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Empirix Launches QAZone for QA and IT Professionals
2007-04-22 08:27:00
From: Syscon Media Empirix has announced today the availability of QAZone, a new online community that allows Web QA professionals to collaborate, communicate and address cutting-edge application quality issues. Visitors can get tips on methodologies, access test code samples and monitoring profiles, and obtain extensions to Empirix’s Web products, all while sharing their knowledge with others in
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Testing is everything !
2007-02-03 15:47:00
Adam Leventhal tackles the importance of testing: It’s amazing how lousy software is. That we as a society have come to accept buggy software as an inevitability is either a testament to our collective tolerance, or—much more likely—the near ubiquity of crappy software. So we are guilty of accepting low standards for software, but the smaller we of software writers are guilty of setting those low
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Software Testing: Why is it so Difficult?
2007-01-17 09:30:00
From: Software Projects.org Software testing is probably the most complex task in the software development cycle. It often takes longer to test the software than it does to write the code. The problems discovered during the software testing phase add more time onto the coding phase, resulting in further delays in the product’s release, and so this vicious cycle goes. It’s nearly impossible to
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Black Box Testing Video Tutorial !
2007-01-16 16:14:00
This educational video clarifies the difference between various types of software testing, including black box testing, glass box testing, acceptance testing, unit testing, system testing, integration testing and other types of software testing. Watch the Black Box Testing video.
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Story of a Software Tester !
2007-01-16 09:35:00
On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station. At once I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate it. There was blood all over the body which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train
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I have found this bug in Google !
2007-01-12 09:55:02
Unbelievable! But 100% TRUE. I myself is a big fan of Googl e . Infact, my dream is to work as a Software Tester in Google. But today I was shocked (or rather delighted !) to see this bug in Google Suggest. I have already blogged about in my other blog. You can read it here . Bug in Google Suggest . I am proud to be able to catch a bug in Google, the great ! Please revert back with your opinions.
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Why Software Quality Stinks ? Is it due to lack of Adequate
2007-01-11 21:55:01
According to a recent survey, it may not get better until attitudes change?from the top down. The Cutter Consortium, an Arlington, Mass.-based IT consulting and advisory service, recently surveyed more than 150 software development organizations across several industries (computer software, financial services, education and more) and found that 38 percent of developers said their companies do not have an adequate software quality assurance program. A startling 31 percent said their companies had no quality assurance personnel at all. In spite of this, the perception among developers is that most senior managers are satisfied with the quality of software that their companies are producing. It's time for senior management to provide visible support for software quality. Top 5 Best PracticesIf your organization doesn't have a software quality team in place, follow these five steps to get an effective group up and running. 1. Get support from senior management. If developers know tha...
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What do you do to deliver a High Quality Software?
2007-01-05 09:48:03
How many times have u heard this question being asked in your work place? You might have heard this in an interview, in a meeting, from your manager, from your client or may be from your colleagues? While the question remains more or less the same, the answer differs. I have heard a variety of answers to this single question. Sometimes funny and sometimes rather pathetic. Some interesting answers being "Oh, the programmers are very sincere. They work really hard." or "After we write the code we run a lot of tests we found somewhere." or my favorite one, "Well, you see, I am Swiss, and I am very precise."When I get an answer like this I smile more, and say, "Yes, but what exactly do you do to make your product high quality?" Some people still don't get it. I asked one prospective supplier my question, and they answered with a lot of charts about the bug rate in their shipped products. They were very proud that as the product matured, the bug rate went down. Another prospective suppl...
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Role of Technical Reviews in Software Testing
2007-01-03 15:45:03
Technical Reviews :Technical reviews include all the kinds of reviews that are used to detect defects in requirements, design, code, test cases, and other work products. Reviews vary in level of formality and effectiveness, and they play a more critical role in maximizing development speed than testing does. The least formal and most common kind of review is the walkthrough, which is any meeting at which two or more developers review technical work with the purpose of improving its quality. Walkthroughs are useful to rapid development because you can use them to detect defects earlier than you can with testing. Code reading is a somewhat more formal review process than a walkthrough but nominally applies only to code. In code reading, the author of the code hands out source listings to two or more reviewers. The reviewers read the code and report any errors to the code?s author. A study at NASA?s Software Engineering Laboratory found that code reading detected about twice as many def...
