Effective Software Testing Tips - Testers on the Go!

Software testing is becoming more critical as the proportion of our economic activity that is dependent on software (and often very complex software) continues to grow. We believe that skilled software testers will be appreciated and that the opportunities for expert software testers will expand.

Software Testing is an unlimited dimension on software development. Countless possibilities can be executed and tested on software testing. Software testing is a highly specialized field and any knowledge anyone can offer is always highly valued by people with good intentions and an urge for learning.

With limited time and resources, how can a tester maximize his effort through these limiting factors? These tips will help you to not only keep up, but also to help you advance in your software testing career.

Analyse your tests thoroughly- The result of testing is very important, so do not sideline it. A test may either pass or fail but troubleshooting the root cause of a non successful test will lead you to the solution of the problem. Testers will be respected if they not only log the bugs but also provide solutions.

Prioritization – High priority Bugs should be kept at the top most of the list. These bugs have greater impact on the system and usually, it takes up more time in terms of testing. Mainly due to the complexity of the bug or perhaps the level of significance of it to the end-users.

Written Communication – Whenever possible make face-to-face communication for resolving disputes quickly and to avoid any misunderstandings. But also when you understand the requirement or resolve any dispute – make sure to communicate the same over written communication ways like emails. Try not to keep things verbal.  It’ll reduce discussion iterations, provides smooth conversations and improve your credibility as a tester.

Pessimist thinking – Don’t think beforehand that there will not be any bugs in the application. If you test the application by intention of finding bugs you will definitely succeed to find those subtle bugs also. It’s important to bear in mind that there is always a loophole in the system. This drives the tester to have the strong intention of finding bugs.

Automate daily routine tasks – Save your own and your team’s time and energy by automating daily routine tasks, no matter how small those tasks are. For example, if you deploy project builds daily and do this manually, write a batch script to perform the task in one click. Automated Test Cases are like software that should be maintained. Changes are inevitable thus modifications on scripts and test cases should be done to enable your test cases be useful through time and system revisions.

Keep notes on everything – Note down the new terms, concepts you learn while testing. Keep a text file open while testing an application. Note down the testing progress, observations in it. Even if it’s just a small notebook, keep one per project and take notes regularly, be it simple commands to be executed for certain tasks to complete, complex testing steps or implicit requirements you heard about in a meeting. This good habit will help you to provide the complete unambiguous test report and release details.

Go beyond requirement testing – Think on idle time, it’s a good opportunity to formulate test scenarios while waiting for the upcoming bug fixes to be tested. Read the requirements or specifications and let your mind wonder for new ideas. Test application for what it is not supposed to do.

Get Involved – It’s a good practice to involve testers right from software requirement and design phase. This way tester can get knowledge of application dependability resulting in detailed test coverage. If you are not being asked to be part of this development cycle then make request to your lead or manager to involve your testing team in all decision making processes or meetings.

Keep learning – Technology is always moving on and we have to keep up. Software testing has grown in less than a decade, and it’s not likely to stop now.  Join online forums & communities. No matter what forum you are in, you’ll definitely get something. Keep reading books, white papers and case studies related to the world of software testing and quality assurance. Stay on top of the news in the software testing and QA industry. Explore new and better ways to test applications. Learn new tools and keep in mind that software testing is a hot career choice for a lot of people!

Descriptive Bug Reports – Write clear, descriptive, unambiguous bug report. Do not only provide the bug symptoms but also provide the effect of the bug and all possible solutions. Don’t forget testing is a creative and challenging task. Finally it depends on your skill and experience, how you handle this challenge.  Create a descriptive bug report and circulate to the team to avoid iterations within the team – this will save time.

The above points will surely be beneficial for you if you try to implement them in your day-to-day testing activities and make you an effective tester in the software industry.

Happy Testing!