Quardev Monthly, Fall Edition
In this issue:
Welcome the Fall edition of the Quardev Monthly!
We look forward to sharing insights and helpful information in the areas where we know a thing or two - testing, quality assistance, technical writing and documentation, project management, and consulting.
In this edition we have a feature article from Ross Mortimer, Senior Test Lead, a review of the recent CAST conference held in Seattle in August, an overview of our extensive mobile device testing service, and a peek into upcoming events in the region.
Enjoy the newsletter with our compliments and please contact us with questions, comments, or article ideas.
-The Quardev Crew!!
6 Key Things I've Learned in 22 Years of Testing...
Ross Mortimer, Senior Test Lead, Quardev, Inc.
1. One can't find all the bugs
Software is an organic process and so is testing (sorry, no nice math proof that says you've found all the bugs). When bugs come back from the field, if the test team has a conscience, there is always a bit of remorse. How could we have caught this? Who dropped the ball? Why did this happen? Of the three questions, only the third is a valid one and only in the context of answering a better question: How do we prevent this from happening again?
Most organizations realize that mistakes happen. They have to. It's how organizations improve and grow. Repeating the same mistake is the true sin. Gear your processes to preventing the same brain-dead mistakes and you'll find the quality bar keeps going up.
2. Testing and Quality Assurance are not the same
We bandy these terms interchangeably, but stay clear on this:
- Testing is verifying (or not) whether code does what is expected based on some design in some form.
- Quality Assurance is testing plus challenging the design.
Quality Assurance is much more political. If you are testing alone, you are objective and don't have a stake in what is being tested. It could be a program deliberately designed poorly and as long as it works as intended it passes testing. Yes, it is exactly as poorly designed as the documentation said. However, in most cases, the software development team is looking to keep the quality bar high and welcome to a more quality assurance viewpoint. Valid feedback is welcomed.
A pitfall that new testers in an organization can have (whether they are new to testing or just new to the organization) is they don't get the culture of the organization and challenge at the wrong times. A good tester will listen and question before leading some pitched political fight. You can get the most contentious topics addressed in the form of a question, For example: "Bob's design is missing the point..." is much more flammable than "I thought the point the design was trying to address is..."
3. Pick your battles
Quality Assurance is about compromise. Hang out with a group of tech support people and you'll hear complaint after complaint that will make you think that software is developed by indifferent, clueless and "techie" people who don't "get" what people are like in the real world.
As a good QA person, you want the user experience to be as good as it can be. However, there is another side to this coin; some users can be easily confused and striving for the lowest common denominator can actually be a detriment. Is what you are fighting for good for the product? The team? The customer? Will you lose credibility next time you go to the well?
Politics is a big deal in testing. Rarely is it black and white, so listen well and weigh your odds of success. The best path is to make a solution that everyone can see as a win. However that is not always the option. Remember that if you have to play hard ball, play to win.
4. Automation As A House Of Cards
Automation is great when it works. That's the good news. The bad news? It is fragile. It is hard to maintain. It is easily outdated. It has unclear goals. It tries to do too much. It takes too long to develop. It is a hard sell to management as to savings potential.
It suffers the same issues as software development. It is hard to know if a tool can be purchased or whether developing your own is best. Technologies come and go out of style. If you can solve these problems, your automation should work great. Simple, huh?
5. How much testing do I do?
When you can't make the business case that shipping will significantly negatively impact the company bottom line it is time to go. There are some cool tools and techniques out there that can help you determine where you are.
Investigate pair-wise testing, model-based testing, and exploratory testing. None of these is a silver-bullet but used in proper context they can get you far down the road. Word of caution, some of these things have been hailed as the "be all" of testing. They fall in and out of fashion and can be completely cool or uncool depending on the shop you are in. Use what works for you and forget what others say. There is no tool or technique that is perfect. Only experience will tell you which way you ought to go. Sometimes manual testing with a checklist is all you need. Just keep it simple stupid and you'll be fine.
6. The only build that matters is the one you ship
All the process and metrics aside (and hopefully a nice quiet, predictable test cycle), the real build that counts is the one you ship. It is the one that makes the money. It is the one that makes your reputation.
I have seen absolutely garbage code suddenly come together very late in the cycle and I have seen stable, working code released with that one change at the last second that caused just one glaring cosmetic error such as an obvious typo which the whole world sees. Nobody notices all the work before that, just the error. The take-away here is the last build is the VERY worst time to be complacent.