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Agile testing strategies
2007-01-02 21:43:02
From: Dr Dobbs PortalAn article about different approaches to testing on agile development projects. The philosophy outlined is:1. First, you want to test as early as you possibly can because the potential impact of a defect rises exponentially over time (this isn?t always true, but it?s something to be concerned about). In fact, many agile developers prefer a test-first approach.2. Second, you want to test as often as possible, and more importantly, as effectively as possible, to increase the chance that you?ll find defects. Although this increases your costs in the short term, studies have shown that greater investment in testing reduces the total cost of ownership of a system due to improved quality.3. Third, you want to do just enough testing for your situation: Commercial banking software requires a greater investment in testing than membership administration software for your local Girl Scouts group.4. Fourth, pair testing, just like pair programming and modeling with others, ...
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Automated test tool that supports manual processes
2007-01-02 21:43:02
From: Yahoo FinanceWhile some software testing will always be manual, elements of automation practices can be readily applied to any software quality assurance environment. Original Software is delivering active support for manual practices through its TestDrive application suite. In particular, manual testing practices will see an increase in productivity and reduced errors by automating test step execution, content verification, database verification, error reproduction, defect creation and documentation.TestDrive delivers active support for manual testing using industry-proven capabilities such as the company?s BusySense, Self-healing and Code-free innovations. By enabling manual testers to use these functions with or without full automation, Original Software provides a small footprint, quick-start learning curve for quality professionals within any IT organization to deliver reliable applications to help their organizations stay competitive.
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HP ready for Vista !
2007-01-02 21:43:02
From: AmeinfoHP has announced its portfolio of ?Microsoft-Read y? products, services and solutions to help ensure customers experience a seamless transition to Windows Vista , the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.HP?s early installation of beta releases for both Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 provided an opportunity for preliminary performance and scalability testing. HP has deployed both applications in a pilot phase and plans to upgrade to each next year as part of its own IT transformation and data center consolidation.
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Redefining Exploratory Testing
2006-12-12 21:27:02
Can an exploratory test become scripted? Is there really such a thing as a truly exploratory test? Or is it in fact just a scaled-down scripted test? With Exploratory tests becoming increasingly scripted in nature, I feel this is the right time to redefine the meaning of exploratory test and draw a line between exploratory and scripted test.As any reference book or present-day tester would claim, the Methodology of modern software testing could then be divided into mainly two dominant categories: Exploratory and Scripted Test ing . But what then is the difference between these two methodologies? After all, they share the same purpose: to find bugs and check functionality against requirements. Isn't it?Some might suggest that the main difference is that Scripted testing is much more well-documented than Exploratory testing and thus weighs heavier as a formal proof of the code having been thoroughly tested. Others might say that it's really about automation. With Scripted tests, the...
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Top Ten Threats For 2007 - From McAfee
2006-12-09 09:24:01
From: Securitypro NewsIt's near the end of 2006, so lists will be a big part of the stories you read on virtually any topic from now through the New Year. McAfee has a list for the security-conscious. The list covers what their Avert Labs data indicated will be the top 10 security threats next year, presented in no particular order: 1. The number of password-stealing Web sites will increase using fake sign-in pages for popular online services such as eBay 2. The volume of spam, particularly bandwidth-eating image spam, will continue to increase 3. The popularity of video sharing on the Web makes it inevitable that hackers will target MPEG files as a means to distribute malicious code 4. Mobile phone attacks will become more prevalent as mobile devices become "smarter" and more connected 5. Adware will go mainstream following the increase in commercial Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) 6. Identity theft and data loss will continue to be a public issue - at the root of these crim...
