Words From a Purple Mind

10+ Sections That Should Be In Your Software Test Plan

Jay Philips — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:18:05 +0000

The test plan is very important in any organization. The Test Plan defines the project’s objectives, scope, approach, and focus of its testing efforts. The process of preparing a Test Plan provides an effective way to think through the efforts needed to validate the acceptability of the application under test (AUT).

The Test Plan offers the structure for developing the strategy, plan, procedures, test case specifications, and the time line to conduct the testing efforts for application/project. The test plan also contains the test deliverables for the phases of the project’s testing effort. When completed, it should provide information to the entire project team regarding the whom, what, where, why, and how of product validation.

The Test Plan also supports the following specific objectives:

Identifies the items that should be targeted by the tests.
Identifies the motivation for and ideas behind the test areas to be covered.
Outlines the testing types that will be executed.
Identifies the required resources and provides an estimate of the test efforts.
Lists the deliverable elements of the test project.

The Test Plan document is created during the planning phase.

Below are some key sections that should be part of your test plan:

Introduction
Purpose
Audience – This section should state the groups that the document is written for
Abbreviations, Acronyms & Definitions – State the specific terms that will be used in the document.
Requirements for Test – This section should list the project documents (use cases, functional requirements, non-functional requirements, etc.) that have been identified as targets for testing.
Major Milestones & Dependencies – These are testing milestones with their dependencies and corresponding start and end dates. These tasks and dates should line up with the Project Plan
Testing Scope – The primary scope of testing should be to ensure the project objectives and requirements have been met. You should also include the items below so everyone know what exactly is going to be part of the testing effort.
- List the changes/features that will part of the testing effort
- List the changes/features that will NOT be part of the testing effort
- List the planned testing types
- List the configurations of the testing machines
Test Data – In order to test the AUT against the approved requirements there may need to have new test data created by another group. This section is a good way to list out what your data requirements are so they can be ready before testing starts.
- List the data requirements for each of the planned testing types
Testing Deliverables – This sections should specify which testing deliverables will be created and delivered to the project team.
Logical & Physical Environments – This section should specify the different environments as well as which testing type will be executed in each.
Applications Affected – This section should list out any other application affected by the project from either incoming or outgoing interfaces.
Assumptions – This section should list out any & all assumptions that were used to create the test plan.
Resources – This section shows the staffing assumptions for the testing effort. Individuals may hold multiple roles. Refer to the QA Roles & Responsibilities for definitions of the responsibilities for each of the roles.
Acceptance Section for Sign Offs – After review of the test plan you should request signoff.
Revision History – Just like any other document a revision history is very important so everyone can see what changes were done and why.

Are there any other sections that you think should be part of the test plan?

The Ultimate List of Items That Every Facebook Page Must Have

Jay Philips — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:00:19 +0000

Facebook pages are being added every minute but how do you make yours stand out in the crowd?
Here are the key items to that EVERY page should have.
1. It’s own Username so you can promote it with the short url
Tip: Once your page has 25 fans go to http://www.facebook.com/username/. Select the page, enter the preferred username and check it’s availability.
(If you don’t have 25 fans use the “Suggest To Friends” link on your page)

2. Category and subcategory, which will change what kind of info is included in your Page’s description.
Tip: Click “Edit Page,” then “Basic Information” to select your category and subcategory.

3. Welcome Tab, which allows you to greet new fans with a nice warm welcome.
Tip: Install Static FBML by clicking on “Add to my Page” in the upper-left. Go to your Page and click the link, “Edit Page” & scroll down until you see “FBML”. Click on the “Application Settings” link. Click “add” next to the Tab field and click Okay. You’ve now just added a blank Tab called “FBML” to your Page. Customize Away.

After you create you Welcome tab, click “Edit Page,” then “Manage Permissions” to select your new Default Landing Tab.

4. Featured Photos. Just like profile page fan pages now have the top photo strip to allow you to feature the photos you want. The main difference is that on fan pages the photos are random.
Tip: Select photos that relate to your page/business.

5. Add Some Apps. Pages can have have different apps installed for fans to check out.
Tip: Only add apps that relate to your page. Have a YouTube video? Well there’s an app for you to allow the posting of YouTube videos on your page. One of my favorite apps is Social Tweet, which not only pulls your tweets from Twitter but you let you fans post to Twitter from your page.

6. Quality Content. Just because you post updated every 30 minutes doesn’t mean your fans are interested. Just like everything else it’s all about the Quality not the Quantity

What other items do you think Facebook pages should have?

The Ultimate Roundup of Software Testing Magazines

Jay Philips — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:00:59 +0000

Software testing has expanded over the years, there are more and more magazines being published. Here is a roundup of magazines that focus on software testing.

	Automated Software Testing Magazine Electronic version is Free – Print version $$ The Automated Software Testing (AST) Magazine is a quarterly Automated Testing Institute magazine geared towards IT professionals involved in Software Quality Engineering. This magazine is an excellent source of relevant, up-to-date information from the world of automated software testing. Each issue contains contemporary test automation concepts and approaches provided by industry experts and practitioners, which will help the reader more effectively implement test automation in their own projects.
	Better Software Electronic version is $$ Better Software is the magazine for software professionals who care about quality. Each issue brings you relevant, timely information to help you build better software. Continuing to deliver in-depth articles on testing, tools, defect tracking, metrics, and management, it’s the only commercial magazine exclusively dedicated to software professionals. Within the pages of each issue you’ll find heavy hitting articles about solutions to common management problems, coverage on emerging technologies, and more. You’ll benefit from expert analysis and real-world case studies in the areas of Testing & Analysis, Managing People & Teams, and Tools & Techniques. Print version is only available in the US.
	CODE Magazine Electronic version is Free – Print version $$ The Leading Independent .NET Magazine – Featuring articles on Windows Phone 7, Silverlight, PLINQ, PowerPivot, SQL Server
	coremag.eu Electronic version is Free – Registration Required Magazine for Testers and IT Experts.
	Journal for Quality and Participation Electronic version $$ – Print version not available Published by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in the interest of expanding the knowledge and practice of leadership, employee involvement, and other processes that encourage and enable people to participate in decisions that affect quality, customer satisfaction, and the performance of their organizations.

	Methods & Tools Electronic version is Free – Print version not available A free software development magazine on Software Testing, Project Management, Programming (Java,.NET, Ruby on Rails, Ajax), UML, Agile (eXtreme Programming, Scrum, TDD), Requirements, Databases, Software Process Improvement, Tools
	Professional Tester Electronic version is Free – Print version $$
	Quality Progress Electronic version $$ – Print version $$ ASQ’s flagship publication, read by more people than any other magazine on quality, features in-depth articles describing the application of innovative methods. Topics include knowledge management, process improvement and organizational behavior.
	SD Times Electronic & Print version are Free BZ Media’s publishes Software Development Times, the first and only newspaper for the software development industry. This one isn’t specific to just software testing but has some great articles and a good read. I personally get the print version of this one.
	Software Test & Quality Assurance Electronic version is Free The focus of the new bi-monthly magazine – Software Test & Quality Assurance – is on testing, how testing interacts with other functions in the software development life cycle and expands the conversation into software development. Join now to receive your publication at home and access to the archives
	Software Quality Professional Magazine Electronic & Print versions $$
	Tea-time with Testers Electronic version is Free A monthly ezine dedicated to the software testing community.
	T.E.S.T Magazine Electronic & Print versions are Free Is published in print and digital format six times a year for directors, managers, and senior professionals who are aligned with software testing & QA.
	Test Focus Electronic version is Free – Print version is Free but only available in South Africa
	Testing Circus Electronic version is Free Testing Circus will be published every month. This journal will contain various subjects on software testing including: Basics of software testing. Test Cases on various applications/items/subjects. Tools guidance. Book reviews. Interviews of testing professionals. Testing News and Update. Testing Blogs/sites to follow. Professional Guidance. Tips and Tricks on Testing
	Testing Experience Electronic version is free – Print version $$
	The Testing Planet Electronic version is free – Print version $$

Do you know any other testing magazines that should be added to the list?

Don’t forget to bookmark this page as I will be updating it as I find more magazines.

Updated On: 2/17/2011

The Ultimate Roundup of RSS Directories to Promote Your RSS Feeds To For Free

Jay Philips — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:55:55 +0000

There are tons of RSS directories that you could promote your feeds to for FREE. Below is a roundup of directories that you can submit your feeds to in order to help you get more traffic.

NOTE: I do not recommend going to each directory today. Bookmark this page and stagger your submissions so you can can a steady stream of traffic.

The links below will either take you directly to the submit form or the registration page.

4GuysFromRolla

All Inclusive Links

Blog Collector Blog & RSS

Blogbal Reciprocal Link Required

blogBunch Blog & RSS

Bloggapedia Registration Required – Blog & RSS

Blogdigger

Blogoculars Registration Required

BlogPulse Blog & RSS

Feed Shark

FeedAgg

Feedage Registration Required

FEEDCAT.NET Registration Required

Feedgy

FeedListing

feedNuts Registration Required – Blog & RSS

FeedoOyoo Registration Required

GoldenFeed

Icerocket

LeighRSS

metaFeeder

MillionRSS

Minnesota Registration Required

NewzAlert Registration Required

Plazoo

Read a blog

RSS-Network

RSSbuffet

rssfeeddirectory

RSSMicro

RSSMotron

RSStop10

SolarWarp

Xmeta

zimbio Registration Required

Do you know any other RSS Directories that should be added to the list?

Don’t forget to bookmark this page as I will be updating it as I find more directories.

Quality Assurance Roles and Responsibilities

Jay Philips — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:00:46 +0000

There are various roles on projects, some people may play more than one role. You should always check with your organizations testing methodology on what your role(s) are. Below is a breakdown of quality assurance roles and responsibilities:

Phase: All

Test Lead

Oversees all testing staff and activities for all assigned applications

Ensures all testing standards are being met

Serves as an escalation point for issues involving testing

Serves as a resource and communication point for decisions about test schedule changes

Provides weekly status report that includes testing metrics

Test Analyst

Follows testing standards

Provide Test Lead with input for weekly status report

Performance Analyst

Follows testing standards

Provide Test Lead with input for weekly status report

Phase: Planning

Test Lead

Review Project Artifacts

Works with project team to define and create overall strategy and ensures that it is being achieved

Communicates the test strategy to the Project Manager and Development Team

Define test process including required test activities and deliverables

Identifies test resources, estimates test effort and defines test schedule and milestones

Ensures technical resources are organized for effective support of testing

Conducts walk-through of Test Strategy

Test Analyst

Collaborate with Test Lead on creation of Test Strategy

Collaborates with Test Lead on estimating testing effort

Participates in walk-through of Test Strategy

Performance Analyst

Establishes and maintains performance testing guidelines for both manual and automated testing.

Determine application architecture, configuration, and performance requirements

Project Manager

Develop and manage the project schedule

Provide direction and assign responsibil-ities when needed.

Manage Change Control process

Act as resource to Test Lead for information to create Test Strategy

Participate in Test Strategy walk-through

Approve Test Strategy

Business Analyst

Act as resource to Test Lead for information to create Test Strategy

Participate in Test Strategy walk-through

Approve Test Strategy

Development

Act as resource to Test Lead for information to create Test Strategy

Participate in Test Strategy walk-through

Approve Test Strategy

Phase: Construction

Test Lead

Review Requirements

Review Logical and Physical designs

Create Test Plan

Create UAT Test plan for End Users

Conduct walk-through of Test Plan

Ensures traceability of test cases back to project requirements

Be available as resource to Test Analyst in creation of test cases

Participate in walkthrough of test cases

Approve test cases

Assess progress, escalate issues, and manage technical decisions

Test Analyst

Review Requirements

Review Logical and Physical Designs

Collaborate with Test Lead to create Test Plan

Participate in walk-through of Test Plan

Approve Test Plan

Create Test Cases (manual and automated, if applicable) and Requirements matrix

Conduct walk-through of test cases

Approve Test Cases

Performance Analyst

Develops and maintains automated performance test scripts.

Project Manager

Be available as resource for test team in regards to questions that arise with Requirements and Design documents

Participate in walk-through and provide approval of Test Plan

Business Analyst

Create Requirements Documentation

Be available as resource for test team in regards to questions that arise with Requirements and test case creation

Act as resource to Test Lead for information to create Test Plan

Participate in walk-through and provide approval of Test Plan

Participate in walk-through of test cases

Development

Create Logical and Physical Design Documents

Review requirements and other and other project documentation

Be available as resource for test team in regards to questions that arise with Requirements and test case creation

Participate in walk-through and provide approval of Test Plan

Participate in walk-through of test cases

End User (SME)

Be available as resource for test team in regards to questions that arise with Requirements and Design documents

With assistance from test team, create UAT test cases

Phase: Execution

Test Lead

Conduct Test Readiness Assessment

Execute manual test cases automated test scripts, if applicable

Log and review issues and defects identified by testers

Collect testing sign-off from all testing participants

Ensures that all aspects of testing, such as : manual execution, regression, automation, and performance are completed

Create Test Completion Report for promotion recommendation.

Test Analyst

Conduct Test Readiness Assessment

Execute manual test cases automated test scripts, if applicable

Participate in defect reviews

Collaborate with Test Lead in creating Test Completion Report for promotion recommendation

Performance Analyst

Performs load, stress, and performance testing and analyzes results

Provides performance and usage reports

Project Manager

Participate in defect reviews

Consult with Test Lead on review and creation of Test Completion report

Approve Test Completion Report.

Business Analyst

Participate in defect reviews

Approve Test Completion Report.

