How do you plan test automation? Can test automation improve test effectiveness?

“How to plan test automation?” is perhaps the most frequently asked question of today’s software testing field. Another important question is, “can test automation improve test effectiveness?” 

In this article we have tried our level best to answer both of these questions! 

What is meant by Test Automation?

- In test automation, we actually develop a quick process that will take care of the execution of the tests by itself i.e., without any human intervention.

- It also compares the actual and predicted outcomes, sets up the pre- conditions for the tests.

- A common test automation process involves automation of a manual testing process that makes use of a formalized testing tool. 

- Although the manual testing can discover a whole lot of defects in the software system or application, it is quite laborious or you can say it involves a lot of drudgery and time.

- It is not possible for you to discover defects of all the classes using manual testing; it is a task that can only be accomplished using test automation. 

- Test automation takes time only once i.e., while you automate them and after this it saves a whole lot of time when compared to manual testing, tests can be run quickly and repeatedly. 

How to plan test automation?

There are two approaches to test automation and both of them are equally good and either of them can be followed. They are:

1. Code driven testing: This approach involves public interfaces to classes, libraries or modules to be tested with a whole variety of the input arguments for the validation of the results that are returned and are quite correct.

2. Graphical user interface testing: This approach involves a testing frame work that generates a user interface events like mouse clicks and key strokes for the validation of the observable behavior of the program i.e., whether it is correct or not?

There is one drawback which is that the test automation tools can cost you much and they cannot be employed without manual testing. Test automation is effective if you have to repeatedly test one thing. 

There is one more approach to the test automation which is commonly known as “model based testing”. 

- Using this approach you automatically generate tests through the use of a model of the software system or application for the generation of test case but this method of planning test automation is still under research and controversies. 

- One should keep the following questions in mind while planning the test automation:

1. What to automate?

2. When to automate?

3. Whether or not automation is really required?

Can Test Automation improve Test Effectiveness?

Yes, test automation can improve test effectiveness.

- The test cases generated by test automation are quite reliable as compared to those created by manual testing.

- In test automation, human error is eliminated.

- The tests generated are repeatable as well as programmable. 

- They also have the following characteristics:

* Reusable

* Comprehensive: The test suite that is built covers all the features of the software system or application.

* Cost reduction: Due to less resources, used cost is also reduced.

* Fast: Testing is quite fast.

* Better quality software: The resultant software system or application is of better quality since it is tested by a large number of tests with fewer resources and less time.

What is meant by time boxed iterative development?

The iterative type of the agile software development has always been the favourite choice of the developers and testers when it comes to adopting a time and effort efficient and effective agile software development process. 

Till now three approaches to the iterative development have been developed namely:

      1. Risk based iterative development

      2. Client based iterative development

      3. Time boxed iterative development

This article is here to focus up on the time boxed iterative development. But before we move on to the time boxed iterative development, let us brief up ourselves with the concepts of the iterative and incremental development so that it will be easy for us to understand the time boxed iterative development better.  

What is Iterative Development?

- Iterative and incremental development is an essential part of the agile software development process and lies at the heart of it.

- The iterative came in to existence as a response to the weaknesses of the other agile software development models especially the waterfall model.

- Apart from just being an essential part of the agile software development, it is also necessary to the extreme programming, rational unified process and many other agile software development frame works. 

- It is based up on a similar process of the business process improvement. 

- The iterative development is a way to develop a whole software system or application in small steps via the repeated cycles at a time. 

- There are two approaches that can be followed for accomplishing a task:

   1. We can either work non stop to accomplish the goal or

   2. We can define a time limit for ourselves and achieve as how much we can in that time period. 

The second approach is called time boxing. 

What is a Time Boxed Approach?

- It is a simple one yet effective technique from the perspective of planning and over the years has been found effective in completing the jobs within a time limit. 

- If we look at this approach from the perspective of planning, it is found to be useful in the development processes which are involved with the development of a complex software system or application and the starting point is quite uncertain. 

- On the other hand if we look at it from the perspective of the personal development, it is extremely helpful in improving the effectiveness as well as the productivity.

- In fact this approach is quite easy to follow but requires maximum effort. 

- Using time boxing approach, you fix up a time period and try to achieve the maximum you can within that time frame. 

What is meant by Time Boxed Iterative Development

- Time boxing approach employed for the iterative development is termed as the time boxed iterative development. 

- In such an approach to iterative development the task is divided in to several small iterations and each iteration is provided with a time box.

- Each of these iterations has its own budget, deadline and the deliverable. 

- In some cases, time boxing iterative development is employed for managing the risk.

- Since it is important to meet deadlines, it is necessary that the deadlines are not changed without the prior permission of the project owner. 

- An inadequate breakdown of the task can lead to the underestimation of the time requirement of the project. 

- To avoid changing of the deadline following three points can be followed:

1. Reduction in the scope: requirements having lower impact can be dropped from the plan.
2. Keeping time as the fixed constraint throughout.
3. Increase in the cost: the resources and the over timing can be added in to the plan.

Many projects that have been developed with the time boxing technique have been reported to be successful. 

What are different benefits of test driven development?

Everywhere in the field of software engineering the talks about the test driven development are on!  This software development methodology was previously considered to share some relation with an agile software development methodology known by the name of extreme programming or XP. 

Later the process came to be known for its individual standing having its own objectives, features and benefits and of course drawbacks. The test driven development methodology is a kind of repetitive development process that progresses by means of the repetition of some short development cycles that consist of the following steps:

1. Addition of tests
2. Execution of all the tests to see if they fail or not.
3. Writing of the code by which the tests will pass.
4. Execution of the automated test cases and check whether they succeed or not.
5. Refactoring of the code
6. Repetition of all the above steps.

