Better Software - July/August 2008 - (Page 13) Picks testing cots: When, How, and How Much? By linDa hayes Testing processes and practices are well defined and generally understood for internally developed applications, but what about those that are licensed from third parties? Granted, the vendor has responsibility for testing its own products, but the possibility of the software failing still exists and can be costly, even devastating; blaming others offers little consolation. If you rely on a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) application, where does your trust in the vendor end? www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6a How Much is Enough? By Michael Bolton Exploratory testers design and execute tests in the moment, starting with an open mission and investigating new ideas as they arise. But how do we know when to stop? The first step is to recognize that we can’t know when we’re done, because any approach to answering the stopping question is necessarily heuristic. www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6b test Notes and coverage Maps—Aids for rapid testing By sRiDhaR kasiBhatla anD anDReW RoBins As delivery cycles get shorter, rapid test techniques are gaining in popularity. In this article, Sridhar Kasibhatla and Andrew Robins explore the concept of using coverage maps and test notes to support exploratory testing and concurrent test design. These maps and test notes also are used to review and track test coverage and can help document dynamically generated test cases for future reuse. www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6c eNEWsLEttEr ExtrA A sampling of content from our eNewsletter archives stickyLetter: April 16, 2008 the Way of the Foot and Fist by Francesca Matteu My gym membership has gone to waste, and I’ve traded my workout clothes for a dobok (a martial arts uniform). That’s right: I’ve become a student of a local martial arts school and now don a white belt in taekwondo. The environment within this new gym, which is called a dojan, is totally different from a regular gym. The dojan I visit is nothing more than one big rectangular room. The shortest walls are lined with mirrors. The main floor is padded, and the school’s and the Korean flags are proudly displayed on the main wall. Kids and adults are everywhere, and it seems as if everyone is yelling all the time. It’s definitely a cacophonous environment when you first enter. But the raucousness ends as soon as the instructor demands your attention. It’s very militaristic considering that if the instructor tells you to do something, you must answer with a loud, “Yes sir!” And then you must do as you’re told, or else you’ll be punished by having to do pushups. Why on earth did I strip myself from a posh gym to become a taekwondo student? Because a gym, in my opinion and for what I want out of an exercise regimen, contains too much pomp for me. The simplistic nature of taekwondo exercises is surprisingly refreshing. I don’t have to worry about power sets or doing three different types of lunges to work out leg muscles. There are no weights in a dojan, just the instructor commanding you to do one hundred pushups in two minutes, of which I can only do half. Other strength-building exercises include crunches and squats. But the real training lies in learning punching, blocking, and kicking techniques. To me this is like the perfect agile methodology to working out. Here’s why: In a gym, you set some fantastic goal that you spend a year or several trying to achieve. In taekwondo, the ultimate goal is broken up into iterations in the form of belt tests. In a gym, you may or may not have a personal trainer who helps you use the equipment properly to help reach said goal. In the dojan, the instructor gives you constant feedback on your form and effort. The biggest change is the culture. Gym members, for the most part, stick to themselves. But there’s no retreat for the shy in a dojan. You practice every move with a fellow student. As I mentioned, we work toward little goals. Even before your next belt test, you have to prove to the instructor that you’re ready to test, which means taking many minor tests in class. In a regular gym, I “tested” against my body-mass index (BMI). But without constant supervision, I unfortunately didn’t know if the length of my exercise routines was helping me achieve this goal or not. I soon cared less about my BMI and settled for an hourlong exercise free-for-all. In taekwondo every learning step seems regimented, but ultimately you set the pace for advancement. If you fail a pre-test, then you know you have to go back and continue practicing that technique until you’ve mastered it. There is something you should know about taekwondo: It has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, taekwondo is a good martial art as long as you maintain at least an arm’s length between you and the opponent. Agile development also has its strengths and weaknesses. What do you think are some of the good points and bad? Email me your thoughts. Until next time, live long, explore new ideas, and build better software. fmatteu@sqe.com PoiNtEr High Performance testing By scott BaRBeR As an activity, performance testing is often misunderstood, especially by executives and managers. Try these tips on your next performance testing project and put your team on the fast track to success. www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6d www.StickyMinds.com JULY/AUGUST 2008 BETTER SOFTWARE 13 http://www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6a http://www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6b http://www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6c http://www.stickyminds.com/eLetter10-6d http://www.StickyMinds.com
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