Test Planning

Articles

A line of identical rubber ducks The Unspoken Requirement: Testing for Consistency

It's easy to see that style consistency is important when discussing the user interface. But there are other areas where being consistent is just as important, even though they are not as visible. Consistency is one of the quality attributes of a product—any product—even if it is not stated clearly in the requirements documents, and testers have a responsibility to check for it.

Michael Stahl's picture Michael Stahl
Legos 100 Percent Unit Test Coverage Is Not Enough

Many people equate 100 percent unit test coverage with high code quality, but that is not enough. Code coverage tools only measure whether the tests execute the code; they make no judgment on the effectiveness of the tests. Testers should review unit tests, even if they have high coverage levels, and either help improve the tests or supplement them with extra tests where necessary.

John Ruberto's picture John Ruberto
Extract, transform, load Testing the Extract, Transform, and Load Process in Data Warehouses

Pulling data from a source system and putting it into a data warehouse is a process commonly known as extract, transform, and load, or ETL. Testing the process can be a chore—you need to be sure all appropriate data is extracted, that it is transformed correctly to match the data warehouse schema, and that it's all imported. Instead of testing the ETL process as a black box, you can pull it apart, testing each piece in isolation.

Matt Heusser's picture Matt Heusser
Passing the baton Testing during Transition: Test Criteria for Outsourced Software

In the world of IT outsourcing, it is not uncommon for a company to have its applications and infrastructure developed or maintained by others. As vendors compete for this business, a common trial is testing the transition activity as a whole. How would you design acceptance criteria of a transition trial so that it is testable and clearly communicated?

Jesper Ottosen's picture Jesper Ottosen
Continuous delivery Test Coverage in the Age of Continuous Delivery

Test coverage is a strategy to help us spend scarce testing time on the right priorities. When things were tested last, how much automation coverage we have, how often the customers use the feature, and how critical the feature is to application are all factors to consider. Here are some ideas for keeping quality high when you're transitioning to continuous delivery.

Matt Heusser's picture Matt Heusser
Problem-solving strategies Problem-Solving in Software Testing: A Conversation

How many times have you started to solve a particular problem and realized midway that the actual problem is not what you thought it was? Ajay Balamurugadas relates a conversation he had with a colleague in software testing about issues with test cases, and the lessons he learned from that problem-solving process. Here's what you should consider.

Ajay Balamurugadas's picture Ajay Balamurugadas
Leader Tester-Driven Unit Testing: Taking an Active Role

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.

man working with template TEMPLATE: Create a Comprehensive Test Strategy

Developing a coherent test strategy for a new software product or for major changes to an existing product can be challenging. This is especially true for the new test engineer for whom this template was developed. This template is a basic guide to help the user through the discovery thought processes necessary to create a sound test strategy for a project.

Craig Kam's picture Craig Kam
User analytics Focus Your Testing by Understanding How Customers Use Your Product

If you're uncertain about where to focus your testing or what kind of testing you should be doing, look at what your users are telling you. Understanding the analytics of how your customers use your application can help you improve your test efforts. This article explores instances of how this data can inform user interface automation, compatibility testing, and web services tests.

John Ruberto's picture John Ruberto
Rebuilding 4 Steps to Rebuilding a Testing Team: Bringing Stability to Chaos

When you join a new project, sometimes you’re brought on to clean up the mess, rebuild the process, and bring stability to the team. Raj Subramanian has been in this situation several times, and he’s noticed four steps you can immediately follow to reduce disruption and get the project on track. Here’s how you can bring order to team chaos.

Raj Subrameyer's picture Raj Subrameyer

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