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Leap Year Testing
2008-03-19 13:30:00
A bug has been discovered in the Community Technology Previews (CTP) of SQLServer 2008 related to leap year. The result of this bug is that SQL Server2008 services will not start during the 24 hours of Feb 29 GMT.This issue affects customers using any version of SQL Server 2008 on anysupported operating system. Although there is no known impact on SQL Server2005 or prior versions at this time, we are continuing research on allversions.* Do not start or stop SQL Server 2008 Database Engine services during the24 hour period of Feb 29, GMT* Do not install or upgrade SQL Server 2008 during the 24 hour period of Feb29, GMT.So how my site visitors testing their product for leap year bugs? Bollywood
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Selenium core vs Selenium IDE vs Selenium RC
2008-03-19 13:21:00
I got a chance to use this valuable tool which is light weighted and user friendly. It can be used by any technical or non-technical users as well. I really love this tool. Selenium IDE is a plugin or call it an extension to Firefox, just like Firebug, Chatzilla but with a different functionality and purpose altogether. The recording mode plugin is not available for IE.Basically Selenium IDE records its tests in HTML and then uses those tests to execute through browser. But users can covert HTML script to ruby,php,phython,C# or java by Options->Format.But when you need them to execute the tests altogether as a test suite then follow the link change the test according the requirements and also modify different execution mechanism as required.http://wiki. openqa.org/ display/SIDE/ Automating+ Selenium+ IDE+tests Selenium Core and Selenium RC are used to execute the recorded script. If you application does not work on Firefox or if it is not intended to work on Firefox according to t...

I missed a BUG
2008-03-02 18:35:00
Most of the testers/QAs are concern about external issues that they have missed. Carrier wise external issues are not good for testers profile inside their organization. More external issues may destroy the testers reputation within organization. On the other hand it is not fair to put 100% responsibility of external issues to testers. Why testers miss bugs?. 1.Lack of project management.2.Not enough time to test.3.Requirement change in last moment before releases.4.Lack of domain knowledge.5.Lack of QA/test resources.6.Poor requirement specifications.7.Limited time to acquire domain knowledge.8.Selecting automation testing in the earlier stage of project. ( Where manually testing is required.)9.High coupling with developers. ( testers who depends of developers to get domain/technical knowledge may influence by developers.10.Not enough motivation towards testing. ( more open bugs, ignorance of QA team within organization, lost of existing functionalities due to new bugs, less salary...

Cross Browser Testing
2008-02-07 06:45:00
It is critical to test across many browser and operating system combinations because the page can look different in each scenario. Another concern is the screen resolution and color depth. A page might look good at a resolution of 600 x 800, but parts of it might get cut off at 640 x 480. Different color depths should be used on the test machines also. Colors might vary unpredictably if a browser-safe palette is not used. As a QA, we should look for:Color of linksBroken imagesLow color contrastSpacing in tablesText wrapping issuesMarginsAlignment, formatting, and size of text Alignment of controls such as radio buttons and check boxesSwitch Javascript offSwitch cookies offSwitch plug-ins offSwitch images offPrinting - Do not forget to test printing of your Web pages by printing on a variety of popular printers. Printing can be unpredictable, particularly with frames. Keep an eye on what is printed, the readability of content, and the speed of the print job. Be sure to use clea...
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Suggestions to Improve Testing.
2008-01-18 09:40:00
1) List down the modules to be tested.This include functional and non-functional testing2) List down the functionality that you will not test either because of incompleteness of module, data dependency or hardware limitations etc.3) Pl. get formal approval from your manager for the activities/schedule that you are planning.This will endorse your deliverables and validity.4) Make sure that you have the defect tracking system in place with severity norms and owners defined.The defect logging format should be approved by your manager.5) Make sure that you have set of data that will help you in testing various test scenarios.If data is not available, pl. check how you can generate the same.6) Make sure that you take daily back-up of your test logs and discuss progress and issues with your management team every day.7) Keep talking with developers. That will help you to increase product understanding.8) Release notes from Developer team to Testing team will be entry criteria to start test...