Development

Coordinate and conduct Unit Testing

Participate in defect reviews

Collaborate with test team when conducting Test Readiness Assessment

Investigate and resolve defects/issues

Update defect/issues log with state and resolution.

End User (SME)

Participate in UAT test execution, reporting defects and test findings to the Test Lead

Notify Test Lead of any issues impeding progress of testing.

Provide approval of promotion recommend-ation contained in Test Completion Report

Phase: Closure

Test Lead

Provide final Test Completion report for entire project

Finalize and archive all Test Deliverables

Participate in project closure activities

Support the project warranty period, if applicable

Test Analyst

Finalize and archive all test deliverables

Participate in project closure activities

Support the project warranty period , if applicable

Performance Analyst

Provides final Performance Findings Report

Project Manager

Performs project closure procedures

Provide support to team during project warranty period

Business Analyst

Provide support during project warranty period

Development

Provide support during project warranty period

End User (SME)

Be available as resource during project warranty period

Phase: Maintenance

Test Lead

Provide testing deliverables and test execution as needed if test team is responsible for on-going maintenance

Test Analyst

Provide testing deliverables and test execution as needed if test team is responsible for on-going maintenance

Performance Analyst

Rerun Performance tests, if needed

Project Manager

Provide project deliverables and support to project team, if project team is responsible for on-going maintenance

Business Analyst

Provide On-going support to project team, if applicable

Development

Provide on-going development support, if applicable

End User (SME)

Be available as resource during on-going maintenance activities, if applicable

What role(s) have you played on your projects?

The Ultimate Roundup Of Websites To Promote Your Tutorials To For Free

Jay Philips — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:46:23 +0000

Your wrote your tutorial. You tweeted your tutorial on Twitter. You posted your tutorial to your FaceBook Fan Page. You posted your tutorial to your FaceBook Profile. Then you wait… and wait.. and wait some more. You ask yourself “Where are all the visitors? Did I reach as many people as I could?”

There are hundreds of websites that you could promote your tutorial on for FREE. Check out “The Ultimate Roundup of Websites to Promote Your Design Articles For Free” for submitting your articles. Below is a roundup of websites that you can submit your tutorials to in order to help you get more traffic.

NOTE: I do not recommend going to each site and posting every single tutorial you’ve ever written. Only post the tutorial that are relevant to the site you are submitting to.

The links below will either take you directly to the submit form or the main page where you will see a form on the right hand side.

10Steps.SG

Best Design Tutorials

Best Photoshop Tutorials

Capital Tutorials

CG Links Registration Required

CMS tutorial Registration Required

CSSReflex

delicious Registration Required

design bump Registration Required

Design Chair

design float Registration Required

DesignGizer Registration Required

digg Registration Required

DZone Registration Required

FAQ PAL Registration Required

favSHARE Registration Required

FlashPerfection Registration Required

FSTutorials Registration Required

GfxTuts

Good-Tutorials Registration Required

Graphic Design Links Registration Required

Graphics@V7n

joyoge Registration Required

Luxa Registration Required

noupe

Photoshop 911

Photoshop Lover

Photoshop Roadmap Registration Required

Pixel2Life

Pixel Groovy! Registration Required

PSDTop Registration Required

Pure Graphics

Pxleyes

Submit a written tutorial to Pxleyes

Submit a video tutorial to Pxleyes

Scarletbits

Sharebrain Registration Required

Squidoo Registration Required

StumbleUpon Registration Required

SurfnLearn Registration Required to Edit Tutorial

t-tutorials Need to email them the tutorial you want to submit

TipClique Registration Required

Toxiclab Registration Required

Tutable Registration Required

The Tutorialist

Tutorial Advisor

Tutorial Center Registration Required

Tutorial Index Registration Required

Tutorial Man Registration Required

TutorialFeed

Tutorialing Registration Required

TutorialKit Registration Required

Tutorials Palace

Tutorialsphere Registration Required

Tutorialized Registration Required

Tutorials Expert Registration Required

Tutorials Garden Registration Required

Tutorio

The Web Blend Registration Required

Webmaster Tutorials Registration Required

woork

WordPress Arena

Do you know any other sites that should be added to the list?

Don’t forget to bookmark this page as I will be updating it as I find more sites.

Updated On: 10/21/2010

The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media for Business

Jay Philips — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:33:32 +0000

Almost everyone is using Social Media one way or another. Social media is transforming the way we communicate with each other. This post is not about telling you that what you are doing is right or wrong. This post is just a helpful way of pointing out the Do’s and Don’ts, courtesy of The Steel Method.

What are your Do’s & Don’ts?

