading

• Using Stella for Web application testing

  Although Stella remains in beta, it has proven to be a powerful Web application testing tool. In this technical tip, expert Mike Kelly walks testers through Stella use. Since documentation is scarce, this tip will provide you with valuable guidance ...  Continue Reading

• Proper defect management increases the likelihood for better software quality

  When software is problematic and in need of defect reconciling which department is responsible for documenting and countering application defects? Expert John Scarpino explains software defect management chain of command in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Ten quick attacks for Web-based software

  An expert tester offers his insight on common Web-based application flaws and intuitive ways to handle their repair. In this tip learn how to identify weaknesses before going live.  Continue Reading

• Quick attacks for Web security, penetration testing and SQL advisory

  Are you in need of penetration testing but are on a strict budget? Expert Matt Heusser provides tips and tricks to get your software application live and without issues. Learn beyond the basics of penetration testing and learn how to overcome SQL ...  Continue Reading

• Four insights you can gain from user acceptance test (UAT) sessions

  User acceptance testing feedback and recommendations can still lead the direction of a project even if it is late in the game explains expert Karen Johnson. Johnson entered a project with most of the product ready for release but still in need of ...  Continue Reading

• How to use Selenesse, a combination tool from FitNesse and Selenium

  Selenesse, a tool built from Fitnesse and Selenium, uses a "scenario library" to analyze and build tests. Selenesse simplifies all of the complexity of test situations by using Simple List Invocation Method or "SLIM" to estimate and recreate test ...  Continue Reading

• Introducing Selenesse, the modern bridge between Fitnesse and Selenium

  Learn how two testers scaled back pre-existing test frameworks and made hybrid automation tools to drive user interface testing forward for the company 42lines. Chris McMahon and Marisa Seal, both experts in the software testing field, worked with ...  Continue Reading

• Six tours for exploratory testing the business district of your application

  Exploratory testing is sometimes thought to be "directionless testing", but James Whitaker's new book suggests that exploratory testing, is more structured than it is credited for. Exploratory testing is filled with numerous tours or testing ...  Continue Reading

• Network security: Analyze your hosts and ports with nmap, Nessus, and netcat

  Application expert explains security testing tool options like nmap, Nessus and netcat to keep your software safe and secure. According to Chris McMahon some of the key areas to focus on when using open source tools are your ports, IP address and ...  Continue Reading

• A software expert's heuristic for regression testing

  Often, regression testing is what stands between a product in a test lab versus a product in the hands of our users – so we don't want to take longer than we need – but we don't want to haphazardly release a product before its ready.  Continue Reading

• Integrating soapUI into your unit testing practice

  Using SoapUI testing tools is one of the easiest ways to ensure a high-level of application quality and security, thanks to this indepth expert tutorial. In this tip learn the cause and effect of user interface testing, documented in informative ...  Continue Reading

• Security best practices for today's Web applications

  Web 2.0 and Rich Internet applications, though great functionality-wise. can place many complications in the way of Web security. In this tip, a Web security expert explains where problems can occur and what free tools are available to avoid issues.  Continue Reading

• Born to fail: How NOT to write user interface tests

  While user interface testing typically focuses on the UI, it can also help evaluate other aspects, such as business logic and integration. This tip discusses user interface testing's multiple uses and benefits.  Continue Reading

• Using Fist of Five, Planning Poker to reach Agile team consensus

  In these tips, consensus-building tools such as Fist of Five and Planning Poker are introduced. Even when these tools are used, the team must decide how they are going to handle a stale-mate condition and move forward on decisions.  Continue Reading

• Why use POST vs. GET to keep applications secure

  Although POST and GET HTTP requests essentially perform the same command on a Web server, a security expert says there are inherent dangers in using one over the other. Learn why one type of processing request provides more security for your Web ...  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Software tester describes daily application performance testing work

  A software performance test engineer describes application performance testing processes and best practices. The tester answers performance testing FAQs and discusses API-level and load testing.  Continue Reading

• Using soapUI to mock Web services can offer insight on user acceptance

  Many of the inconsistencies in automated integration testing can be put to rest by utilizing mock Web services. In this tip on soapUI, you will learn how acquire and review static responses in user interface testing. These responses can help ...  Continue Reading

• Finding software flaws with error-guessing tours

  Application testing tours can uncover application troubles prior to launch, and this tip on finding errors and testing heuristics discusses how it's done. Learn more about institutional testing, heuristics, testing checklists, local error guessing ...  Continue Reading

• Nine ways to evaluate automated software testing tools

  Evaluate automated software testing tools more thoroughly with these tips for analyzing cost, support, total cost of ownership, usability and more. This tip suggests questions to ask about each attribute of a tool and a vendor's support for it.  Continue Reading

