With complex enterprise test automation systems, at least some of the many required dependencies are commonly incomplete, unavailable, or operating incorrectly at the time of test execution. The result is timeouts, incomplete tests, false positives, and inaccurate results. Service virtualization can help you overcome this plateau and increase test automation rates.

Developers have so much to do that unit tests often fall by the wayside. One solution is to train testers to handle them. Testers get involved earlier in the development lifecycle, they can enhance their programming skills, and bugs are found and fixed quickly and easily, reducing the functional testing phase. Consider taking an active role in unit testing.

Writing test documents is a good practice to have: It enforces an orderly thought process, explains what you’re planning, and improves the test strategy. But knowing it's useful doesn't make it any more fun. Michael Stahl knows this, so he has five tips to help make the idea of test documentation a little easier—or at least a little more difficult to hate.

How often do we talk about what we actually do when we test? Many of the test exercises out there predate the Internet and aren't as relevant anymore. This article contains some software you can play around with and use in mock test scenarios. These exercises will make you think about not only what you do when you test, but all the other skills that also go into being a tester.