The repetition of the above mentioned steps is continued till the code which is under testing is considered to be complete and proper working. 

Benefits of Test Driven Development (TDD)

The test driven development is known for its several benefits that outnumber its drawbacks. This article is focused up on the benefits of the test driven development. So let us begin by counting its benefits:

1. According to a research it was observed that the test driven development requires writing of more and more tests which in turn increases the productivity of the testers honing their testing skills.

2. A hypothesis stating a relation between the code quality and test driven development was observed which cannot be neglected! There is a considerable affect of the test driven development up on the quality of the source code. This hypothesis established a direct correlation between the productivity and the test driven development.

3. Programmers who use the test driven development process do not need to invoke the debugger quite often as in the case of the other development methodologies. The test driven development when used with a version control system proved to be more effective in the production of the code that has passed the test.

4. The correctness of the code is validated by simple methods rather than the complicated ones in the test driven development along with the driving of the design of the software system or application.

5. It allows the software developer to imagine how a particular functionality will be put in use by the user or client and thus helps in maintaining a sharp focus up on the test cases. The application interface is what that is considered more than the implementation.

6. The test driven development provides a means to approach the code via the test cases unlike other methodologies that make use of preconceptions or some mathematical assertions etc.

7. The test driven development allows the developer to make small steps wherever required unlike the other development methodologies.

8. With the test driven development the developer can effectively focus up on the task at hand.

9. Test driven development provides the coverage of at least one test to each and every functionality. This makes the developers and programmers more confident of the code.

10. Even the though more length of code is required during the implementation of the test driven development, at the end the code typically gets shorter. With large number of tests it is made sure that there are fewer bugs in the code.

11. The testing is carried out quite frequently and early so that more of the bugs are caught. Thus the TDD in a way avoids hectic debugging of the code.

12. With test driven development, more flexible, extensible and modular code is produced. 

What is a template for a test plan?

Testing is responsible for checking the quality level of a program and effective testing requires an effective and efficient test plan.

HOW SHOULD A TEST PLAN BE?
- The test plan should be practical so that it can be easily implemented.
- A test plan is prepared keeping in view the test approach which is suitable for a particular kind of software testing.
- The other important things that are kept in mind while drawing out the test plan are functional specs, design specs and requirements.
- The test plan is a way of implementing the test approach.
- It makes use of test cases specifically designed for a kind of particular testing.

DOCUMENTATION OF TEST PLAN
The test plan is also documented and the documentation serves the following purposes:

1. It gives the details about the test approach used to test the software system or application.
2. The different aspects of a software system or application are identified.
3. The procedure to be followed for the testing is specified.
4. The tools to be used in the software testing are also mentioned in the documentation.
5. The resources to be used in the testing of the software product are specified.
6. The scheduling plan for the test plan is listed.
7. Sometimes it may also include the contact information of the people who are involved in the whole testing process.
8. It lists all the risks that may affect the software and also mentions their effect on the software.
9. The contingency plan is also included.
10.The test plan also specifies the bugs and errors and procedures to manage them.
11.The criterion for the development of the software is specified.

The scheduling plan or the test schedule is prepared by the lead tester. It is based up on the project schedule prepared by the product manager. A test plan template is like a sample on which you can build up your own test plan.

BASIC TEST SAMPLE
1. Introduction
The introduction part covers up the description of the documentation, schedules and other related documents.
(a) Description:
- This documentation contains a test plan for the project: “project name” which has been produced by both quality control and quality assurance.
- The test plan enlists and describes the test strategy and also the test approach.
- Quality assurance has been used for validating the quality of this software product prior to its release.
- Apart from software product, there are other resources which are required for successful execution of this software project.
- The “ project name” aims at improving the development strategy, maintenance and deployment by providing the following new features:

(b) Schedule: (schedule coverage and information based on the estimates of the quality assurance.)
(c) Related documents: (related documents attached to the documentation like design specifications list and functional and non functional specifications list.)

2. Resource Requirements:
It describes all the hardware and software components of the software product.
(a) Hardware:(hardware requirements of the project)
(b) Software:(software requirements of the project and tools used in the testing of the software)
(c) Staffing:(list of the names of the people who are involved in the project along with their responsibilities and what all trainings are required.)

3. Aspects to be tested and test approach: (provides the list of the aspects tested).
4. Aspects not to be tested.
5. Test outcomes
6. Risks
7. Exit criteria

What are different automated testing challenges?

Automated testing though being a modern testing methodology, faces challenges. Test automation is used whenever a large number of test cases are to be executed. A huge number of test cases cannot be executed manually.

AUTOMATED TESTING
- In automated testing, an automation tool or software is employed to handle the execution of the test cases.
- Such software even compares the actual outcome to the expected outcome.
- It efficiently generates the test data and also the preconditions.

MANUAL AND AUTOMATED TESTING
- Test automation process is mainly used to automate a manual testing process which is typically a much formalized one.
- Although manual testing is way more effective than the automated testing, it consumes too much of time and requires a larger effort.
- Though, manual testing is able to discover more errors and bugs, there are certain kinds of bugs that cannot be discovered up by manual testing.
- For automated testing a computer program is written that will take up the whole testing process which otherwise would have required manual work.
- Manual testing sounds like quite a drudgery! Isn’t it?
- Once the automated software is ready, the test cases can be executed quickly and can also be repeated any number of times without much fuss.
- Automated testing proves to be time, efforts and cost effective method for the software projects that are way too lengthy and need more maintenance.