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process defect and shipment defect
2008-01-18 09:34:00
If a defect is detected in testing department while testing the application is called in process defect.After release the software if a client finds the bug in their environment (production environment) then it is called as post shipment defect. Bollywood
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Balanced QA team
2008-01-11 08:29:00
Balanced team.. may be a traditional management term. However, I am trying to understand the term in quality assurance perspective. In my experience most of the QA teams do not consist of the right set of skill combinations required to get the maximum out of available resources. First I believe the following members should be included in a balanced QA team. Domain/subject matter expertTest automation expertDeployment/build expertSecurity testing expertPerformance testing expertDatabase technology expertread more from : http://charithaka.blogspot.com/I have came across this nice blog post written by Charitha. I totally agree with what he says in the post . Bollywood
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How to approach towards the powered product
2007-12-07 09:24:00
1. First your Org. need to propose the Study phase.Customer should mutually agree on this with your org. for the schedule and the billing the resources during this activity.2. Need to analyze the existing application from the feature, technology ,architecture , usability and maintenance point of view. Document the existing as well as new requirements which are not addressed by the current application. Document all the issues categorizing them as major and minor.3. Check that what is the needful support and mechanism presently available to address the existing issues and new requirements.4. Propose the reverse engineering phase to support the existing application. Propose documentation project for existing application from maintenance point of view.5. Check if your org. has executed any such projects in the past history. This is to understand the the issues in prior implementation and risk associated. You should able to project the domain expertise needful for this assignment by stud...
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What is the advantage of running the virtual user as thread?
2007-11-28 07:52:00
VuGen provides the facility to use multithreading. This enables more virtual user to be run per generator. If the Vuser is run as a process, the same driver program is loaded into memory for each Vuser, thus taking up a large amount of memory. This limits the number of virtual user that can be run on a single generator. If the Vuser is run as a thread, only one instance of the driver program is loaded into memory for the given number of virtual user (say 100). Each thread shares the memory of the parent driver program, thus enabling more virtual user to be run per generator Bollywood
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Regarding testing techniques in the field of space research
2007-11-28 07:49:00
mmmmmmmmmm, really a different !!!!!!!!!! see we can test operations on different temprature conditions,and we can test it in minus gravitational force. We can test it further by giving different virus(!!) to it. Virus means infected programs that may cause severe damage,atleast there will be such chance in some % atleast.We can do adhoc testing 2 test operation so that we get to know,how they work in chaotic condiotions.By giving stress we can get to know the exactly that what system do exactly?? Bollywood
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DbFit 0.92: Better error reporting and easier regression tests
2007-11-28 07:25:00
A new release of DbFit is available for download from SourceForge (http://sourceforge. net/project/ showfiles. php?group_).DbFit is a free extension library for FIT/FitNesse testing framework. It allows developers to manipulate database objects in a relational style, making it much easier to manage and test database objects than with xUnit-style tests. DbFit supports .NET and Java integration tests, and Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL database engines.Release 0.92 (2007-11-26) brings:- Better error handling, DbFit now prints out missing column/parameter names and warns if table/procedure could not be found new Inspect fixture to help with regression tests: DatabaseTest has three methods to automate it: InspectQuery, InspectProcedure and InspectTable. These methods will quickly print out entire query results, structure of a procedure or a table/view in a form that can be easily converted to a regression test, or used as a template forExecuteProcedure, Insert or Update tables. support...