Test Your Mobile Applications with Quardev - We Have Solutions
In our January 2011 article, 5 key considerations for mobile device testing (which was later expanded into a presentation titled, 6 Considerations for Mobile Device Testing), we called out two particularly challenging issues for evaluating applications for the mobile marketplace:
Devices: the enormous number of devices/operating systems/versions - it is impossible to purchase all devices and test on everything, every time.
Carriers: the huge matrix of devices vs. carrier plans - both domestic and international.
We have found a very elegant solution to these issues and are now able to offer a full service mobile device testing solution for our clients.
We can test your mobile app on any mobile device, network, and operating system around the world. The device list includes access to feature phones, Smartphones, and a variety of tablets. With this service offering we can help ensure quality on any matrix you require for your client base and is an easy, cost-efficient way to test the functionality, usability, and performance of your native or Web-based mobile applications.
Our test service uses devices via a cloud-based architecture through non-simulated, real-time interaction where we remotely interact and control every aspect of a real device. This includes pressing handset buttons, viewing LCD displays, listening to ringers and tones, playing videos, tapping and swiping touch screens, muting, powering on/off, increasing volume, and anything else that can be done with the physical device held in your hand.
If you develop mobile apps call us today to see how we can help you release the best applications and get noticed in the massive mobile marketplace.
CAST 2011 - Context Driven Testing, Conference Review
The CAST conference took place in August 2011 at the Lynnwood Convention Center and was a 3-day event with two days of track talks and one day of half and full day tutorials.
The 2010 CAST event had 80 attendees while 2011 had over 200 attendees, including international attendees. The conference also included live tweets (#CAST2011) and a nightly broadcast that covered daily highlights as well as a few key sessions were streamed on UStream (www.ustream.com/channel/CASTLive).
"This is the first world wide gathering of context-driven testing leaders in the 11 years since the founding of the context-driven software testing movement." said James Bach, who was the conference Program Chair and worked along side his brother Jon who was conference Chairperson.
Pictured: Jeff Franklin, Jon Bach, Andy Leighton, and Debbie Radice.
Quardev was thrilled to be a sponsor for this great event and enjoyed catching up with colleagues and meeting new friends.
Next year's conference will be held in Silicon Valley.
Upcoming Fall Events
September QA SIG Meeting
Date: Weds, September 14, 2011
Time: 6:30-8:30 PM
Place: Quardev, Inc. Office
Sabotaging Quality
In September we have Joy Shafer, a consulting test lead with Quardev, who will share her pre-PNSQC presentation, Sabotaging Quality.
See the QASIG Website to learn more and to register.
STARWEST 2011
Date: October 2-7, 2011
Place: Anaheim, CA
The Software Testing Analysis and Review Conference - held in Anaheim, CA, October 2-7, 2011 includes 1/2 and full day tutorials, conference sessions with noted speakers, networking opportunities with industry peers, and more.
Learn more about the conference and registration at the STARWEST Website: http://www.sqe.com/starwest/
PNSQC
Date: October 10-12, 2011
Place: Portland, Oregon
PNSQC 2011 focuses on how software professionals can deliver quality and is an excellent collaborative environment for professional growth where you interact with peers and industry leaders including Goranka Bjedov, Robert Sabourin, Jim Benson, Michael Bolton, Selena Delesie, Julian Harty, Diana Larsen, Erik Simmons.
Registration is now open, Check the PNSQC Website for more information: http://www.pnsqc.org/.
Better Software Agile Development Practices East
Date: November 6-11, 2011
Place: Orlando, Florida
We are thrilled that Jacob Stevens, Senior Test Lead with Quardev, Inc., was invited to present his talk, Eight Limitations of Mobile Platforms on Weds, Nov. 9th at 10:15 AM, at the Agile Development Practices Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Quardev is looking for Great People
We are always looking for great people to join our team.
Current Hot Job Openings:
At Quardev you will work hard, you will enjoy a great working environment and benefits, and you will be building a solid, interesting, and flexible career where you can learn and grow.
If a career with Quardev sounds interesting, or sounds like it may be a fit for someone you know, check out our Careers page or contact us today via Quardev contact page.
We'd love to meet you!
