The Software Tester in a Scrum Team

The integration of software in a Scrum team is not easy. As Agile software development favours continuous development in short iterations, the software testing activity should be completely integrated with the requirements and coding activities, not postponed at the end like in a traditional Waterfall approach.

JMeter: the new standard for load testing

Apache JMeter is open source software Java desktop application, designed to load test and measure performance of web sites. It was originally designed for load testing web applications but has since expanded to other test functions.

Apache JMeter may be used to test performance both on static and dynamic resources (files, Servlets, Perl scripts, Java Objects, Data Bases and Queries, FTP Servers and more). It can be used to simulate a heavy load on a server, network or object to test its strength or to analyze overall performance under different load types. You can use it to make a graphical analysis of performance or to test your server/script/object behavior under heavy concurrent load.

A important ecosystem has been developped around JMeter. Many companies are offering load  testing services based on JMeter, like Amazon or Blazemeter. There are also many JMeter plugins that have been created to extend its functionalities and better exploit the data provided by this open source load testing tools.

You can get more informatoin and download JMeter from http://jmeter.apache.org/index.html

Automated Acceptance Tests and Requirements Traceability

This article on Automated Acceptance Tests illustrates an approach to automated acceptance testing when you develop software with Java. The acceptance tests are connected to the software requirements. The main factor to achieve maintainable tests is to manage correctly the traceability between the requirements and implementation as well as between the requirements and acceptance tests.

http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=118

Scenarios for Load Testing

This article explains how to build a portfolio of scenarios for software load testing automation. You have rarely only a single scenario to test, so you have to decide which scenarios to include in your test plans. Criticality, frequency, difficulty and verifiability are the four key factors that should be considered to determine the scenarios to automate. Choosing the right scenarios is an essential key factor to ensure the success of your load testing automation strategy.

Unit Testing and Mocking Tools Directory

The Unit Testing and Mocking Tools Directory presents a list of unit testing and mocking tools for C/C++, Java, Javascript, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, Flex, etc.

http://www.unittestingtools.com/

Load Testing Tools Adoption Survey

The last Methods & Tools survey wanted to determine the level of adoption of load testing tools in organizations. It asked the following question: “Do you use a tool for load / performance testing?”

I use tools for load testing	48%
My organization has tools, but my project or I do not use them	20%
My organization has no tools for load testing	32%

Participants: 182
Ending date: January 2011
Source: Methods & Tools Load Testing Tools Survey

Additional resources:
* JMeter presentation
* Load Testing Section of the Software Development Articles Directory
* Load Testing Section of the Software Development Tools Directory
* Load testing tools directory

Bromine - Test Management for Selenium

I have found an interesting presentation of the Bromine software testing tool. Bromine can be described as an open source management tool for Selenium. It offers is a way to organize your test scripts and easily run them in different browsers and operating systems.

JMeter Load Testing Tool Presentation

An interesting presentation of the load testing tool JMeter has been published by the software development magazine Methods & Tools. Apache JMeter is open source software, a 100% pure Java desktop application designed to (load) test functional behavior and measure performance. It was originally designed for testing Web Applications but has since expanded to other test functions.

Contract Tests in JUnit 4

J.B. Rainsberger talked about how contract tests can be used to test the interaction between classes when using a mockist approach to developer testing. He wondered aloud if it would be possible to write these kinds of tests using abstract classes and JUnit 4. The answer is yes, with some caveats, as Ben Rady demonstrates it. You can watch this presentation called "Contract Tests in JUnit 4" on the directory of Java videos and tutorials.

Load Testing Tools Directory

This a directory of open source and commercial software tools for load and performance testing with reviews and resources.

Writing Testable Code

This article presents practices to write more testable code with many examples in java.

http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=103

Automated Exploratory Testing

Automated exploratory testing is a method integrating Test Automation within the Exploratory Testing Session that enables the testers to save money and to become more productive during test execution. This article describes automated exploratory testing and explains its benefits.

http://www.sqazone.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=606

Using WatiN to Leverage Common Elements in Web Testing

WatiN is an easy to use, feature rich framework for Web Application Testing in .Net. This article provides some practical insight into creating automation based on the WatiN framework. It will present a well thought out and proven foundation for general web testing.

http://www.methodsandtools.com/archive/archive.php?id=100

Book Review: Debug It!