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QA Time Estimation
2007-11-16 12:59:00
There are a great many people who will tell you there is a "standard" ratio of QA hours to Development hours. Don't listen to them. Anyone who makes that claim probably does not know what they are talking about. Take for example the difference between implementing a new desktop application for internal use and implementing a new web app that is available to the general public.In the first case, you have to verify that the application works on 1 machine configuration (the weakest CPU/Memory combination with the supported OS in your company), Security testing is restricted to making sure that the user roles are configured (if you even have role based security, there might not need to be any security testing on an internal app). Depending on a myriad of factors the QA hours for a project like this could range anywhere between 30% and 120% of the dev hours.In the second case you need to verify that the app works on somewhere between 5 and 50 different OS/Browser combinations with sever...
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Approve or disapprove the release
2007-11-16 12:55:00
The same situation mostly happens with most of us. I think the most important thing here is QA setup similar to Production environment. This is the right time to highlight the risk factors which can cause the release unsuccessful b/c of unavailability of proper testing environment. This is only one side which can be seen this time, that you can't test the email sending at the time of order placement. What about in next requirement list or wish list, if an other option is require by user which also contain this auto email sending option. What you will do next time?If the testing environment can't be setup as production environmentSit with your project management team (top players)...keep the situation in front of them...get the things document (not only risk factors but your suggestion also)....discuss with them....confirm more about white box testing and/or unit testing for complete order placement code...give your standing and take the mutual decision.... and document them agains...
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Test Execution Estimates
2007-11-16 12:48:00
Even though you can not estimate exactly, but you can estimate the execution time efforts depending on the Function Points in your Test Cases.You will have to categorize your test cases in 3 different categories e.g. Critical / Major / Minor and then can check timing for 5 test cases from each group. Take average of that and multiply with number of test cases in respective groups.This will not give you exact estimate, but it will definitely give estimate near to actual time.I have tried this in my past projects and could successfully delviered my product within given time frame.I will also recommend to add 10 to 15 % extra time, so that if you get stuck some where or considering some obstacles in testing, you can deliver product within your estimated time. Bollywood
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QA Time vs. Development Time
2007-11-16 12:41:00
Well, if this was an interview question, maybe the interviewer was looking to find out how you would think through the problem. As was stated by the moderator and others, there really isn’t a good formula. Different groups have different methods/processes/ tools/models by which they arrive at their estimates. I think it’s safe to make a statement that those methods/processes/ tools/models take into consideration some of the variables that are outlined below.Specifically speaking to the models, they should be reviewed periodically based on historical data to see if there are updates that are required. In my current organization, one of the items on our plates is to revisit our current estimation model. We’ve got our first release under our belts and are part way through our second release. We have some data to begin refining our estimation model. This will be an ongoing process where the model is periodically reviewed and updated.Getting back to the original question, if this w...
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What’s the difference between Severity and Priority?
2007-07-17 13:28:00
Severity rates a defect in terms of its impact on the software under test (SUT) and/or on its environment; Priority (a.k.a URGENCY or CRITICALITY) rates it in terms of its impact on human stakeholders (the customer, users, developers, testers …).A common (rather subjective) scale of SEVERITY goes like this (sometimes the numbers are reversed):1. Critical - The defect results in the termination of the complete SUT or one or more component applications of the SUT (or of associated software such as the operating system), and/or causes extensive corruption of stored data. The failed function is unusable and there is no acceptable alternative method to achieve the required results.2. Major - The defect results in the termination of the complete SUT or one or more component applications of the SUT (or of associated software such as the operating system), or causes extensive corruption of stored data; but although the failed function is unusable, there exists an acceptable alternative m...
