Better Software East 2017 - Test & QA
Wednesday, November 8
Machine Data Is EVERYWHERE: Use It for Testing
As more applications are hosted on servers, they produce immense quantities of logging data. Quality engineers should verify that apps are producing log data that is existent, correct, consumable, and complete. Otherwise, apps in production are not easily monitored, have issues that are difficult to detect, and cannot be corrected quickly. Tom Chavez presents the four steps that quality engineers should include in every test plan for apps that produce log output or other machine data. First, test that the data is being created. Second, ensure that the entries are correctly formatted and...
A Holistic Approach to Software Quality: Yes, You Can!
As software organizations grow, maintaining quality is vital. As digital transformation gains strength in the industry, both clients and IT demand increased delivery speed. Thus, traditional test methods are being challenged, and a paradigm shift is required that emphasizes testing and recognizes the need for expanded skill sets to meet this demand. However, quality is not all about testing. Niranjalee Rajaratne believes it is important to create a culture that supports a quality organization and understands the value it brings. She describes why we must choose and encourage processes that...
Word Smatter: Exploring Semantics, Testers, and Problems
“Testers [do|don’t] (help) [prevent|detect] problems.” Throughout his career, Damian Synadinos has encountered many variations of this phrase, which uses just a few small words to express many big ideas. It is important to understand what each word means individually to better understand the ideas they convey collectively. The study of the meaning in words is semantics. Damian begins with a brief and broad overview of semantics and some related ideas, which set the stage for deep analysis of each individual word and its potential meaning. We consider: Testers—What might this word mean in...
Thursday, November 9
Task-Oriented Unit Testing for Agile and Traditional Projects
Developers are charged with developing software at lightning speed, often using new and unreliable technologies. Rob Sabourin shares a task-oriented method for organizing unit testing to help programmers and other team members get to consistently done working code, testing beyond the code. Rob approaches unit testing from the viewpoint of completing all the technical work required to fulfill a requirement, exercising the entire vertical technology stack and going beyond raw code. Programmers learn when and how unit test design can be implemented blending white box and black box techniques...