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Getting started with Software Testing
2006-12-07 21:22:02
Suvasis asks, "I am trying to get into software testing. But I never took a course on testing. What would u recommend for a beginner???"How many times do you come across such question? My approach to such kind of question would be to follow three golden rules of learning !1. Read it.2. Practice it.3. Build Network. Unfortunately testing is not something which might be taught at most schools. So, undoubtedly most things in testing are new for you as a fresher. So start with reading a lot. You can start with good testing books, online articles, testing magazines, online forums and the list continues. There are many good books in the market. Some of the best sites to refer to would be Cem Kaner: http://www.kaner.comJJames Bach: http://www.satisfice.com Reading through their articles would introduce one to the world of testing. If you have extra cash on you, attending a seminar/training sessions might be useful (I say might be since I have no on hand experience of attending one of these...
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Top 200 Software Testing Interview Questions with Answers
2006-12-02 15:16:10
From: SQA FYI Center1. What is Acceptance Testing?Testing conducted to enable a user/customer to determine whether to accept a software product. Normally performed to validate the software meets a set of agreed acceptance criteria.2. What is Accessibility Testing?Verifying a product is accessible to the people having disabilities (deaf, blind, mentally disabled etc.).3. What is Ad Hoc Testing?A testing phase where the tester tries to 'break' the system by randomly trying the system's functionality. Can include negative testing as well. See also Monkey Testing.4. What is Agile Testing?Testing practice for projects using agile methodologies, treating development as the customer of testing and emphasizing a test-first design paradigm. See also Test Driven Development.5. What is Application Binary Inter face (ABI)?A specification defining requirements for portability of applications in binary forms across different system platforms and environments.6. What is Application Programming I...
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Microsoft Says Zune Incompatible With Vista
2006-12-02 15:16:10
From: Tech News World In an embarrassing glitch for Microsoft 's would-be iPod-killer, a Zune support site has confirmed that "Windows Vista is not supported at this time" and advises customers to "check back soon for updates." The Zune is designed to be used with Microsoft's online music store Marketplace, where songs are paid for and downloaded, but consumers will not be able do that from the new Vista operating system. Read more about the story here.
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Beware ! Year 2038 Software bug is ready to Bite !
2006-12-02 15:16:10
What!!! Another upcoming bug again?You?ll find more details about this bug by heading to the official Year-2038 software bug site. I just hope that correction of this bug would not be as expensive and as hyped as the Y2K bug.Another trivia about this bug is that it would probably called ?The Friday 13th Bug? because affected computers, instead of displaying Tue Jan 19 03:14:07 2038, would be displaying Fri Dec 13 20:45:52 1901. Interesting bug. Isn't it?
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MS (Microsoft) flags Gmail as a virus !
2006-12-02 15:16:10
From: news.com"Surprised ! But it is 100% TRUE! Gmail 's popularity may be viral, but the e-mail software is not a virus--despite a Microsoft alert. From late last week until Sunday night, the Windows Live OneCare security software incorrectly flagged the Google e-mail service as a threat. A warning popped up when OneCare users opened the Gmail Web site, telling them that their systems were infected with a virus called "BAT/BWG.A." "This was a limited false positive issue with our antivirus protection," a Microsoft representative said Monday. "After we became aware of the issue, we released a new antivirus signature that resolved the issue for our customers on Sunday evening." The problem started last week, when Google made some changes to its Gmail Web site, Microsoft said. The software maker is reviewing its procedures and processes in order to minimize the occurrence of further false positives, the Microsoft representative said..."
