Go gaga over Machine Learning

With the requirements changing at a rapid pace what are the best possible solutions to how you perceive testing or automation: Use of Rapid prototyping Prioritize and analyze the risks There has to be a requirements traceabilty of some kind that will showcase affected areas Automate the smoke test bed - break it down into small business components Automate smaller Happy paths that do the basic sanity check on functionalities Use automated TDD or BDD as early as possible Use a set of tools that help you automate or do smaller tasks faster and more accurate Static object identification till a certain path and from there on we try finding other objects, this makes the code reusable and a lot more easy to change A very nice quote which says - "Any tool you use to help you test is "automation" and the more complex scripting environments are simply extensions of that capability"

Sikuli Script automates anything you see on the screen using image recognition It is useful when there is no easy access to a GUI's internal or source code Sikuli is an open-source research project originally started at the  User Interface Design Group  at  MIT Sikuli Script is a visual scripting API using Jython to create automation scripts. Sikuli includes an integrated development environment (IDE) for writing visual Sikuli scripts with screenshots. Sikuli Script uses Python as the scripting language. If you want to write complex scripts or modularize packages, you need basic knowledge of Python and its features Sample script: Source: http://www.sikuli.org/

Technical Test Analyst x 3 - was a very interesting job posting that a banking firm wanted in UK. Here the three represented three analysts they were looking for but I assumed that three was the "three big skills" they were looking for: TDD, Agile/Scrum and Test Automation Frameworks Note the Skillset category is just to gauge where you stand in terms of the skills required for the role Technical Test Analysts are required for an Investment Banking / Trading software giant in London. This is a fantastic and exciting time to join such a business that offers Technical Test Analysts the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects from bespoke trading system solutions through to trade capture tools, pricing & risk engines to retail banking platforms. All projects are extremely complex and require the most dynamic, forward thinking and technically astute testers to fulfil the positions. The Technical Test Analysts must have API, Web, Server-side, TDD, BD...

Here is a mindmap that I had created some time back on a hybrid test automation framework, this gives a nice idea of the functionalities a framework might want to incorporate.

There are a lot of instances when we want to launch the summary report from the Test Instance Properties window in test lab, but the Launch report button is not present. This happens after new patches get installed. Resolution : Install the correct version of   Reinstall Visual C++ 2005 (version 8.0.56336) or SP1 Reinstall .NetFramework 3.5 SP1 Reinstall all Add-Ins currently installed on the Client machine With windows 7 and QC\QTP 11. 1) uninstall qtp addin 2) Install the vsc++ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=14431 download and run vcredit_x64.exe 3) install qtp addin

   QTP11 Please note the below support deadlines for QTP11 and Quality center11. You can find more details on below link, http://support.openview.hp.com/encore/products.jsp HP Software Released Notification Support ends QTP 12 Below is the list of new features will be released with QTP12. a) New improved IDE with IntelliSense technology for classes. b) Multiple Document Interface (MDI) features for opening multiple tests within QTP. c) Integration of BPT as well as Service Test into QTP (giving rise to the name, UFT). d) Insight — an innovative, new image-recognition feature for carrying out image-based automation. e) New canvas for designing test flow. The main highlight is that use of ‘ Intellisense ’ will reduce the reference of external documentation while development which will speed up test development. An ‘Intellisense’ combination with QTP will help to select the parameters and functions from the list or from the dropdown of that spec...

Smug Report A bug submitted by a user who thinks he knows a lot more about the system's design than he really does. Filled with irrelevant technical details and one or more suggestions (always wrong) about what he thinks is causing the problem and how we should fix it. Also related to Drug Report (a report so utterly incomprehensible that whoever submitted it must have been smoking crack.), Chug Report (where the submitter is thought to have had one too many), and Shrug Report (a bug report with no error message or repro steps and only a vague description of the problem. Usually contains the phrase "doesn't work.") A Duck A feature added for no other reason than to draw management attention and be removed, thus avoiding unnecessary changes in other aspects of the product. I don't know if I actually invented this term or not, but I am certainly not the originator of the story that spawned it. This started as a piece of Interplay corporate lore. I...

