With platforms proliferating, app developers need to take testing far more seriously, according to Mike Holcombe. The growth of the market in mobile phone and tablet apps gives rise to some interesting issues in terms of how these are tested and made available. You may have found that downloading an app onto your phone or [...]

Taking his inspiration from nature with a Darwinian approach, Mike Holcombe is breeding test sets using evolutionary testing… One approach to finding effective test sets is to ‘breed’ them. The idea, inspired by biology and, in particular, genetics, is based on two fundamental ideas. Firstly we need to find a way to represent test inputs [...]

The subject of email etiquette and ‘netiquette’ is a tricky one, even after more than a decade of use, we still haven’t really cracked it. Angelina Samaroo makes it her resolution to have a go. This is my first communication with you for 2012, so let me begin by saying Happy New Year to you [...]

Having this issue’s Last Word, testing training consultant Angelina Samaroo has got ‘fun’ on her agenda as she contemplates the serious business of testing and declaring today to be Tester Happiness Day. As testers, we were fully occupied with dates a few years back at the turn of the Millennium, hunting down the Y2K bug. [...]

Training teams often have a role to play in supporting testing and providing feedback on the end user experience. Paul Deed, director of SkillSet, discusses the part that training teams play in the analysis, design, development and delivery of software implementations. Most people will be familiar with the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin: “By failing [...]

“My wife recently gave me some great advice – ‘Shut Up and Test!’ Thanks honey!” Dave Whalen ponders the perils of speaking out. I recently decided to take a break from managerial test roles and return to life as a simple tester. I assumed the stress would be less, I’d attend fewer meetings, I could [...]

Dave Whalen is having problems with his data… True story… Once upon a time, Cap’n Dave was contracted to test a commercial banking web application. The testing was pretty straight forward , the application allowed you to view transactions, reconcile your accounts, transfer funds, etc. One requirement, based on US federal regulations, was that a customer [...]

Early and frequent testing plays a key role in Agile software development. Joachim Herschmann, product director for Test Automation at Micro Focus, offers tips on how software developers and testers can use Agile principles to make their test procedures more efficient. Agile methods are becoming increasingly important in software development and Agile has become one [...]

In the rapidly developing world of software testing Angelina Samaroo says the fight for recognition goes on, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. As a profession, we have had to fight for recognition as equals amongst equals. When I started my career as a test engineer, I was told there was [...]

Dave Whalen is hunting out bad practice on the web. Beware, may contain sarcasm.  So you just finished taking an HTML course at your local college and you’ve hung out your banner announcing your newly acquired skills as a Web Master. As a token of good will, you volunteer your services to your local club [...]