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Define Test Scenario
2007-07-17 13:26:00
Test Scenario : Test Scenario is the user workflow in the application. Example: Checking Mail in Yahoo is a scenario, where user login, check the mail in inbox and then logoff. This application can have 2 different test case one for login and other one for inbox. So Test Scenario can consist of different test cases. Bollywood
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How keep track of Test cases and Testing done by the testers
2007-07-10 14:18:00
Believe in doing the right thing the first time...Start creating the test wares based on the flow charts (or activity diagram) of the module you wish to test...This flowchart must be approved by the R&D counterparts.It is also recommended that you create an integration map of the module with other related modules. This will help you to develop the integration cases. So once you receive the release notes with a bug fix,you know which all integration cases you need to execute.Traceability matrix is a very useful tool in case you need to keep track that none of the requirements are missed out while writing cases. The flow chart will ensure that none of the paths/scenarios are skipped out.Maintain the cases in excel so that you can use formulas to track the cases written/executed and even the pass/fail statistics easily... Some of the useful columns for tracking purposes are date of execution,defect id (for failed cases), Requirement number, Test case id Bollywood
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A tipical Test Plan content
2007-06-19 14:01:00
SummeryObjectivesTest Approach and AssumptionsMajor Test ResponsibilitiesFeatures and Functionality to TestExpected Result of TestsDeliverablesTest DocumentationTest DataInteractions with Other organizationsTesting Procedures and WalkthroughTesting SetupTesting ProcedureTesting WalkthroughTracking and Reporting StatusTest Resource RequirementsEnvironmental NeedsStaffing & Training NeedsTest Tool RequirementsBug Reporting Tools and MethodsBug Reporting Tool StrategyBug Classification StrategyTriage StrategyBug Closure CiretriaScheduleRisks & DependenciesOpen IssuesAppendixAppendix A - Test Case Specification Example Bollywood
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ISO Certification standards in Quality Assurance perspective
2007-06-19 13:48:00
The ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System certification enables you to demonstrate your commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, as well as continuously improving your quality systems and integrating the realities of a changing worldISO 9001:2000 is based on eight quality management principlescustomer focusleadershipinvolvement of peopleprocess approachsystem approachcontinual improvementfact-based decision makingmutually beneficial supplier relationships Bollywood
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whats is testing effort estimation
2007-06-19 13:47:00
Effort estimation can be done, based on different techniques available like Function Point Analysis, COCOMO, Use Case Point Analysis, Test Case Point Analysis, Metrics based.Effort estimation is basically done any of the above techniques for different test activities like Test Case Preparation, Automation Script Creation and Test Execution.Let me explain the metrics based and very commonly used effort estimation procedure in doing effort estimation for Yahoo Mail application.Identify the requirements (Login Page, Inbox, Compose, Address)Classify the requirements in different complexity (Simple, Average, High)Based on the past experience, metrics will be collected on how much time it took to write test case for simple, average and high functionality. Similarly it is collected for other testingactivities.Now multiply your complexity with the time factor which you derived from metrics to calculate the effort.Don't report the total has your total effort, always use buffer time, it vari...
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Manual Testing or Automation Testing
2007-06-11 14:30:00
Here are few points to share on Manual Testing or Automation Testing: 1) Any Automation testing scripts can cover only 60 to 80 % of entire product testing 2) There should be separate team other than testing team to develop and maintain automation test scripts Should never mix testing team and automation test script development team. 3) Automation is good for the products where software product is tending to stable condition and there are marginal feature changes in next coming releases. Here the manual testing team is moved to some other product testing assignment and test scripts are sufficient to check core features of the software product. 4) Automation and manual testing should be of right mix. Manual testing can not be avoided. 5) It is decision of project manager for budgeting the automation test script development. 6) Certainly, there are pros and cons for both manual and automation testing. 7) The decision based on type of the application, type of the ...

What is the Bug Free Zone?