Was exploring the web when I stumbled upon TOSCA and found that this is an interesting new tool thats picking up in the automation world slowly: TOSCA Testsuite is a software tool for the automated execution of functional and regression software testing TOSCA includes integrated test management, a graphical user interface (GUI), a command line interface (CLI) and an application programming interface (API) They claim - TOSCA model-based approach marks a paradigm shift in software test automation TOSCA Capabilities: Agile Testing Big Data Testing for Data Warehouses and BI ALM Integration with Popular Systems such as HP, IBM, JIRA defect tracking and many others GUI Non-GUI Testing Manual Regression Testing Mobile/Smart Device Testing Model-Based Testing SAP Testing Standard & Custom Reporting Test Data X-Browser Testing You might want to look at thier website for a demo or trial version: http://www.tricentis.com/en/tosca

Its been a long time that I had been collecting reusable code for QTP. Though the doc is not exhaustive it has loads of important and reusable functions that will help anyone using QTP Follow the link and download! Reusable functions And if you like the doc hit like on my book's facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Technology-Specific-Guide-for-QTP/190184084424725 Happy testing...

I am sure most of us would have heard and used testing quotes in our signatures, here are a few that i randomly picked : "I don't break anything, they're already broken" Testing, turning Stressed into Impressed since 1971 I came, I saw, I broke it I'm OK, you're OK. Your code I'm not so sure about To err is human; to find the errors requires a tester 'Tried, trialled and tested' Testing, because your software is worth it! If your software works, thank a tester Have you hugged your software tester today? I Failed My Way To Success The customer is always right. Testing make sure they are always alright 'A Tester Is Someone Who After Finding a bug after 5 minutes brags about how he is responsible for the success of the project'  we're tough on the code but soft on the coders Those are the bugs, if you don't like them...I have others. Improving the world one bug at a time In God we trust, rest we ...

Here are the most commonly seen testing services provided by organizations. This will help a tester gauge his capabilities and awareness: P.S: Click on the image for a larger view.

Here are the ten best automation tools wrt functional automation and their usage in the market: Apart from these ten you can also look at an exhaustive list from an earlier post here 1 HP QuickTest Professional(QTP) 2.Selenium 3.Rational robot 4. IBM Rational Functional Tester(RFT) 5.SilkTest 6.eggPlant 7.SOAtest 8.TestComplete 9.Testing Anywhere 10.Visual Studio Test Professional Microsoft 2010 Feel free to comment on any changes to this list! I am a big fan of open source so I am sure there are a lot that I am missing here and can be found in my earlier post Happy Testing!

Here is an pretty good role description for an SDET role with not much experience : Note the Skillset category is just to gauge where you stand in terms of the skills required for the role. You're a developer who likes to break things. You strive for quality and are focused on improving issues around performance, stress, security, reliability, and user experience. The work: •Work with development and program management teams to design and test new features. • Develop tools & automation. • Enhance the overall test infrastructure . •Write test plans & test cases. •Perform ad-hoc, manual, automated testing. •File bug reports Experience and skills needed: •BS in Computer Science or a related field of study. •2+ years of experience with C++, Java, Perl, XML/HTML, and related technologies. •Familiar with UNIX. •Proven ability to learn quickly. •Excellent written and verbal communication skills. •Excellent troubleshooting and problem so...

The technical errors that have recently befallen Knight Capital, BATS and Nasdaq causing chaos to the markets are not the result of complexity or fragmented markets, but the result of basic technology 101 issues, SEC chairperson Mary Schapiro said today during the agency’s market technology roundtable. During the SEC discussion, Dr Nancy Leveson, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and engineering systems, MIT, argued that software errors will always happen. The financial industry, like the aviation industry, needs solutions beyond technology – which must include strong regulation. “ Most industries have government agencies overseeing with an iron hand. The aircraft industry knows people will stop flying if planes start falling out of the sky. You cannot build an unsinkable ship or unfailable software. If you engage in hubris and wishful thinking, you will have to suffer the consequences,” Leveson said. Still, GETCO CTO Jonathan Ross argued that in order to avoid tech...

Selenium IDE though is not a good option for full fledged test automation , yet this tool proves good when it comes to automation within agile sprints This post explains how to use selenium IDE with test data for data driven testing: Save the first extension : flowcontrol extension for IDE Download the extension 1.1 version of the  includeCommand4IDE Download the  most recent version of the  datadriven.js extension Add all the three extensions using Selenium Core extensions field from Options ->Options->General) in the same order. Restart firefox so that the extensions get installed and are ready to be used. Create your test data in xml format The above sample data has three rows of test data with var1 and var2 as the two variables, make sure you open the xml in a browser to see that there are no errors  You are ready to use the test data and a simple test case would look like this: loadTestData    file:///C:...