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Hexaware acquires US-based Software Testing Company, FocusFr
2006-11-24 14:12:01
From: IndiaTimes.com Tech NewsOn Tuesday, Nov 07, Hexaware Technologies has acquired a US-based software testing company, FocusFrame, valuing it for $34.3m in an all-cash deal. Hexaware, , a Mumbai-based IT and BPO services provider, will make an upfront cash payment of $25m to the founders/owners of FocusFrame. The balance $9.3m will be paid out as earnouts over 24 months to FocusFrame founders and management team if they meet projected revenues and margin.FocusFrame is a pure play software testing company with revenues of $24m. Hexaware seems to be paying cash equivalent to the revenues of the company, which makes it a relatively cheaper acquisition. ?The acquisition will help us strengthen our software testing service vertical,? Hexaware chairman Atul Nishar said. Hexaware has around 400 employees working in its software testing division, which is done manually. FocusFrame testing services are automated. The deal means a larger service offering capability ? manual and automated ?...
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Windows Vista releases to manufacturing
2006-11-22 19:57:11
From: Wind ows Vista Blog Great news! On Nov. 8, 2006 Microsoft announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Vista .Yes, you read it right -- development of Windows Vista is complete. Want proof? Watch this video and hear it from Jim Allchin himself.So the highest-quality, most secure, most reliable and most usable version of Windows the world has ever seen, is raring to go. And just what is this so-called RTM? It?s the major milestone where Microsoft can confidently say that they are done with Windows Vista and will be handing it off to their industry partners: PC makers, ISVs (independent software vendors)and IHVs (independent hardware vendors). They in turn will continue to ramp-up in earnest now that the target is locked -- for example, by refining hardware drivers -- in order to complete the cycle and make Windows Vista available via retail channels on 30 January 2007. On that date Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system will be available to customers aroun...
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Grab a Burger and get a Worm absolutely FREE !
2006-11-20 19:42:02
No, I?m not talking about a real crawling worm. What I?m talking about is a computer worm that came ?free? with McDonald?s MP3 Player Promotion. Once the winners of the MP3 Player connects the device to a computer, the PC became infected too.It is a good thing that McDonald?s Holdings Japan, immediately warned winners about the said worm.Read more about the story here.
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Windows Vista ? A Tough Nut To Crack !
2006-11-20 19:42:02
Using a technology collectively known as Software Protection Platform, Microsoft hopes to defend copies of Wind ows Vista from software pirates by making it harder to crack. This is due to the improvements made in the way Vista is validated and activated.Also, When Windows Vista detects tampering, hacking, or improper product activation, it would revert in a ?reduced functionality mode?. Unlike Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, reduced functionality mode in Windows Vista will allow you to use the web browser, but most probably for activation purpose only.In the Microsoft website, Cori Hartje said that Windows Vista doesn?t have the power to turn-off your computer at this mode, nor will prevent the user access to their data.By using a genuine Microsoft product, you?ll get genuine Windows Vista experience, such as Windows Aero and Windows Readyboost. Non-genuine or pirated versions, aside from not being able to use Windows Aero and Windows readyboost, will display persistent ?This co...
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Loadrunner Interview Questions
2006-11-16 01:18:03
Source: TechInter views.com1. What is load testing? - Load testing is to test that if the application works fine with the loads that result from large number of simultaneous users, transactions and to determine weather it can handle peak usage periods.2. What is Performance testing? - Timing for both read and update transactions should be gathered to determine whether system functions are being performed in an acceptable timeframe. This should be done standalone and then in a multi user environment to determine the effect of multiple transactions on the timing of a single transaction.3. Did u use LoadRunner ? What version? - Yes. Version 7.2.4. Explain the Load testing process? -Step 1: Planning the test. Here, we develop a clearly defined test plan to ensure the test scenarios we develop will accomplish load-testing objectives. Step 2: Creating Vusers. Here, we create Vuser scripts that contain tasks performed by each Vuser, tasks performed by Vusers as a whole, and tasks measured as...