• Cut software performance testing costs with built-in measurements

  Software testers can cut performance testing costs and improve application performance by using tools to gather metrics during each testing phase. Learn about areas, such as user interface transactions, where adding measurements will help.  Continue Reading

• Manipulating Business Intelligence to solve dense data warehouse testing issues

  Before diving into a Business Intelligence, data project, development must construct a test strategy. The test strategy must intuitively predict potential software problems. In order to do this, testers and developers need to have insight into what ...  Continue Reading

• Using empty client knowledge to enhance debugging practices

  Understanding the differences between thick client, thin client and empty client server usage can improve your software debugging practices, says an expert. By applying a background understanding of empty client Web platform usage testers and ...  Continue Reading

• Testing data fields in business Intelligence projects

  A software expert explains project requirements for a business intelligence data warehouse. Often, BI development depends on multiple data sources and consistent vendor IDs. A solid understanding of where data is derived from as well as facilitating...  Continue Reading

• Testing SMS texting applications: Key steps and considerations

  A software testing expert describes approaches to testing SMS texting applications. She looks at how SMS testing changes perceptions of everyday texting, and explains key steps in the SMS testing process.  Continue Reading

• Testing Web services' performance with soapUI

  Learn how to write load tests, TestCases and run them with soapUI in this expert tutorial. SoapUI is great for tracking test criteria statistics and locating problem areas are.  Continue Reading

• Agile development: Quality assurance, consistency in testing

  Learn how to use Focus Stories to organize and manage dense software development backlogs. In doing this, your Agile software team will have less hassle completing iterations and prioritizing important deadlines.  Continue Reading

• Application security checklist: Ways to beat cross-site request forgery

  Cross-site scripting attacks and SQL injection hacks are the software security issues on most application testers' radar, but cross-site request forgeries (CSRF) aren't and should be. Learn how to recognize and overcome CSRF issues in this ...  Continue Reading

• Ways remote software testers can best use bug tracking tools

  Software testers with a background in development, understanding of source code and agile, can accelerate iteration testing and eliminate excess dependence on bug reporting tools, says an expert who excelled in software through development ...  Continue Reading

• Focus stories, business mission, goals, intents and the backlog

  Software development roles evolve as product owner focus changes. Agile groups may need to adjust test strategy, roadmaps and iterations to ensure top-notch QA and timely product delivery, says an expert.  Continue Reading

• Software tester/ testing evolution: The importance of user acceptance testing in times of automated

  Business drive in test automation in software development has redefined the role of testers. Experts encourage testers to focus on usability testing to increase application value. By providing users with long-lasting impressions from applications ...  Continue Reading

• Getting things done with agile modeling: Five architectural tips

  Learn about agile software modeling best practices -- as well as the evolution of data-congruent programming, data modeling and Unified Modeling Language (UML) -- in this tip. Find out how Agile modeling helps software programmers avoid notation ...  Continue Reading

• Building a Performance Assurance Center of Excellence tutorial

  Thorough testing prior to deploying a software application decreases glitches, bugs and other issues. In this expert tip, learn how to build a test center focused on performance.  Continue Reading

• How Service Component Architecture (SCA) can simplify SOA deployment

  Learn how to add business value to software projects by using service component architecture (SCA). SCA can be used to simplify the construction of multi-platform Web applications. In this tip you will learn what kind of code language knowledge is ...  Continue Reading

• Tips for debugging your JMeter tests

  Learn how to interpret and debug JMeter HTTP proxy tests in this software testing expert tip. Mike Kelly describes the entire JMeter testing process in this series that explains running a JMeter test, interpreting results and debugging application ...  Continue Reading

• Exploratory testing: Tips and techniques for perfecting software quality

  Exploratory testing is widely used and also often misunderstood. This tutorial offers tips on the best ways to manage exploratory testing and how to use the results for superior software quality. You'll also learn how to choose the best testers in ...  Continue Reading

• Exploratory testing: Misunderstood concepts and common challenges addressed

  This tutorial defines exploratory testing and discusses when to employ exploratory testing. There are some common contexts where exploratory testing makes sense, as well as some common challenges to its success. Find out when and where to use ...  Continue Reading

• Managing software testing: five focus-improvement tips

  These five software test management tips help testers stay focused, using tactics like automating repetitive tasks, branching and backtracking and more. Testing for one specific user and time management tricks are among other focus-improvement ...  Continue Reading

• Web server weaknesses you don't want to overlook

  When tackling Web application security, focus on weak logins, outdated servers and unnecessary HTTP to put many Web security concerns to rest.  Continue Reading

• Application security checklist: Finding, eliminating SQL injection flaws

  Seeking out SQL injection issues and entry-ways? This application security checklist shows ways to identify susceptible application areas and kill flaws. Web 2.0 application security expert Kevin Beaver explains how to discover SQL injection issues,...  Continue Reading