You Mean I Could Make Money and Get Traffic? 15+ Great Tips

Jay Philips — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:01 +0000

There are so many blogs out there in the blogger sphere so you need to be able to why not stand out from the crowd. Write great content that is fresh, makes sense and interesting. Once the visitors start coming to your blog you may want to make some money, either to help pay for the blog hosting, earn an extra income, etc.

There’s a variety of ways to make money with your blogs but the key is to not lose your subscribers and/or irritate your visitors.

Below are some simple ways you could start to make money and build traffic to your site:

You could sell ad space on your site.

KEY: Make sure the ads are relevant to your blog

You could ask your visitors for donations

You could sell merchandise on your blog, whether it being via CafeExpress or your own ebooks.

You could write reviews about other products/services. Sponsored Reviews provides a place where bloggers can find advertisers looking for reviews.

You could setup a job board on your site

You could become an affiliate for a company and post their ads/banners on your site. You’ll notice that I have a banner for Amazon in the right sidebar

TIP: Don’t post anything that could get you in trouble.

You could sponsor certain columns/events

You could create a private section either for a forum/classified ads where members would have to pay a membership fee

You could run a paid survey or poll

You could offer mentoring/consulting services

You could use pop-ups and pop-unders. I am not a fan of this one at all but still thought I’d list it since some people still think it’s great.

You could spread the word about your blog via social media on sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

You could create a Facebook Fan Page. Speaking of Fan Pages, are you a fan of this blog?

You could create a list of a popular topic that YOU are familiar with. People love lists.

You could enter contests

You could post comments on other blogs/forums. Did you know that by adding a comment on this blog that you are not only providing your thoughts but you are also providing all other visitors with a link back to your site, Twitter account, Facebook page, etc? So let’s get commenting.

How do you make money from your blog? What routes have you found to work the best?

SEO What? SEO How? Great Tips For All

Jay Philips — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:37:53 +0000

Have you heard of this thing called search engine optimization (SEO)? You know the process of improving ranking in search engine results. There are lots of articles, tips & blogs out there on SEO. There are some great tips out there and since you don’t have time to read every single blog/article I thought I’d give you the quick run down of what you should & shouldn’t do:

Check those tags.

Verify that you have tags on EVERY page for your titles, headings, keywords, hyperlinks & images

Verify that your title tag is no more than 60 characters.

Verify that your title is an eye catcher making visitors want know more

Verify that your meta description is no more than 155 characters

Verify that your keywords match the content

Got a map? A sitemap that is.

Verify that you have a available for your visitors and the search engines

Verify that you have submitted your sitemap to the search engines.

Check the robots file

Verify that you have a robots.txt file

Verify that you mark the correct folders as “Disallow” so the robots focus on your content

Don’t cloak

Cloaking is a technique of delivering a certain set of pages to search engine crawlers, while at the same time delivering a completely different set of pages to your visitors. Don’t do this as it will get you banned for the search engines.

How’s your content?

Write valuable content. Visitors & search engines like valuable content.

Do NOT duplicate content. No body wants to click different links just to end up seeing the same content.

Do NOT hide text like putting keywords in your background. This is called keyword stuffing and search engines do not like it.

Don’t forget the competition

Check how your competition is doing in the search engines, what keywords are working for them and not you

Check to see what their quality and quantity of incoming links

Fix those file names

Don’t have file names for images or docs that make no sense. If it’s an image of a boat name it boat not IMG001.

Have images that match your keywords.

Checklists & Validators

Checklists and validators are great to use to make sure your site is search engine friendly as well as working.

Verify there are no broken links on your site by using a link checker every few months.

Analyze your HTML & CSS to check to see if it’s up to date with the latest technology

Link Building

Link building is great but don’t go overboard.

Get linked to sites that are relevant to your content.

Social Media

It’s important to get on the social media sites because not only are they good for networking but they are also search engine friendly.

I hope these tips help you with your SEO efforts. Do you have any other tips?

LondonTester Is Helping Software Testing Professionals Find Jobs

Jay Philips — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:57:40 +0000

I previously wrote a post on sites that can help you find your next QA job. In that post I listed a newcomer site called LondonTester. The site is now live.

Even though I’m in the US I thought it would be an interesting site not only for jobs but for great testing resources as well. I’ve been keeping up with the latest info on Twitter & Facebook. Below is my thoughts on the site.

The site is very nicely designed

I really like how user friendly the site is. It’s very easy to navigate & find what you are looking for

They offer a place for testers to blog. Even if you already have a blog you can post there as well.

The testing resources section is great. LondonTester has gathered some really good videos/presentation related to the field for testers to check out.

You can keep up with LondonTester on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

What are your thoughts about LondonTester?