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Top 75 Basic Software Testing Terminologies
2006-11-16 01:18:03
Source: GLOSSARY OF COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TERMINOLOGYFew days back I had posted an article on Top 10 Basic Soft ware Testing Terminologies . This list is more comprehensive and covers most of the important testing and/or quality terminologies. Hope this helps the novice testers.audit. (1) (IEEE) An independent examination of a work product or set of work products to assess compliance with specifications, standards, contractual agreements, or other criteria. See: functional configuration audit, physical configuration audit. (2) (ANSI) To conduct an independent review and examination of system records and activities in order to test the adequacy and effectiveness of data security and data integrity procedures, to ensure compliance with established policy and operational procedures, and to recommend any necessary changes. See: computer system audit, software audit.boundary value. (1) (IEEE) A data value that corresponds to a minimum or maximum input, internal, or ...
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Automation Testing Vs. Manual Testing
2006-11-16 01:18:03
Sara Ford explores the difference of automated and manual testing and when to use which. A must read post. Click here to go . Bruce McLeod recently blogged in his opinion on the same subject, Read it !
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Basic information on CSQA/CSTE
2006-11-16 01:18:03
New to CSQA/CSTE ? Then follow this link.Do you want to Become a Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA) or to Become a Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE) ?All the exam information can be found here about the EXAM , procedures, how to Apply and materials. Oultine of Certified Software Quality Analysts (CSQA) Prep Guide ( earlier name CBOK ) can be found at here or here . FAQ: If I have only 2-3 years experience in Quality can I pass the exam.?Answer: CSQA tests your ability to handle practical situations mainly in subjective questions. If you have hands-on experience for 2-3 years in Quality you should be able to clear the exam. If you have just started in quality then it is upto your individual ability which you can determine after reading some questions on this site. The pre-requisite of the exam is that you have atleast 1 year of experience in Quality. FAQ: CSQA Vs. CSTE. Which is better ?Answer: Follow this link for the answer.
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Agile testing suite supports Linux
2006-11-16 01:18:03
From: Linux DevicesS2 Technologies has revised its OS- and compiler-agnostic embedded software test and verification package. Stride 2.0 adds enhancements for multi-seat deployments, and can be used to exercise, test, and verify software for complex embedded multimedia consumer devices such as wireless handsets, the company says.Stride 2.0 aims to help developers test software earlier in the development process, before hardware and software components have been integrated. It comprises a graphical application suite for Windows-based development hosts, along with target components that can be deployed on actual, simulated, or ?virtual? hardware, according to the company.Stride 2.0 can be used to ?remove? software dependencies, simulate new or missing functions, and capture internal software transactions or events. The program is said to let developers exercise code without writing test code; however, C and various common scripting languages can be used to automate testing.Suggested u...
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Oracle Open-Source Testing and Validation Kits
2006-11-16 01:18:03
From: Enterprise Open Source MagazineThe goal of Oracle Validated Configurations program is to provide easier, faster and lower-cost deployment of Linux solutions in the enterprise. The program offers pre-tested, validated architectures?including software, hardware, storage, and network components?along with documented best practices. It is not a prepackaged or preinstalled Linux configuration (although select Oracle partners offer that service, as well), but it provides recommendations and best practices for organizations to use while making decisions during the purchasing and deployment phases of a Linux implementation. The result is improved performance, scalability and reliability of Linux solutions, with faster, lower-cost implementations.Oracle works with partners on all aspects of a deployment, from functionality testing and performance optimization to vulnerability assessment and troubleshooting.The Oracle Validated Configuration test kit is designed to mimic real-world cust...
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Software Tester (SQA) Interview Questions
2006-11-16 01:18:03
Source: TechInter views.comThese questions are used for software tester or SQA (Software Quality Assurance) positions. Refer to The Real World of Software Testing for more information in the field. 1. The top management was feeling that when there are any changes in the technology being used, development schedules etc, it was a waste of time to update the Test Plan. Instead, they were emphasizing that you should put your time into testing than working on the test plan. Your Project Manager asked for your opinion. You have argued that Test Plan is very important and you need to update your test plan from time to time. It?s not a waste of time and testing activities would be more effective when you have your plan clear. Use some metrics. How you would support your argument to have the test plan consistently updated all the time.2. The QAI is starting a project to put the CSTE certification online. They will use an automated process for recording candidate information, scheduling candid...
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