STAREAST and Better Software MagazineSee me at STAREAST, a very nice conference which this year will be held April 15-20, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. I will do a tutorial there on how to deal with large and complex test automation projects, with the title "BIG Testing". A project can be considered "big" for various reasons. It may need many tests, it may involve complex technologies, or it may have have multiple versions that also have to run on various platforms or with various browsers. This class will present various points of view to deal with big projects, like method, tooling, team organization, out-sourcing, etc. In the same conference I will also to do a presentation on "Test Design for Automation". In here I will discuss the viewpoint that automation success is not just a matter of clever programming. It matters how you organize and design your tests. For example letting functional tests also verify UI properties like whether a button is enabled will produce a messy and hard to maintain result, that will be unnecessarily sensitive to changes in the system under tests. Also please take a look at the March/April 2011 issue of the Better Software magazine. In there you will find an overview article I wrote about Action Based Testing, in which the method is presented, and recommendations are given to make automation successful. And did you know we regularly publish a magazine ourselves, edited by our Michael Hackett? It works with themed issues, without pitching products or services. So if you need to get a quick and useful understanding of a topic like exploratory testing or test methods and metrics, this is a good place to go.
Action Based Testing and TestArchitectThere is little doubt that testing and test automation are among the most challenging tasks in IT. I'm working in this field since 1994 and still learn something new almost every day. Creating tests can be complex, automating them brings issues of maintainability, and it can be challenging to have them ready when needed in agile development cycle ("just in time automation"). In my view the key to success is something I call test architecture. A test architecture consists of a good high level organization of tests into what I call test modules, and an agile keyword-driven automation framework. My solutions for these are the Action Based Testing method and the TestArchitect tool set that supports it. A good test process in my view is all of these:
- it must be effective, aggressive in finding also the hidden bugs
- it must be efficient, keeping costs under control, but most of all not costing too much time
- it must be manageable. Managing testing and test automation can even be more challenging than managing software development
- it must be fun. Boring execution tasks should be done by automation, so the testers can focus on more creative and ambitious test scenarios
When do I feel that test automation is successful? I use, as a rule of thumb, the two "5% Rules Of Test Automation":
- no more than 5% of test cases should be executed manually
- no more than 5% of testing resources should be needed to achieve this
These rules are aggressive, but I think they're achievable, and they help put the focus back on testing, not on test execution or automation scripting. Articles and BlogsOver the years I have written quite a bit about testing and automation topics. Here is a selection. Let me know what you think, reactions welcome.
ManagementAction Based TestingOverview article of the Action Based Testing method in Better Software magazine Key Success Factors for Keyword Driven TestingWhat makes keyword testing successful The 5% