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For a conventional software tester, an Extreme Programming project may be an intimidating challenge. Testers often find that they're not welcome on XP projects, but Jonathan Kohl shares how skilled testing can overcome such difficulties. Jonathan discusses lessons he learned from working on two different XP project teams, only one of which initially welcomed his testing and feedback. Read More

In today's environment of plummeting cycle times, test automation becomes an increasingly critical and strategic necessity. Assuming the level of testing in the past was sufficient (which is rarely the case), how do we possibly keep up with this new explosive pace of web-enabled deployment while retaining satisfactory test coverage and reducing risk? The answer is either more people for manual testing, or a greater level of test automation. After all, a reduction in project cycle times generally correlates to a reduction of time for test. Read More

Load testing is a necessary but daunting task on many testers' to-do lists. As difficult as the task may be, it helps testers find problems when a software product is running at full capacity. Danny R. Faught explains how he takes an exploratory approach to load testing, which gives quick results without making a big tool investment. Read More

Software test automation can dramatically reduce costs and speed up time-to-market, but its full potential cannot be achieved without a carefully planned, scalable, and maintainable process. Without the right strategy, expensive test automation tools may become "shelfware." The authors of this whitepaper will first discuss the key benefits of software test automation, and then examine the most common implementation tactics. They then analyze the key reasons why test automation efforts often fail to meet their potential. Finally, they explain how using a keyword-based test automation strategy enables organizations to avoid those problems. Read More

The major differences between testing projects and development projects, and the life cycle of a testing project. He then identifies key areas that need change in order to better execute testing projects Read More

The major differences between testing projects and development projects, and the life cycle of a testing project. He then identifies key areas that need change in order to better execute testing projects Read More

While most people agree that metrics are important, choosing the right ones is a critical, but often very difficult process. This paper offers a set of guidelines and considerations when designing metrics for software, test, and documentation projects. Read More

ROI is a widely used approach for measuring the value of a new and improved process or product technology. ROI is also used for measuring the economic value of popular approaches to software process improvement or SPI. This article explains the ROI of SPI, and introduces practical metrics and models for the ROI of SPI. Additionally, this article includes practical examples for estimating the ROI of Inspections, PSPsm, TSPsm, SW-CMM, ISO 9001, and CMMI. Read More

It has been rightly said that "There is always room for improvement in one's work." In this write-up, I try to explore further the above cliche with the stress on how testers can effectively manage metrics. Data collection, presentation, and maintenance can often be tedious if not handled properly. This article deals with the need for managing metrics better and making the tester more focused. Read More

This paper provides the strategy and approach needed to design and produce useful project metrics from basic test planning and defect data. Timely and accurate data is essential on a fast paced project team - especially one that operates in an intensely competitive marketplace. A project team at SBC Communications has implemented the approach described within this paper. Read More

This article explains a set of six metrics, which collectively provide valuable insight into: a) Effort variation b) Assessing the organizational capability c) Knowing how well the organization meets its commitments on time d) Defect detection capability of QA&QC activities, hence control on price of conformance e) Defect leakage across the phases of projects, organization wide f) Productivity metrics - a sure input to scheduling These six metrics are easy to understand and implement. The cost of implementation will be minimal, if the basic systems like time tracking and defect tracking systems are in place, and the organization follows a standard method for project size estimation. Read More

This paper provides an overview, in a nutshell, of the concept of Traceability Matrix, the importance of it, the areas where it can be used and the means of creating it. Read More

One of the major problems in software development stems from constant changes to software requirements. Keeping track of such changes and ensuring that the test suite is also kept updated is not a trivial task. The success of testing efforts depends on the ability to track and trace requirements as they evolve and to validate that they have been incorporated into the software. Read More