(Free) Hands-On Training on Software Testing

Course Overview

Update: The seats have been filled and registrations have closed. Thanks.
This time, I am conducting this course in collaboration with STeP-IN Forum and the target audience is testers with experience between 0 - 3 years.

Schedule:
Date: August 1st to August 30th (excluding weekends)
Time: 06.00 am to 07.30 am IST
Link to Register for the course: http://stepinforum.org/software-testing-training

Course Overview:
As highlighted in the mind map, this training will focus on the following topics:

Basics of Software Testing
We will start with understanding the basic terms like bug - issue - quality - defect. We will definitely NOT go through V-Model, Waterfall and many other such terms which is slowly losing out its importance in today's testing world.

Test Ideas
This session will focus on how to generate test ideas, learn from different sources to test any product. We will also know that software testing is not only about testing Functionality.

Bug Hunting
There is no fun without bugs. So, how do we find them? How is bug investigation different from bug hunting? How to find Sev 1 bugs?

Tools
We will definitely be using many tools in our sessions. We will also focus on how to scout for resources and tools in particular.

Test Reporting
Once a tester completes the test execution, (s)he should be able to provide a professional test report. We will create different reports and get feedback from the group.

Generic
Does your learning stop after a course or workshop? How can one learn about software testing every day? We will go through few important areas for self-learning.
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Link to Register for the course: http://stepinforum.org/software-testing-training

Leia Mais…

Release of my 4th book on software testing

I have released a book each on my mother's birthday followed by my sister's birthday and my birthday. Obviously, my father was feeling left out and I am releasing a book on his birthday. This is my fourth book on software testing.

Book 1: What If... A question every software tester must ask.

When I logged my first bug, I thought – ‘What if’ this bug was found after release? Years passed, many products were released, and I gained a lot of varied experiences.  I made a few embarrassing mistakes too. There were few instances where I wished that someone had warned me beforehand. So, I started preparing a book of tips targeted at software testers. Special care has been taken to keep each of the 22 chapters short and to the point. Emphasis is on ready-to-use tips which would give you instant results.

Book 2: What If... 50+ tips to win testing contests. 

This book is a collection of tips which might help any tester competing in a testing contest. Testers are under tremendous time pressure and the competition is tough. Skilled testers have a better chance of winning the contests. After participating in a number of testing contests, I realized that it is easy to win any contest if you dedicate some time and demonstrate the right skills. In this book, I have tried to highlight few points which will improve your chances of winning the testing contest.

Book 3: What If... 50+ tips to boost your productivity.

This book is a small collection of tips, tricks and list of tools to help boost your productivity. This is entirely based on my experiences in software testing as well as using computer. Internet is so powerful. A simple Google search will yield you so many search results. Google for “Screen Capture Tools” and you will find a minimum of ten tools in the first page itself. Which one do you choose? Do you have the time to try each one of them? What about Windows command prompts? There seems to be more than fifty commands. Which one is useful for us, especially for a software tester?

Book 4: What If... 50+ tips to improve tester-programmer relationship

This book brings into picture a very important person - the programmer & the programming team. Each one of us might have the experience of working with at least one tough programmer. Some programmers are very friendly and help us with finding bugs. Some of them are very strict with their deliverables and do not respond to any queries outside office hours. Some hardly talk to you unless you ask them a question. There are different types of programmers and bring in variety to our testing challenges. As I write this book, I have completed over six years of software testing and interacting with multiple programmers across different projects within and outside the company. With a rich experience of working with tough programmers, I write this book to help you.

My special thanks to my family members (for having a gap between the birthdays), my friends for accepting me as I am, my friends on twitter, facebook who keep encouraging my work, the programmers who keep challenging me, those who bought my first three books, those who provided me feedback and those who continue to believe in me :)
And of course, my love and thanks to my father who continues to encourage me in everything I do.

How to buy the books:
Download from bit.ly/booksaj

Leia Mais…

Thanks Arul...

Unedited Skype chat transcript of a conversation between two testers.
******************************************************************************

[11:41:54 AM] arulprasath: k
[11:42:21 AM] arulprasath: and then tell me or send me any article which explains
[11:42:30 AM] arulprasath: clearly abot
[11:42:39 AM] arulprasath: web application testing
[11:42:42 AM] arulprasath: for fresher
[11:42:47 AM] arulprasath: in software testing
[11:43:33 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Have you googled?
[11:43:37 AM] arulprasath: yes
[11:43:43 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: and then?
[11:43:56 AM] arulprasath: but they  are not up to standards
[11:44:00 AM] arulprasath: ?
[11:44:17 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: what do you mean by 'they are not up to standards'
[11:44:37 AM] arulprasath: since you are have exp any article which helps freshers
[11:44:43 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: hmmm
[11:44:46 AM] arulprasath: thats why
[11:45:09 AM] arulprasath: i am asking
[11:45:26 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Agreed. Give me few mins plz
[11:45:39 AM] arulprasath: k
[11:46:51 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Arul, let me be frank with you
[11:46:59 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: To help you, you must help me
[11:47:04 AM] arulprasath: k
[11:47:19 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: 1. Please understand that what you are asking is a very vast subject
[11:47:55 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: 2. People will respect you more and you will gain more credibility when you show them what efforts you have put
[11:48:07 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: If you don't understand anything, Ask that.
[11:48:11 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Google that
[11:48:16 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Read books
[11:48:20 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Read articles
[11:48:23 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Blog about it
[11:48:32 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: meet people who know or talk about it
[11:48:49 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: and ask if your assumptions or understanding is right or wrong
[11:48:57 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Now tell me what should I do?
[11:49:21 AM] arulprasath: k i will do  that
[11:49:25 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Good!
[11:49:27 AM] arulprasath: :)
[11:49:37 AM | Edited 11:49:42 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: I will wait for your results of your efforts
[11:50:04 AM] arulprasath: yes surely
[11:50:22 AM] arulprasath: monday i will send article regarding this
[11:50:29 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Very good!
[11:50:30 AM] arulprasath: thanks
[11:50:36 AM] arulprasath: :)
[11:50:36 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: Can I publish this on my blog?
[11:50:56 AM] arulprasath: yes
[11:50:59 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: :)
[11:51:03 AM] arulprasath: it your decision
[11:51:14 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: its involving you
[11:51:15 AM] arulprasath: if you feel it is good u can do
[11:51:21 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: so, I am asking you
[11:51:31 AM] arulprasath: :)
[11:51:45 AM] Ajay Balamurugadas: I will just copy paste the above conversation into a blog post
[11:52:07 AM] arulprasath: k np

******************************************************************************
I am confident that Arul will keep his promise...

Leia Mais…

WeekendTesting & its benefits to a fresher

Q: I am a fresher. I want to improve my testing skills. How will Weekend Testing help me?
A: Welcome to Weekend Testing (WT). I am happy for you for two reasons:
You are aware of WT & WT is one of the good platforms to improve your knowledge.

Let me highlight some of the ways WT can benefit you:


1. An excellent platform to test your skills.
WT has this brilliant idea of coming with a unique mission every session. Though there are chapters in India, Europe, Australia-New Zealand, Americas and European WeekNight Testing as of today, every chapter makes sure that no mission-product combination is repeated. Every session is a totally different experience and what's cool is you are free to participate in any of the sessions - No chapter restrictions.

1. Varied experience
If you have no experience of working in any organization, I cannot think of any other easy way to face such a diverse set of products & missions. Just imagine, after every weekend you would have tested 2-3 products and at least one would interest you to explore more. Last week, I learnt about Rapid Reporter, Text2MindMap and Process Monitor. Worst case, you might learn about 1 tool every weekend. Isn't that cool? Different tools, different experience added to your ammunition list.

1. Excellent repository of experience reports
If you are not satisfied by the sessions and want more, the WT website - www.weekendtesting.com must act as a huge repository of excellent experience reports. We are open for scrutiny. You can go through each report, chat transcript at your own pace and ask us questions. We are ready to help you. You might have an idea which no one of us thought of. We are waiting to hear that idea.
WT is all about Test, Learn and Contribute.

1. Cost Vs Value
We ask for two hours of your time and nothing else. Two hours of pure learning, interactions with other testers, new products, new friends, new test ideas. Think about the value you get for just two hours of investment. Cost Vs Value. WT is aware that you are dedicating your valuable time and hence tries its best to give you a learning platform. Make use of it.

1. Be part of the community
Join us on twitter, create your own blog, add us on Gmail, Skype. Lets talk. So many WT sessions are discussed even after the sessions on different forums, blogs and on twitter. Take part in those discussions. You might learn something new. Build your reputation, demonstrate your testing skills and be part of the testing community. Your next organization's QA lead might be someone whom you paired with in a weekendtesting session!

Looking forward to your participation in weekendtesting sessions.

Leia Mais…