CHALLENGES FACED IN AUTOMATED TESTING
Test automation tools are expensive and therefore they are employed in certain definite combinations with the manual testing. There are few challenges faced in automated testing:

1. COST EFFECTIVE
One of the challenges that automated testing faces is that it becomes cost effective only when used in the long term i.e., for regression testing of a software system or application.

2. Requirements
- The requirements for a software system or application are identified from the user stories.
- User stories are basically a description like of the software product.
- These requirements are sorted according to the priority as follows:

(a) High priority Requirements
These are the most critical requirements of a software system or application and have to be included in to the software before it is released to the public.
(b) Medium priority Requirements
These requirements are not so critical to the software system or application and hence can be worked around later. But, it should be done before the implementation.
(c) Low priority Requirements
These requirements are added just to enhance the overall quality of the software system or application. But, the software can do without these requirements.

After sorting up on the requirements in the order of their priority, the iterations for the release are planned and each iteration release takes about 1-2 months. Meanwhile too much of change occurs in the requirements of the software. Many a times such changes cause the iterations to bump. This is indeed a great challenge that hinders the implementation of the automating processes.

3. Tools
- The traditional tools don’t seem to work for all kinds of automated testing processes.
- For example, the traditional tools cannot be used for the agile automation process since they are capable of solving only the traditional problems.
- This makes it difficult to implement the automation in the early stages of the testing cycle.
- The deployment of the automated testing processes become simpler only after the whole software comes to the verge of completion since by then many issues had been settled.
- So, making a wise selection of tools is crucial for the automation and also poses a big challenge.

4. Effective resource management as the program grows poses another problem.
5. Lack of effective communication among the team members.

What are the qualities of a good tester?

The quality of the software testing depends up on the skills of the tester since the whole software testing process revolves on the instructions of the tester. Even a single wrong decision can cause the whole testing process go wrong.

A tester makes a decision based on his testing skills and capabilities. So a tester has to be very careful while taking any decisions regarding the software testing process.

ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD TESTER

1. GOOD TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE
- It is not necessary that a good tester might be an experienced one.
- A fresher having good technical and practical knowledge about the software testing methodologies and strategies can also perform effective software testing. - Though one learns from experience, it is often seen that there are many testers who even after having much experience are not able to carry out the software testing process efficiently in a well mannered way.
- They often keep bumping into the problems.

2. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TESTING PROCESS
- A good tester keeps the overview of the whole testing process in mind while drafting out the test plan.
- He/ she include all the aspects to be tested in the test plan.

3. FAULT FINDING
- He insists on finding the faults earlier in the software system or application since discovering the bugs and errors in the earlier phases of the development helps a great deal.
- It takes less effort to fix a bug or an error in the initial stage of the development when compared to the efforts required in the later stages of development.

4. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
- Testers know computer programming well.
- They are capable of maintaining good credibility with the fellow programmers.
- They have senior computer programmers working over them.

5. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT APPLICATION SOFTWARE
- They know the application software under testing very well.
- He/ she should be able to exploit the application software like an end user.
- Thinking like a user open ups new ways in which the application can be used.

6. SMARTNESS
- Good testers are really smart people and know how to exploit the application.
- Their intelligence is at par with the programmers.

7. NOTICING THINGS
- Good testers tend to notice those minute and little things that do not come to the notice of the other people.
- They keep a sharp eye on the behavior of the program.
- Even a little unusual happening can be an indication of a bug or error.

8. HANDLING CHAOS
- Obviously when a team comprising of people at different designations there will be a lot of chaos.
- Handling such chaos depends on the individual character.
- A good tester is expected to have good tolerance capacity or we can say he/ she should have patience.

9. HANDLING CRITICISM
- Testers have to suffer a lot of criticism from the programmers.
- A tester having good sense of humor can easily get through such a trap.

10. TENACITY
- Another social skill called tenacity is found in good testers.
- Tenacity is the ability of an individual to compromise with the opinions of the others.
- A good tester knows how to socially smart and is a good diplomat.

11. KEEPING TRACK
- A good tester keeps a track of his testing.
- He/ she keeps his observations organized.

12. SKEPTICAL NATURE
- A good tester is a bit skeptical.
- He/ she do not takes anything for granted and questions every thing suspicious for bugs and errors.

13. TOUGH
- A good tester is tough since he/ she has to suffer a lot of criticism and questions of the programmers.

14. SEARCHING NEW WAYS
- They are always searching for new ways of testing an application.
- They are technology hungry. Testing is quite a laborious task.

15. HONESTY
- Finally a good tester is honest with his duty and doesn’t follow any corruption.

What are the tips to achieve effective software testing documentation?

As we all know that documentation is some written text that comes along with any software system or application. Though being just a plain text its importance cannot be neglected.
Without it, we won’t be able to make the full use of the software system or application. It explains us its features and functionalities and how to use it effectively. Documentation has a very important role to play in the field of software testing:

1. It gives an overview of the design or architecture of the software system or application. It explains how the software is related to the environment and what basic principles have been used in constructing the software system or application.

2. It gives technical knowledge about the concerned software system or application. It provides the documentation of the code and other legal aspects of the software.

3. It contains the algorithm used in the software system and provides explicit knowledge about the user interface of the software system or application.

4. Documentation states the requirements of the software system and functionalities whether it be functional or non functional requirements. Other aspects like capabilities, attributes and characteristics of the software system or application are also mentioned in the documentation.

5. It contains tips on how to market the product.

6. Documentation also contains end users manuals and other supportive manuals meant for support staff and administrators.
For documentation to prove effective has to be written properly in a designed way.

Writing effective documentation is also a recognized skill in the software industry. Here we are going to discuss some tips which if followed can help you improve the quality of your documentation.

1. You should be familiar with all the format types of the documents like PDF or HTML. You should be able to work with all the types. It may happen some times that when you transfer your write up to the documentation software, it may not show up exactly as you desired. So don’t waste your time by unnecessarily formatting your text. Choose your documentation software with great care.

2. Divide your documentation process into following stages:

(a) Information gathering: First gather all the information that you will need to include in your documentation.

(b) Prototyping of the documentation: In this stage you will create a list of just the topics that you have to include in the documentation in the order you desire. Your list may contain samples against each topic for your ease and convenience.

(c) Initial drafting: This stage involves writing up of all the content under the relevant topics that you have already listed. This will take up most of your time. After you are done with the writing, just review it once.

(d) Final drafting: At this stage you have to review your documentation once more so as to check whether any changes are required. The documentation is now ready.

3. It is always observed that the documentation is always processed at the end i.e., when the dead lines are nearing. This should not be done since the documentation does not get much time for effective reviewing and changes. So it becomes important that we consider the documentation from the initial stage of software development.

4. The preparation of the documentation becomes more simple and easy if your organization has an expert documentation writer. But what if you don’t have? A programmer can himself/ herself write the documentation since he/ she knows the program really well. But the documentation won’t be so effective if the programmer has not got good skills in writing.

Whatever the case maybe, always remember that the documentation does affect the user’s opinion about the program. So keep it simple, effective and impressive.

What are different aspects of iterative relaxation method?

This article explains relaxation in terms of iterative methods. This piece of writing is all about iterative methods or techniques for solving system of equations. Relaxation methods are iterative methods defined for numerical mathematics.

They are extensively used for solving system of equations which include the following types:

- Large sparse linear systems
Relaxation methods are used to solve large sparse linear systems which were like discretizations of finite difference of differential equations.

- Linear equations
Relaxation methods are used for solving linear equations for problems like that of linear least squares problems.

- System of linear inequalities
Iterative or relaxation methods effectively solve the system of linear inequalities similar to the problems that arise during linear programming.

- Non linear system of equations
These days, iterative methods or relaxation methods have been developed for solving non linear system of equations.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ITERATIVE RELAXATION METHODS

1.) Relaxation methods or iterative methods prove to be very effective and important methodology in providing solutions for linear system of equations and especially for the ones that are used to model elliptical partial differential equations such as Poisson’s equation and Laplace’s equation along with its generalization.

2.) These linear systems of equations are basically used to generally use to describe problems related to boundary values in which the value of the function in the solution is indicated or specified on the boundary of a specified domain.

The basic problem is to compute a solution within the boundaries. People often confuse between iterative methods for relaxation and relaxation methods for mathematical optimizations.

The iterative methods for relaxation techniques are not to be confused with relaxations for mathematical optimizations that are used to approximate a difficult problem by a comparative problem which is more simpler than the former one and whose relaxed or iterated solution provides information about the solution which can be taken in to account for the original problem.

The relaxation method for two dimensional problems is used to readily generalize the other numbers of the dimensions.

- The relaxation iterative methods converge under general conditions.
- But, these methods make slow progress as compared to the other competing methods.
- The study of the iterative relaxation methods constitute an essential part of linear algebra since the transformations of the relaxation methods provide pre conditioners for newer methods that are in a way quite excellent.
- In some cases multi grid methods can be used in order to accelerate the methods.
- It is a common problem in path oriented testing to generate the test data that is required to make the program follow a given path.
- This problem is over come using iterative relaxation method.

What are the different quality attributes in software architecture?

Software is of no use without good quality. Incorporating high quality in software is very difficult. The term “quality” is itself very hard to be defined. We can only measure quality using certain attributes. These attributes are called software quality attributes.

WHAT IS THE IDEA BEHIND QUALITY ATTRIBUTES?
1. Quality attributes of a software system or application define its behavior.
2. The quality attributes give a certain idea of how much suitable is the software for a purpose or environment.
3. It is an essential component of software architecture.
4. Identification of quality attributes is necessary as it helps the system to be built according to the intended behavior.

Certain scenarios are used to measure the quality attributes.
1. The scenarios are very helpful in helping the program developer to make decisions that are qualitative in nature and related to the program behavior.
2. Writing good scenario statements is very important in identification of quality attributes.
3. Although the scenarios help in the identification of attributes, they don’t provide an effective way to achieve those attributes that has to be figured out separately.

Architectural methodologies come to help at this point.
1. There are several architectural methods possible to achieve a particular quality attribute.
2. The software architect should select the right method and use it according to the needs of the software.
3. He should justify the selection of a method and provide documentation on it.

Over the years, some basic quality attributes have been identified and recorded in a list. The quality attributes have been classified in to 4 categories:

1.Run-time system qualities
These attributes are measured when the software is in execution mode.
- Functionality is the ability via which the system completes the assigned task.
- Performance is the collective measure of resource utilization, the response time, and the through put of the system.
- Security is the ability of the system to protect itself from unauthorized access and modifications.
- Availability is the time period for which the system is available to use.
- Inter-operability is the ability of a system to run in cooperation with another system.
- Usability includes other attributes like affect, control, help, and efficiency.

2.Non runtime system quality attributes
These attributes cannot be measured when the software is in execution mode.
- Portability is the ability of a system to perform well in varying environments.
- Modifiability is the adaptive ability of a system by virtue of which it is able to adapt to the changes.
- Integratibility is the ability of the components of the system to work in coordination with each other.
- Reusability is the measure of extent to which the existing features can be used in new software.
- Testability is the measure of the extent to which the software can be tested.

3.Business quality attributes
These attributes affect the other quality attributes.
- Marketability is the value of the system in the market.
- Cost is the money value of the software.
- Schedule is the expected utilization of the system.
- Appropriateness

4.Architecture quality attributes
These are specific attributes concerning the software architecture.
- Correctness is said to account for over all satisfaction of the system requirements.
- Conceptual integrity is the ability of the components of a system to integrate with each other.

5.Domain specific quality attributes
These are specific attributes concerning the business domain.
- Calibrability is the ability of a software system by virtue of which it recalibrates itself according to a specific range of work.
- Sensitivity is the measure of response of the software system to the measuring of a quality attribute.

The software architecture is greatly influenced by the quality attributes of a system. A measure taken in favor of one quality attribute often goes against another.

What are different characteristics of Capability Maturity Model (CMM)?

Capability maturity model or CMM as it is often abbreviated. It is a development model developed after a prolonged study of the data collected from various organizations from all over the world.

Characteristics of Capability Maturity Model
1.The development of this model was funded by the USDD (United States department of defence).

2.The capability maturity model became the foundation for the development of software engineering institute or SEI as it is popularly known as.

3.The term “maturity” emphasises process optimization and level of formality.

4.Processes are optimized from ad-hoc practices to steps that have been formally defined.

5.Nowadays this model is being used effectively for management of result metrics.

6.Capability maturity model has proved to be great help in active optimization of the processes.

7.This model allows improvement in the development processes of an organization.

8.It is an effective and good approach towards improvement of any organization’s development processes.

9.This model is securely based upon the frame work of process maturity which was developed in 1989.

10.Initially it was used for objective assessment of the processes carried out by the contractors of the government to keep a track on the project.

11.CMM is not only used in the field of software engineering but, it is also applied to organizational processes of a business.

12.It is used in other fields like:
- Software development
- System engineering
- Software maintenance
- Project management
- System acquisition
- Risk management
- Information technology
- Human capital management and
- Services

Where is Capability Maturity Model used?

Capability maturity model is being extensively used in various organizations like in commerce, government offices, software development organizations and industry.

What was the need for Capability Maturity Model?
- In the 20th century the use of computers was wide spread.

- Computerized processes were thought to be less costly, effective and flexible way to carry out tasks.

- As more and more organizations started adopting computerized processing systems, the demand for software development eventually rose.

- As a result CMM was developed, of course with lots of failures.

- The computers were a new technology at that time and so there was a lot of pressure on developers to deliver quality products within a stipulated period of time.

- The US military was in havoc that because all their projects were running out of budget and time.

- So in order to know the reason behind all this, they funded the study at SEI. Active study started at SEI.

- It was watts Humphrey who actually came up with the actual idea of CMM.

- He based his approach on the evolution of software development practices.

- He concentrated on all the processes as one instead of concentrating on just one software development process.

- Since then the CMM has become popular among various organizations and is used as a powerful tool for improving overall performance of the business.

Though CMM proved to be a very effective tool for business but many times it caused problems in software development.

- CMM didn’t allow use of multiple software development practices. It was superseded by CMMI.

- These days still the capability maturity model is being used as the model with the capability of handling general processes when it comes to public domain.

Some Important Facts About CMM
1.CMM is still maintaining its position as a model of maturity of process.

2.CMM provides a place to start the development.

3.It uses a common language and the development is based upon a shared vision.

4.It effectively develops a frame work for actions according to their priority.

5.For an organization it defines the ways for improvement.

6.It is used an aid for better and effective understanding.

CMM has 5 aspects:
- Maturity level
- Key process area
- Goal
- Features
- Practices.

What are different test cases for testing web application cookies?

To carry out any testing, you need to create effective test cases. Then only you will be able to fetch more appropriate outcomes from the testing. To develop effective test cases for web site cookie testing, you need to understand how the cookies are stored and managed.

Whenever you use a web site a cookie will get written on to your hard disk. Normally cookies are stored in the following format:

Site: abc.com RMID (name of the cookie)
Name: RMID
Content: 1d14c8ec45bf79e0… (Written in Encrypted format)
Domain: .abc.com
Path: / (the path after the name of the domain)
Send For: the type of the connection
Expires: Tuesday, December 31, 2015 10:25:25 PM date of expiry as set by the developer)

The cookies are used for the following applications:

1.Implementation of the shopping cart:
Cookies are used to implement online product or service ordering system. Cookies are a way to remember what the user wants to purchase. Suppose, if at the instant of time the customer adds some products to his carts and closes the browser window, then the cookie remembers what he/ she wants to buy and the customer can see ll those products.

2. Personalized web sites:
When we are browsing and visit certain pages. We are asked whether or not to display this page. The user instruction is stored in the cookie and those pages are displayed or not displayed as per the wish of the user.

3. Marketing:
Cookies are extensively used to advertise on the web sites. These advertisements are controlled by the cookie itself.

4. User tracking:
Cookies are used to track the number of visitors of a web site.

5. User sessions:
User sessions can be tracked using the cookie using the contained user ID and the password.

Apart from the benefits, the cookies have some drawbacks also. These are:
- Some times disabling the cookies can lead to disabling of the site itself.

- If too many cookies are being written on each and every page navigation, and if the cookies are enabled, this can lead to user frustration can result in the loss of traffic.

- Cookies are concerned with security also.

- Some cookies contain user’s personal information and if they are hacked, then the hacker gets access to the user’s personal information.

- Some sites store your sensitive information cookies. This is not advisable since it can lead to serious privacy concerns.

Test Cases for testing Web Application Cookies

- First test case should test whether the application is writing the cookies on the disk properly or not?

- The privacy policy of the cookie makes sure that your personal information is not written in to the cookie. It also makes sure that no sensitive data is leaked.

- Even if some sensitive data is stored in the cookies, it is made sure that the data is stored in the encrypted format.

- Overuse of cookies can annoy the users if the browser prompts for cookies frequently. This can cause loss of traffic of the web site.

- Disabling of cookies can cause some functionalities of the web site to become disabled or the site may not function properly. But always ensure that there is no page crash during the testing. Delete all the previous cookies.

- Acceptation and rejection of some cookies: this is probably the best way to check the functionality of site. All you have to do is accept only some of cookies and reject the others. For executing this case, you can set your browser settings so as to prompt you whenever a cookie is being written so that you can accept or reject that cookie. Observe the behavior of site.

- Corruption of cookies by editing their content.

- Testing of cookie on multiple browsers.

What are different principles of communication?

Effective communication forms the most important part of the human interaction. Its importance can be hardly over looked. Each and every individual who forms a part of a team ought to know the principles of effetive communication in order to work and talk with the rest of the members of the organization and be listened to.

Here communication principles have been explained from different view poiints including litening and speaking.

Communication as we all know is a 2- way process of giving and receiving information through any channel.

The following basic principles apply everywhere irrespective of who the speaker or the listener are:

- Know your topic
- Know your purpose
- Know your audience
- Anticipate objections
- Present a clear picture
- Follow through on what you say in regard to your topic.
- Achieve credibility with your audience.
- Present what you want to say in different catchy ways
- Communicate a little at a time
- Develop a practical way to get feedback from your audience
- Use multiple and effective communication techniques

Communication is a complex process and sometimes even our own thoughts and opinions prove to be a major barrier in the way of effective communication.

Communication between different team members can be influenced by various environmental factors that actually don’t have anything to do with the content of the message.

Some of those factors have been listed below:

- Nature of the place or the room i.e., how cold or warm it is etc.
- Distractions like what is going on at that place.
- Reputation of the speaker.
- Appearance or the personality of the speaker.
- Knowledge of the listener about the topic.
- Language used.

According to a research, people remember most of what they hear and see rather reading or only seeing. To deal effectively with the decision makers, it is important to know and understand their opinions and interests.

Asking following questions will prove to be a great help:
- Whom to persuade?
- Who will make decisions about the change?
- What are the past experiences of the decision makers?
- What is current attitude of the decision maker?
- What is the most effective way to approach decision maker?
- What are the work styles of other team members?
- What programs will the new decision improve?
- How will the decision benefit the decision maker?

While making a formal presentation to the rest of the organization, the following principles hold good:

- Do not over state your case.
- Make appropriate use of understatement.
- Persuasion should be clear and simple.
- Be ready to back up facts or claims.
- Incorporate most anticipated objections.
- Use visuals aids appropriately.
- Try to find out what the other members think about your opinion.

Importance of Idea
- A good idea must always be recognized.
- The idea should be sold to those who can use it effectively.
- Organization must be convinced that the idea has enough merit to be acted upon. - Getting and giving feedback is also another important part of the communication process.
- Be patient and listen to the complete message.
- Don’t ever prejudge the incoming message.
- It’s well said that if you listen then you will be the most listened to!
- Good listeners demonstrate alertness.
- Always keep your attention directed towards the message and judge the content of the message.
- Distractions seriously impair listening.
- Always think critically and efficiently.
- Message should be conveyed in such a way that it discourages rejection and encourages retention.

What are different rules of thumb to write good test cases?

Writing good and effective test cases requires great skills since after all effective testing is achieved by effective test cases only!

Writing such test cases is a great skill in itself and can only be achieved by in depth knowledge of the software system or application on which the tests are being carried out and it also requires some experience.

Here I’m going to share some rules of thumb to write effective test cases, basic test cases definition and test case procedures.

What is a test case actually?
A typical test case is comprised of components that are meant to describe an action or event, input and an expected outcome in order to determine whether the software system or application is working as it is meant to or not.

Before writing a test case you should know the 4 levels or categories of the test cases to avoid their duplication.
The levels have been discussed below:

Level 1:
This level involves writing of basic test cases using the available specifications and requirements and documentation provided by the client.

Level 2:
This level is the practical stage and it involves writing of test cases based on the actual system flow and functional routines of the software system or application.

Level 3:
This level involves grouping of some particular test cases. Some test cases are grouped together and a test procedure is written. A test procedure can have maximum up to 10 test cases.

Level 4:
This level involves the automation of the project. This leads to minimization of the human’s interaction with software system or application. This is done basically to maximize the focus upon the currently updated functionality to be tested rather than focusing on regression testing.

Following this whole pattern you can have an automated testing suite from no testable item, i.e., you can observe a systematic growth.
- The tester should know the objective of each and every particular test case.
- The basic objective of all the test cases is to validate the testing coverage of the software system or application.
- You need to strictly follow test cases standards. Writing test cases reduces the chances of following an ad- hoc approach.

Below given is a basic test case format:
- Test case id
- Units to be tested
- Assumptions
- Input /test data
- Execution steps
- Expected outcome
- Actual outcome
- Success or failure
- Observation
- Comments

You need to write a test case statement also. So here’s the basic format:

- Verify:
This is the first word of the test case statement.
- Using tool names, tag names, dialogues etc: this is basically to identify what is being tested.
- Verification with conditions.
- Verification to result.

For any kind of testing:

- You will cover all types of tests like functional test cases, negative value test cases and boundary value test cases.
- Be careful while writing the test cases.
- Keep it simple and easy to understand.
- Don’t write test case statements with the length of an essay.
- Keep it brief and to the point.
- Follow the test cases and test case statements formats stated above.
- Generally spreadsheets are used to write test cases which make them more presentable and easy to understand.
- You can use tools like “test director” when you want to automate the test cases.
- Writing clear and concise test cases forms an important part of software quality assurance.
- Also be careful that a good number of test cases cover functional testing which means that the primary focus is on how the feature works.

What are different aspects of exploratory testing?

Exploratory testing is a usual approach to software testing and can be defined as a test designing, test execution and simultaneously learning process.

It was named by Cem Kaner in 1983. "He stated exploratory testing as a kind of software testing that is emphasized and focused up on the responsibility and the personal freedom of the software tester to optimize the quality and effectiveness of his /her work continually by taking in to consideration mutually supportive activities like test designing, test related learning, test result interpretation and test execution".

These activities run in parallel to each other.

- Exploratory testing basically heeds to exploiting the creativity of the tester or the programmer.
- During the testing of the software, the tester comes across various new things to learn together with experiencing them.
- The tester or the developer with his /her creativity can generate new and better test cases to run.
- Exploratory can be thought of as a black box testing methodology or technique instead of thinking of it as an approach to testing that can be used for any type of testing methodology and also at any phase of development of the software system or application.

According to some misconceptions, the testing technique or the object is considered to be the key here but, it is not so.
- In actual, the key is the cognitive engagement of the software tester and his /her responsibility of managing time.
- The effectiveness of the exploratory testing depends basically on how it is performed.
- Exploratory testing should always be performed by skilled testers or developers.
- Exploratory testing can also be thought of as an intellectual activity.
- Exploratory testing is all about discovering how the software system or application actually works and how it handles both the easy and difficult cases.

The effectiveness or the quality of the testing is largely dependent on the skills for developing test cases by the tester.
- It also depends on his/ her ability to find defects in the software code.
- We can say that the quality of the testing is directly proportional to the knowledge of the tester about the software product and different test methods.
- The more he/ she know about the software system under test and testing methodologies, the better will be the exploratory testing.
- While carrying out the exploratory testing, the expectations should be kept open.
- Only some results can be expected or predicted but not all.
- The tester is responsible for configuring, operating, observing and evaluating the product itself and its behavior, investigating the result and reporting information. - If we see practically the actual testing is a combination of both scripted testing and exploratory testing but, depending on the context of the testing the tendency is towards either one.
- Exploratory testing is more about thinking how the testing should be done more than a testing technique.

The documentation part of the exploratory testing includes:

- Documentation of all the test cases used.
- Documentation of the bugs.

Exploratory testers use tools like:
- Screen capture
- Video tools

These tools are used to generate situations of interest or as a record of the exploratory session. For exploratory testing less before hand testing is needed. Bugs are discovered quickly and the approach tends to be more intellectual. Deductive reasoning based on the results of the previous tests can also be used in the exploratory testing. This leads to increased bug detection when used properly. The main disadvantage is that the tests can’t be reviewed before hand.

What are different characteristics of Scalability Testing?

Scalability can be essentially defined as the ability of a software application, network, process or program to effective and gracefully handle the increasing workload and effectively and easily carry out the specified tasks assigned properly. Throughput is the best example for this ability of a software application.

- Scalability as such is very difficult to define without practical examples.
- Therefore, scalability is defined based on some dimensions.
- Scalability is very much needed in communication areas like in a network, in software applications, in handling huge databases and it is also a very important aspect in routers and networking.
- Software applications and systems having the property of scalability are called scalable software systems or applications.
- They improve throughput to surprising extent after addition of new hardware devices. Such systems are commonly known as scalable systems.
- Similarly if a design, network, systems protocol, program or algorithm is suitable and efficient enough and works well when applied to greater conditions and problems in which the input data is in large amount or the problem or situation has got several nodes, they are said to be efficiently scalable.

If, during the process of increasing the quantity of input data the program fails, the program is not said to scale. Scalability is so much needed in the field of information technology. Scalability can be measured in several dimensions. Scalability testing deals with testing of these dimensions only.

The kinds of scalability testing have been discussed in detail below:

- Functional scalability testing:
In this testing new functionalities which are added to the software application or the program to enhance and improve its overall working are tested.

- Geographic scalability testing:
This testing tests the ability of the software system or the application to maintain its performance and throughput, and usefulness irrespective of distributing of working nodes in some geographical pattern.

- Administrative scalability testing:
This testing deals with the increment of working nodes in software, so that a single difficult task is divided among smaller units making it much easier to accomplish.

- Load scalability testing:
This testing can be defined as the testing of the ability of a divided program to divide further and unite again to take light and heavy workload accordingly.

There are several examples available for scalability today. Few have been listed below:

- Routing table of the routing protocol which increases in extent with respect to the increase in the extent of network.
- DBMS (data base management system) is scalable in the sense that more and more data can be uploaded to it by adding new required devices.
- Online transaction processing system can also be stated as scalable as one can upgrade it and more transactions can be done easily at one time.
- Domain name system is a distributed system and works effectively even when the hosting is on the level of World Wide Web. It is scalable.

Scaling is done basically in two ways. These two ways have been discussed below:

- Scaling out or scaling horizontally: This method of involves addition of several nodes or work stations to an already divided or distributed software application. This method has led to the development of technologies namely batch processing management and remote maintenance which were not available before the discovery of this technology.

