The Latest
An Effective Technique for Verifying Software Design[magazine] While working at a telecommunications company, Linda Hamm had the task of developing and automating tests in a very short time with high-quality expectations. One of the projects was a rule-based expert system for switch maintenance. To help nail down the requirements, the group wrote state diagrams. This article is about what they are and how the group used them. |
Linda Hamm
June 26, 2002 |
|
How to Avoid Getting Burned by Your CD Release[magazine] Despite the risks, many companies do not have a formal release process. This article will guide you through some simple steps to verify your software prior to release. |
George Hamblen
June 26, 2002 |
|
Automating Testing[magazine] Brian Marick gives a simplified history of test automation tools and provides a list of test automation links. |
Brian Marick
June 26, 2002 |
|
A Look at e-Test Suite 301 by RSW[magazine] RSW Software’s e-Test Suite contains four main components. The reusable scripts recorded with RSW e-Tester (the functional testing tool) feed RSW e-Load (the performance and stress-testing tool). For reporting and analysis purposes, results gathered during performance testing feed to RSW e-Reporter. The final tool, RSW e-Monitor, is responsible for monitoring the status of Websites by sending periodic page requests and validating them against previously recorded results. |
Christopher Nolan
June 26, 2002 |
|
Nightly Builds: A Tester's Early Warning System[magazine] We're all looking for an effective "Distant Early Warning" line of testing: a procedure that will minimize integration bugs, reduce the risk of low quality by allowing bugs to be caught early, make it easier to debug, and improve the visibility of the status of the system under test. One practice that meets those needs is the "nightly"—essentially a daily build and sanity test of the product. |
Carla Oexmann
June 26, 2002 |
|
Project Politics[magazine] Politics is often seen as a dirty business--but in the right hands it can be a way of bridging the gap between "I've got a great new project idea" and getting the right product into your customers' hands. Elizabeth Schmitz shares what she's learned about project politics. |
Elizabeth Schmitz
June 26, 2002 |
|
A Look at PREfix by Intrinsa[magazine] PREfix provides a source code simulation tool that is able to perform automatic review for a wide range of programming defects that lead to program crashes. Defects reported by PREfix include de-referencing NULL pointers, using uninitialized memory, leaking memory or resources, or using illegal values. Here is an analysis of the product. |
Rodney Wilson
June 26, 2002 |
|
Project Planning: It's in the Cards[magazine] Spend two days with an engineer named Eddie, and see how one skeptic learned the value of a low-tech, team-intensive, Cards-on-the-Wall planning technique. |
Dwayne Phillips
June 26, 2002 |
|
A Study in Failures[magazine] Examples of mistakes, manifestations, and problems help us understand all parts of the software. Brian Marick suggests Web resources that examine software failures. |
Brian Marick
June 26, 2002 |
|
Learning to Love Unit Testing[magazine] Unit testing can become a developer's best friend. Find out how and why from two programmers who now rely on this practice to improve development. |
||
Getting the Most Out of Conferences[magazine] Will the benefits of attending, learning, and networking at a conference outweigh the costs of travel, time, and energy? Here are some tips on how to get the most out of conferences. |
Alyn Wambeke
June 26, 2002 |
|
Managing the End Game: Avoiding End-of-Project Complications by putting the Test Team in Charge[magazine] Experiencing end-of-project woes? Read how one test team guided the work at the end of a project by establishing daily goals to meet weekly objectives; by grading the product with a two-tiered approach; and by posting frequent status reports. |
Cindy Necaise
June 26, 2002 |
|
Speaking of Quality[magazine] Technical Editors Esther Derby and Brian Marick introduce Volume Four of STQE magazine. |
||
Bret Pettichord on Test Automation[magazine] Here is Bret Pettichord's collection of the most influential papers, books, and Web sites on software test automation. One benefit of reviewing various reports is that you're more likely to find one that is close to your own situation. All of these reports come from people who've done the work and have reported honestly about it. |
||
The Bug You're Most Likely to Miss[magazine] We all miss some bugs, but the bug you're most likely to miss is one that gives wrong results that might look right. Let's look at a famous and costly example, then we'll see what we can do during testing to avoid a similar disaster. |
Bob Stahl
June 26, 2002 |