This book provides a structured approach that will help programmers to identify and remove bugs in code. It is based on a four steps process: Reproduce, Diagnose, Fix, Reflect. For each activity, the author provides practical material on how perform it. The second part gives a higher vision of the debugging process and deal with topics like communicating with users or prioritizing bugs treatment. Finally, the book discusses special situations and the relationship between bugs and other areas of software development (source control, build, etc.).

The book is easy to read and the material is presented in a very structured way with different “viewpoints” that help to understand the content. Besides the main text where important concepts are put in evidence, real life cases shows how things happen in the real world. There are also some “Joe asks…” sections where the author answer pertinent questions on the current topic.

With my many years of experience in supporting and debugging large existing enterprise systems, I have to say that Paul Butcher summarize and structure all the knowledge (and more) that I have, sometimes painfully, accumulated during this activity. This is therefore an excellent book that I will recommend to everybody that is involved in software development in general and maintenance activities specifically.

Reference: “Debug It!”, Paul Butcher, Pragmatic Bookshelf, 214 pages, ISBN 978-1934356289

Get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.com
Get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.co.uk

New Software Testing and Quality Assurance Videos and Tutorials Directory

Testing TV is a directory of software testing and software quality assurance videos and tutorials. It covers unit testing, functional testing, load testing, performance testing, test driven development. configuration management.

How To Recruit, Motivate, and Energize Superior Test Engineers

This video is an interesting presentation with eight points explaining why test is a better place for software developers than software development and showing how and when to express these points to hire, motivate and retain top talent.

Applying User Testing During Development

This presentation focus on the relationship between Production, Game Design, and User Research (Usability). What it takes to prepare game builds for User Research, what the goals are for the usability test, and what Production and Design do with the results. Halo3 will serve as the primary example.

Agile Testing by Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory

Some authors are good at presenting theories but unable to connect them to practice. Other are good at telling stories from the trenches, but without being able to produce an analysis of the situation and propose some solutions. On the less examined domain of agile testing, Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory are, luckily for us, presenting a book that covers both the personal experience of being a tester in agile projects and a conceptual vision of the place of quality assurance in software projects. Thus you will find in this book “stories” that comes from past projects and “mind maps” that helps to have a high-level vision of the material of each chapter.

The book offers resource to organize the quality assurance and testing activities in an agile project. It explains also the relationship between test automation and agility. It provides also a part dedicated to the chronicle of the agile testing activities during project life, showing how every member of the team could contribute to quality.

I think however that the more interesting contribution of the book is Testing Quadrants. This concept classifies testing activities depending on their focus (technology or business) and their intent (supporting the team or validating the product). Adding an agile perspective to the original work of Brian Marick, the authors provide resources and examples for each quadrant to make sure that you will cover all the aspects of testing for your project.

This book is certainly a very valuable resource for every people involved in software testing, even if this is not in an agile project. It will also be valuable for ScrumMasters and project managers that have to think on how to integrate the testing activities in their projects.

Click here to get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.com

Click here to get more details on this book or buy it on amazon.co.uk

Software Quality Assurance Planet

The Software Quality Assurance Planet is an aggregator for RSS feeds concerning software testing (unit testing, functional testing, regression testing, load testing), code review and inspection, bug and defect tracking, continuous integration.

What is an Agile Tester?

Here is a good definition of the Agile Tester, from the book “Agile Testing” of Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory: “We define an agile tester this way: a professional tester who embraces change, collaborates well with both technical and business people, and understands the concept of using tests to document requirements and drive development. Agile testers tend to have good technical skills, know how to collaborate with others to automate tests, and are also experienced exploratory testers. They’re willing to learn what customers do so that they can better understand the customers’ software requirements.”

Source: “Agile Testing”, Lisa Crispin and Janet Gregory, Addison-Wesley, 2009