Scaling up or scaling vertically:
Scaling up or scaling vertically can be defined as the addition of hardware or software resources to any single node of the system. These resources can either be CPUs or memory devices. This method of scaling has led to a tremendous improvement in virtualization technology.

What are different characteristics of visual testing?

Visual testing is a frequently used testing technique for testing software. But, what it is actually?

Visual testing technique is categorized under non destructive testing. Non destructive testing includes several other techniques. As the name suggests, non destructive testing techniques do not involve vigorous checking of the software structure and so does visual testing or “VT” as it is abbreviated and commonly used.

Visual testing itself suggests that it has everything to do with visual examination of the program or the source code. Anything which is to be tested is first examined visually. Later the operations are carried out. Similarly for software systems and programs also the same procedure is used. They are first checked visually and later they are tested with white box testing or black box testing etc. even though visual testing sounds like an unsophisticated method of testing, it is quite effective.

Many errors and flaws in the source code and programs can be spotted during visual testing. It is more effective when a large number of professionals carry out the visual examination. Visual checks how sound the program or the software application is before it is brought in use.Visual testing sounds very simple but, it requires quite a lot of knowledge.Even though it is very primitive kind of testing it has got a lot of advantages.

Few have been listed below:

- Simplicity
Visual testing is very easy to carry out. One doesn’t require any complex techniques or software.

- Rapidity
Apart from being simple, it is faster in process when compared to other kinds of testing techniques. One doesn’t require any extra efforts.

- Low cost
Visual testing is priced very low. You are charged only for hiring professionals to examine your software and nothing else. If it was to be tested by the writer itself, then it would have been absolutely no cost.

- Minimal training
The individuals or the professionals testing the software visually need minimal training just enough to spot big blunders in the program.

- Equipment requirement
It requires no special equipment.

Visual testing can be performed almost anytime. You can visually examine a program simultaneously while making some modifications or manipulating or executing the program.

In contrast to these advantages there are limitations to visual testing. They have been discussed below:

- Visual testing can detect only the mistakes that appear on the surface of the program. It cannot discover the discrepancies hidden in the internal structure of the program.
- The quality of visual testing also depends on the resolution of the eyes of the tester.
- Extent of visual testing depends on the fatigue of the person who’s inspecting. Due to prolonged testing, the examiner may start getting headaches and pain in the eyes.
- Also during visual examination there’s a lot of distraction due to surrounding environment. It impossible for a person to devote himself entirely to the visual testing without paying attention to what’s happening around him.

Visual testing holds good when it comes to checking the size or length of the program, to determine its completeness, to make sure the correct number of units or modules are there in the program, and to inspect the format of the program; basically to ensure that the presentation of the program is good.

Visual testing spots the big mistakes. They can be corrected at a very low level of testing and this in turn reduces the future workload. Requirements include:
- A vision test of the inspector
- Measurement of light with a light meter.

The inspector only needs to set up a visual contact with the part of the program that is to be tested.Visual testing also gives an idea on how to make a program better.

Continuous Delivery: Reliable Software Releases through Build, Test, and Deployment Automation

The Art of Unit Testing: With Examples in .Net

Managing the Testing Process: Practical Tools and Techniques for Managing Hardware and Software Testing

How to define effective metrics? What is the use of quality metrics?

The goal of software engineering is to develop a product that is of high quality. Metrics that are derived from these measures indicates the effectiveness of individual. Metric is a standard for measurement. A metric is a measure that captures performance and allows comparisons and supports business strategy.

The use of quality metrics is to spot the performance trends, comparing alternatives and predicting the performance. However, the costs and benefits of a particular quality metric should be considered as collecting data will not necessarily result in higher performance levels.

Effective metrics should define performance in quantifiable entity and a capable system exists to measure the entity. Effective metrics allow for actionable responses if the performance is unacceptable.

Identifying effective metrics is a bit difficult. Ranges can be identified for an acceptable performance of a metric. It can be referred as breakpoints in case metrics are defined for services and targets, tolerances, or specifications for manufacturing.

Breakpoints are levels where there is a chance that the improved performance will change the behavior of the customer. A target is a desired value of a characteristic. A tolerance is an allowable deviation from target value.

Introduction to Crystal Agile Methodology and Agile Modeling

Crystal agile methodology is a software development approach. It is applicable for projects with small teams. It is a light weight approach. It is an adaptable approach. Crystal is a human powered methodology which means focus is on enhancing the work of the people. Crystal is ultra light which means it reduces the paper work, overhead involved. Crystal is stretch to fit methodology which means it grows just enough to get it to the right size. Crystal focuses on people and not processes.

Crystal consists of methodologies like Crystal Yellow, Crystal Orange, Crystal clear etc. It believes that project requires policies, practices and priorities as characteristics. Crystal methodology is based on the observation of various teams. Crystal methodology focuses on things that matter the most and make the most difference.

Agile Modeling suggests modeling is essential for all systems, but that the complexity, type, and size of the model must be in accordance with the software that is to be built. Some principles of agile methodology are:
- Agile Modeling is a practice based methodology.
- Values, principles and practices combine together for modeling.
- Agile Modeling is not a prescriptive process.
- Agile Modeling is not a complete software process.
- Agile Modeling focus on effective modeling and documentation.
- Developers using agile modeling should model with a purpose.
- Different models should be used to present different aspect and only those models should be kept that provide value.
- Traveling light is an appropriate approach for all software engineering work. Build only those models that provide value - no more, no less.
- During modeling, content is more important than representation.
- Be aware of the models and tools that are used to create them.
- The modeling approach should be able to adapt to the needs of agile team.

Agile modeling becomes difficult to implement in large teams, lack of modeling skills or team members are not co-located.