Better Software Magazine Articles

Orchestrating Integration Testing

Verifying the operation of a complex software system can be a daunting task. Here is a systematic approach to the job. This article details six steps for testing duct-taped programs.

Len DiMaggio
TestCafe: A Vendor Independent Test Execution Controller

This article gives examples of modular test design diagrams. It also discusses why using a custom test execution controller for your network project will benefit your team.

Jeff Feldstein, Cisco Systems Inc
Testing the Bold and the Beautiful

During testing, testers mostly stress the 'Bold' part of the software and comfortably overlook the 'Beautiful' side. Beauty and functionality are treated as two extreme ends in software quality, where only one of the two can meet perfection at a given time. But the viewers of the famous soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful know very well that both are important. In this article, Yogita Sahoo explains why aesthetics are such an important contribution.

Yogita Sahoo's picture Yogita Sahoo
Process and Personality

People tend to gravitate toward what they feel comfortable with. This is also true when it's time to choose a testing methodology. Is a particular personality more suited to software testing than another? In this issue's "Technically Speaking," Brian Marick explores this possibility.

Brian Marick
Usability and Privacy

While most bugs that make headline news are due to careless software implementations exploited by skilled hackers, the problems in KaZaA center around its user interface. This article details KaZaA's application flaws and then suggests ways to prevent such flaws.

Nathaniel Good
Deconstructing GUI Test Automation

Window mapping gives elements specific names so tests are easier to update and understand. Task libraries group sequences of steps that make up part of user tasks when those sequences show up in multiple tests. Data-driven test automation separates the parameters of a test case from the test script so that the test script can be reused for many related tasks. Keyword-driven test automation formats tests as tables or spreadsheets and creates parsers to read and execute the test descriptions. Take advantage of these four techniques to help you test a graphical user interface, and see how developers can make your life easier.

Bret Pettichord's picture Bret Pettichord
Adventures in Session-Based Testing

Many projects' first test approaches are characterized by uncontrolled, ad hoc testing. Session-based testing can help you manage unscripted, reactive testing. By using sessions to control and record the work done by the test team, you can use these methods to support and give impetus to ongoing learning and team improvement. You'll be introduced to simple tools and metrics to support test sessions, illustrated by real-world examples from two case studies.

James Lyndsay, Workroom Productions
Testing Component-Based Software

Today component engineering is gaining substantial interest in the software engineering community. Jerry Gao provides insight and observations on component testability and proposes a new model to represent and measure the maturity levels of a component testing process. In this presentation, you will identify, classify, and discuss new issues in testing component-based software.

Jerry Gao, San Jose State University
Understanding Test Oracles

To get value from test execution, the results must be determined and evaluated. This presentation describes the dimensions and alternative approaches to results. It identifies three types of oracles and more than ten different reference functions. Listen as David Gelperin discusses design for testability issues relating to lower-cost oracles and the elements of an oracle strategy.

David Gelperin, Software Quality Engineering
Managing User Acceptance Testing in Large Projects

Managing user acceptance testing poses many challenges, especially in large-scale projects. Julie Tarwater explores the issues of planning, coordinating, and executing effective user testing with a large number of end users. Learn strategies for ensuring user acceptance while exploring the pros and cons of each. Discover ways to prioritize issues that arise from user testing.

Julie Tarwater, T. Rowe Price Associates

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