STARWEST 2016 - Special Topics
Wednesday, October 5
IoT Software Testing Challenges: The IoT World Is Really Different
With billions of devices containing new software connected to the Internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to become the next growth area for software development and testing. Although many traditional test techniques and strategies remain viable, challenges in IoT testing include huge amounts of data, multiple communication channels, device protocols, resource limitations (battery or memory), addressing sensors and controllers, cloud-hardware-device integration, and security concerns. Jon Hagar says that for IoT testers to be successful, they must develop...
Become a Mindful Tester: Eliminate the Clutter, Weather Any Storm
Losing your focus because change is hitting you from all sides? Meetings and technology disrupting much of your day? End the day not knowing what you’ve accomplished? It’s for you to learn the power of mindfulness techniques. Francie Van Wirkus guides your discovery of how mindfulness provides calm and clarity in the face of great change, which exponentially enhances your problem solving and creativity. Once you regularly practice mindfulness, you are free to grow your champion heart. Like an athlete who doesn't quit, successful testers must be resilient and...
It’s Time to Automate Your Exploratory Testing
Exploratory testing (ET) is a great complement to traditional test approaches. Testing professionals often see ET as an approach for manual testing. However, trying to organize ET from a test process perspective can be a challenge. There is an important question to ask—and answer: Is exploratory testing compatible with test automation? Jim Trentadue explores how automated test cases can be designed to include provisions for exploratory testing. Examples of this are data used in input fields, navigating various paths in your application, encountering unexpected...
Thursday, October 6
T-Shaped People: Time to Get in Shape for Your Testing Future
Today, agile testers are being asked to do a lot more than just testing. The notion of “T-shaped people,” who combine technical skills with collaborative capabilities, was created by Tim Brown in the 1990s to describe the new breed of worker. Mary Thorn believes that anyone—including testers—can contribute more to the business than their standard role traditionally dictates. The tester’s critical view and skeptical thinking can be used earlier in the development process. This role can stretch to include other aspects that intrigue them and keep them interested....
The Role of Testers as Requirements Dealers
Those of us in the business analyst role are encouraged to communicate with clients, while other roles in an organization may not have the same opportunity. However, talking to clients must not be limited to business analysts. Jyothi Rangaiah believes that testers need to talk to the clients, too, because by the time the product information trickles down from a business analyst to a programmer to a tester, valuable information has been lost. Testers are often blamed for defects in the product, but this can be avoided by fostering effective communication between...
A Day in the Life of a Test Architect
Although Lee Hawkins stumbled into testing—in 1999 after migrating from the UK to Australia amid a tech boom time—he has since become a passionate member of the worldwide testing community and currently holds the title of principal test architect. So, what does that really mean? A test architect at Dell Software provides technical leadership and strategic direction for testing, and Lee describes what that means in his day-to-day work. His position involves advocacy for great new testing ideas gleaned from the wider testing community, mentoring new testers, and...
Exploratory Testing and Automated Testing: Create a Healthy Relationship
With the pressure of decreased time-to-market and the demand for error-free web applications, some people erroneously believe that test automation can solve all our defect woes. Dawn Jardine believes that neither test automation alone nor exploratory testing alone can solve quality issues. So, what is the best approach? Where do we invest our resources, time, and money so clients are happy with our product? How can automation and exploratory testing work together to obtain maximum test coverage? Join Dawn as she shares her experience of moving from a solely manual...