ASTQB knowledge? Encourage clarity in bug reporting. “Reporting bugs and requesting more information can create unnecessary overhead. A good bug report can save time by avoiding miscommunication or the need for additional communication. Similarly, a bad bug report can lead to a quick dismissal by a developer. Both of these can create problems. “Anyone reporting bugs should always strive to create informative bug reports, but it’s just as important that developers go out of their way to communicate effectively as well. For instance, if a developer needs more information, it’s best if they take the time to write a detailed request. Teach people to write good reports, but hold your developers to high standards as well. If everyone is going above and beyond to communicate effectively, everyone’s productivity benefits.
Getting your test environments sorted is a critical task, however this is often much easier said than done. Environmental issues are often the single most time consuming (aka time wasting) aspect of a test phase in any organisation. Key to getting the environments set up is the “who”. Who owns the environments? Who can create them for me? Who can fix them for me? Get the “who” sorted out – preferably they will be an expert in the environment – and everything else might just fall into place a bit better. Now… if only I could take my own advice and implement all of these 10 top tips my own projects will run smoothly! As I mention a few times in this article, things are easier said than done…
Lucian Cania is an experienced international IT delivery and software test manager with a vast experience in test management. He founder Cania Consulting by leveraging a vast background in Transformation Programs executed across Europe in the areas of ERP, BI, Retail, Billing and Integration. After passing the ISTQB Foundation Certification, this eBook was great source to better understand what to expect from the Test Managers working on my Software Projects. Explore a few more info on Astqb Book.
Bug summaries must be thorough. Most customers including your managers, developers, and peers will read the summary first when they review a bug. This is especially true when they have more bugs to review. The simple reason is that they don’t have enough time to go into details of every bug, so having a short and concise summary will surely help to grab an idea of what the problem is about and how important it is. You can have a short and concise summary by telling exactly what problem you found and in what condition. Use Test Maturity Model integration. The software industry does not operate in a zero-defect environment, and, arguably, it never will. In the face of this truism, numerous techniques to reduce the number and severity of defects in software have been developed, with the ultimate, albeit unobtainable, goal of defect elimination. Such optimistic thinking has led to significant improvements in software quality over the past decade, notwithstanding increased software complexity and customer demands.
Work from home software testing trick of the day : With the switch to teleworking we’ve been using Google hangouts with web-cams. We first tried it without webcams but since we’re used to being in the same physical space most days, it has been helpful to see people on the camera. It also forces people to fully engage in the meeting and not be multi-tasking doing other things. So we’d recommend using video and audio if practically possible. The online tools for release and sprint planning we use (SpiraPlan in our case) work just as well in-person as remote, so as long as you’re not relying on physical boards, should be minimal adjustment. If your team is using physical Scrum or Kanban boards, now is a good time to move to an online planning tool. Explore even more info at cania-consulting.com.