Development Manager

Currently, 2.4 billion people use the Internet, and about 10 percent of the world’s population has some form of disability. This means millions of potential users will have difficulty accessing the Internet. Thus, accessibility testing should not be ignored. Anish Krishnan discusses the importance of accessibility testing, reasons for considering accessibility issues while designing, and international Web accessibility laws.

What do test managers do? In traditional organizations, they assign people to projects, oversee the testers’ progress, provide feedback, and perhaps offer coaching to people who want it. Test managers are the go-to people when you don't know how to do something—not because they know, but because they know who does know. How does that change with a transition to agile? Do we still need test managers? As one who has successfully made the transition from traditional to agile test manager, Mary Thorn shares keys to the transition.

As organizations continue to adopt agile methodologies, testers are getting involved earlier in product testing. They need tools that empower them to manage varied test automation needs for web services, web APIs, and web and mobile applications. Open source solutions are available in abundance. However, most of these solutions are independent and not integrated, significantly increasing the tester’s work around test automation development. Ongoing test automation suite evolution and building a robust regression test suite have become cumbersome.

Outsourcing test services are all the rage today. But are they really faster, better, and cheaper? Shelley Rueger shares how you can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your test process using a third-party test service. She provides guidance on how to determine if your product is a good candidate for testing services, how to select the right vendor, and how to avoid common pitfalls. Shelley discusses her team's experience as they made the transition from in-house testing to using external testing services. She addresses questions including: When should you outsource testing?

Test automation is difficult to get right. Working under FDA regulation presents its own challenges. Combining the two is a scary proposition because the FDA requires—and will scrutinize—the validation of any test automation used. Despite this, working in a regulated environment only magnifies the value of test automation. Aware that automation is a driver of quality and consistency, the FDA welcomes automated tests as part of an audit submission. The key to success is demonstrating quality in a way that the FDA recognizes.

Are you employing your offshore test team to its best advantage—gaining the cost savings and test coverage you expected? Unless correct management methodologies are in place, you will lose rather than gain both time and money with internationally-distributed testers. If you are thinking you can go offshore with minimal effort, think again. Distributed test leadership and management issues apply when working with third-party firms, a subsidiary, or even your own employees. Don’t let unrealistic expectations impact your career or your company’s goals.

Today, an alarming 65 percent of mobile apps—more than 1.3 million—have a 1-star rating or less. Why? The majority of development organizations have neither the right processes nor access to the devices required to properly test mobile applications. If not addressed, these deficiencies will have a major impact on the quality of the apps the organization develops. In addition, users are intolerant of problems and quick to switch to competing apps. Costa Avradopoulos explores how to address the unique challenges of mobile testing, starting with adopting the right test strategy.

As a test manager, James Christie experienced two divergent views of a single project. The official version claimed that planning and documentation were excellent, with problems discovered during test execution being managed effectively. In fact, the project had no useful plans, so testers improvised test execution. Creating standardized documentation took priority over preparing for the specific problems testers would actually face during testing. The required documentation standards didn't assist testing; they actually hindered by distracting from relevant, detailed preparation.