QA Industry Survey

Where do you think QA is going?

This survey is now closed. To those who participated, Thank You!

App Submission Humor

Because I have awesome friends that share stuff with me all the time, enjoy:

• http://cs319420.vk.me/v319420472/5331/H1yQ_mLLEZM.jpg

QA Tool: Mind Map for iOS Testing

As promised, here's what a co-worker shared with me for iOS and I thought it was brilliant and I happily share with you - iOS Testing Mindmap - enjoy!

Lesson Learned: QA is NOT a verb !!

Dear Non-QA Managers, Analysts, and readers alike:

I wish to discuss the following pet peeve with the following scenario:

• Mgr: "Hi Team, I have a project that needs to be QA'd by end-of-day today. Whom can I assign for this?"

QA testers look to each other in wonderment, asking what is this "QA'd " word they speak of?


1. QA - the initials for Quality Assurance
2. Quality Assurance (v) - the act of ensuring the product / service is in compliance with the proposed scope of work, performs as expected, is approved by the Client, and fulfills the intent for users.

A project is not expected to be "QA'd" any more than planning it is to be "PM'd". I cringe a little when I hear it, but its become a buzz word synonymous with "tested".

I do apologize if this comes off petty, but I wanted to share my pet peeve as an Analyst serving at the behest of others. That, and the industry buzz words, like " Going Forward ".

What is your pet peeve? I'd love to read about it.

QA Tool: Mind Map for Android Testing

A co-worker shared this link with me for Android and I thought it was brilliant. Can't keep good things like this to myself so I pass this on to you -  Android Testing Mindmap - enjoy!

QA Tool: Process Mapping

From time to time, I plan to tidy up my tool box and share some helpful tools that I've collected along the way. This one in particular is from BONITA SOFT - http://www.bonitasoft.com/ - and it is a free process mapping tool that can help graphically interpret your internal QA process (and any other business process).

I've researched this a bit and it was intuitive. If you're experienced with UML documentation like I am, this is a snap! If not, you'll pick it up quick

Lesson Learned: Avoid seeing the Forest from the Trees!

How many times in the course of testing has this happened to you:  you've lost objectivity. You lose perspective of what the app or site is about.

Naturally, you test and re-test, running through all possible positive, negative, and edge cases. You've become so ingrained with the inner-workings of the project that somewhere along the way, you miss the obvious - the essence of what its about.

Full disclosure, this has happened to me a couple times. You're so bent on looking for the "show-stoppers" bugs, but you'll overlook the obvious.

What I call seeing the forest from the trees.

All the more reason why it helps to have a fresh set of eyes. Someone unfamiliar with the app / site, who doesn't have a test plan, or test scripts to follow, but will use it as it was intended.

The greatest lesson I learned was to step back from the project and look at the entirety of it. Ask yourself, "what is this supposed to do?" (and I don't mean asking from a functional perspective). A lot of times, the most obvious issues will be missed when objectivity is lost. 

If this has happened to you, I'd love to hear about it.

What makes a great QA Analyst

Good testers learn from success, great testers learn from failure

So there you are, intrepid QA Analyst, tasked with a project of high profile. You've written up the plan, attended the meeting, and ran through all positive, negative, and edge cases. You've filed tons of issues, and close just as many; test-report-retest-repeat.

The app goes live and you've stamped your name on it to assert 100% functionality and that the project fulfills the desires of the Client. Then the inevitable happens .. a missed bug that causes the app to fail. The app is live and getting bad reviews due to the performance issues encountered during an install or update. Client is angry. Your Quality Assurance Manager is doubting your skills as a tester. And all you want to do is just crawl in a hole. What do you do?

In my short time as a QA Analyst, I have seen my share of co-workers crash-and-burn when an app fails in production. I have experienced a fail or two myself. How one handles failure is a measure of the kind of person (and tester) they are. Good testers learn from success, but its the great testers that learn from failure.

A great tester applies what he / she knows in their testing and can get to the root-cause of why the failure occurred. Fails fall into two categories: omission and commission:

• omission: you overlooked the most obvious (or not so obvious) issue
• commission: you tested inadequately

A great tester perseveres when things look bleak and is not afraid to ask for help. A team is as strong as the weakest link, and with good leadership, preventative measures can be made to ensure the mistake is not repeated. I have had the privilege of helping my co-workers and likewise being coached on ways to get better. In the end, its only made me better at my job.

And the learning continues ....

Tell me about your worst day and how you handled it

"Who are you?" asked the Caterpillar to Alice.

I start this blog with a simple introduction. You are a Quality Assurance Analyst, but what does that mean?

You spend hours of your day planning, testing, re-testing, reporting defects, closing defects. Why?

"Who are you?"

Are you merely a tester, serving the purpose of a mindless automaton? Or are you the last line of defense .. the champion of product quality and the vessel for the company's reputation?

Are you better than the bottom of the totem pole? More than a minion serving at the pleasure of the project manager?

alice in wonderland caterpillar | Tumblr

I will tell you who you are. YOU are the person, the team, that determines the fitness of a product or service. YOU hold the integrity of the organization in your hands. Through you goes the product in its last phase. Through you go the many hours of planning, designing, and developing a product that addresses the Client's needs, but by proxy represents a company's image.

You tester, you analyst, you keeper of quality. To you, I say cheers! Job Well Done!!

I plan to share my experiences and acquired methods and tools here in this blog, as I hope you do to, if for no other reason than to show that there's more to QA than just testing.

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