• How to evaluate, choose software requirements tools

  Learn how to choose the right requirements tool for your organization with a series of steps that consider process, users and tasks. Some basic questions at the beginning of the tool selection process can lead to a well-informed decision. This tip ...  Continue Reading

• Running your first load test with JMeter

  In this tip, we take a look at running your first load test with JMeter, a load testing tool that supports a variety of technologies like HTTP/HTTPS, SOAP, JDBC, LDAP, JMS. These are all commonly used by teams looking to introduce load on a server, ...  Continue Reading

• Free tools for Agile testers

  A software expert describes the benefits and restrictions of free agile testing tools in this tip. Learn how to use and locate Selenium IDE, Sun VirtualBox and Pivotal Tracker. Knowing how to effectively run these tools and which ones function best...  Continue Reading

• Four ways to approach integration testing

  Although there are several different approaches to running integration tests in software, many of them are performed incorrectly. Software expert Chris McMahon explains how to run integration tests correctly in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Recording and running software load tests with JMeter

  Recording JMeter load tests can simplify the creation of Samplers needed for your test plans. This tip explains how to record JMeter test results and analyze the data generated.  Continue Reading

• Free Web proxy security tools software testers should get to know

  Learn how to choose and use free Web proxy tools like BurpProxy, Paros Proxy and WebScarab to boost rich Internet applications' security. Screen shots and directions show ways to use tools for application security in this tip by security expert ...  Continue Reading

• Best practices for Scrum and when to apply them

  Truth be told there many situations where a Scrum or Agile "best practice" is not the appropriate practice to be using. In this expert tip, software pros use project examples to illustrate when a methodology approach is the right one.  Continue Reading

• Running user interface, unit and integration tests suites

  An expert tester explains differences between User Interface and integration tests. Read these test demonstrations to learn how to utilize each test type of testing in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Performance testing tools- Commercial, less expensive and free

  Finding affordable, quality performance testing tools is a major concern in the software industry. This expert tip sheds light on some of the most reputable cost effective ones.  Continue Reading

• Five steps to fostering better software tester and QA results

  Separating the activities of software quality assurance analysts and testers can ensure application quality. This tip suggests steps for keeping QA and testing focused on quality.  Continue Reading

• How to deal with iteration issues in Agile

  Ways to avoid two common Agile mistakes -- out-of-control technical debt and misuse of subject matter experts -- are offered in David Christiansen's tip. He suggests ways Agile managers can foster sustainable development and technical and design ...  Continue Reading

• How to stop developer vs. tester, quality-killing blame game

  Agile expert Zach Nies offers ways to improve software quality by stopping Agile developer-versus-tester fingerpointing. In his 20 years in software development, he's seen human squabbles block quality assurance efforts too often. Here, he explains ...  Continue Reading

• How to improve software user acceptance testing practices

  How application user acceptance testing (UAT) differs from functional testing and ways to improve UAT processes are explained in this tip. Likening UAT to show biz, expert John Overbaugh describes the UAT process and the "rehearsals" that lead up ...  Continue Reading

• How to get management on board with Web 2.0 security issues

  Ways to get management buy-in for Web 2.0 security testing and quality assurance and to bolster application security before deployment are given in this tip. Test pro Kevin Beaver explains why Web 2.0 initiatives are often difficult to explain to ...  Continue Reading

• Testers debate differences between waterfall, Agile test automation

  Two professonal testers continue the timeless debate, agile vs waterfall, which is the best methodology for test-driven software development.  Continue Reading

• Test-driven development face-off: Waterfall vs. Agile

  Most software test pros pick a preferred methology and stand by it, in this tip two testers square-off, one advocating for agile development, the other in the waterfall corner.  Continue Reading

• Ways to approach application performance testing on a tight budget

  App performance pro explains how to achieve quality performance testing on the cheap in this tip. Being familiar with the tools, processes and original test data is key to achieve performance success while staying within the constraints of your ...  Continue Reading

• Using automation to accelerate software testing in Agile

  Can automation improve and speed up software testing in agile development? Yes and no, says test pro Matt Heusser. He explains when automation works well, how to choose automated test tool frameworks and automation issues in test design.  Continue Reading

• Accelerate your agile software testing

  This expert tip explains how adopting agile development and risk-driven and test-driven development can accelerate testing. Test pro Matt Heusser also covers ways to handle tight software testing cycles and using slide-show tests.  Continue Reading

• Five tips from the Agile trenches

  Agile and software development experts advise on how to begin Agile projects, Agile practices to avoid and more. This tip cherrypicks top Agile tips from Rick Simmons, Jochen (Joe) Krebs and other speakers at a Rally Software conference.  Continue Reading

• Rich Internet applications security testing checklist

  Fix common RIA and Web 2.0 application problems typically caused by Ajax, Flash and other technologies with these tips. Software expert Kevin Beaver explains why add-ons, plug-ins and multimedia features are causing more security flaws.  Continue Reading