2007-06-11 09:39:00
The Bug Free Zone is a membership-based community of professionals sponsored by the International Institute for Software Testing providing a wealth of information for software test and QA professionals. - Get acess to Articles - Software Testing Articles written by practitioners for practitioners - Get access to Conference Presentations – Complete decks from past PSQT Conferences - Get access to Test Process Templates - Downloadable templates for different tasks in the test process. - Discussion Board - Communicate and Interact with other QA and Test Professionals. - Download papers on different Testing and QA Topics - Get access to the IIST Unified Testing Terminology - Listen to Industry experts offering software quality and testing tips on a regular basis - Post jobs or look at job postings - Get answers to many questions you may have on different testing and QA topics Membership is free at http://www.iist.org Bollywood

Development hours Vs QA hours
2007-06-11 06:52:00
Variable that change ratio of development hours to QA hours. Are the QA and Dev teams equivalently skilled between the 2 projects? Are the QA and Dev teams equivalently knowledgable between the 2 projects? In the business envrionment similar between the 2 projects? Is the Develop ment model similar between the 2 projects? Is the structure of the 2 projects similar? (testing an engancement to an existing system is a vastly different animal from testing new development) Are the breakdown of responsibilities for each team the same between the 2 projects?(maybe in 1 Dev handles Configuration Management and deployment, in another QA Does for example) Do both Projects have similar data requirements? (testing a system which has a large database behind it is vastly different from tesing one with a rudimentary one) Do both Projects have similar target audiences? (Code intended for trained specialists has different requirements from code intended for the general pub...
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open source bug tracking systems
2007-06-07 09:36:00
Only few open source bug tracking systems are known to me. mantis – which is easy to use comparing to bugzilla and easy to set up. Eventum - customizable open source bug tracking system can be used in matured QA process. bugzilla - open source bug tracking system with web based interface and setup takes little more time comparing to mantis. Advance report generation option is great. Bollywood
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Define integration testing
2007-06-07 09:34:00
When one piece of code, or a unit, needs to interact with another, it's an interface. When we are working on interfacing the two units, we are integrating them. Testing this integration is called an integration testing. It follows unit testing and is before system testing. Therefore it is primarily a white box technique. Please see http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Integration _ testing However integrating the GUI with the underlying functionality is also integration testing and is best done as a black box test Bollywood
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Quality Processes
2007-06-04 12:33:00
In general, a quality process is one designed to manage quality by the application of quality assurance (methods, standards), quality control (measurement and correction), and quality improvement (process improvement). More specifically, a quality process is a process of conducting any of the above. Bollywood
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Measuring the performance of a Software Quality Assurance Engineer using Bu
2007-06-04 09:08:00
Some companies evaluate their QA resources on number of defects reported per day. I would say that this is totally irrelevant measure to judge any QA guy performance coz QA guy performance have a lot of other things beyond reported bugs. For example, effective Planning, documentation, handling issues among teams, to resolve the bugs and any kid of issues among QA department and Dev department, analytical skills etc. Bollywood
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Bug Severity vs Priority
2007-06-04 08:56:00
Severity - refers to the effect the bug has on the functionality of the applicationPriority - refers to how soon the bug has to be fixed.If we term the priorities as P1, P2 , P3 and P4, where P1 is the High priority issue and P4 is the low priority,we can define the Severity as follows.P1 - Complete loss of service(of the application)-showstopperP2 - Severe loss of service- business logic issuesP3 - Minimal loss of service - which will not effect the core business logic but still must be resolvedP4 - Needs improvement - all the UI issues.Most of the times, a tester assigns the severity and Leads will assign the priority Bollywood

QA Engineer / Tester Vs Developer
2007-06-04 08:52:00
As for the salaries. It is true that Develop er s make more money than an equivalently skilled an experienced Tester/QA. There are several reasons for this.First: In Testing there are a great many tasks which can be done by someone with very little technical skills or knowledge (But I always belive every tester should be technical). Indeed in some envrionments there are manual testing tasks which can be done by those who simply lack the intelligence necessary to work as a developer. There are no equivalent development tasks.Second: Testers do not produce revenue Developers do. Quality is an impossible concept to sell on it's own and nearly as difficult to market. Outside of QA Outsourcing firms no company has ever made money off of it's Quality department. The Developers are the ones who make the products the company sells, all the Quality department can do is act as a "Force Multiplier" we can make other departments more efficient and effective but we can not produce revenue. So wh...
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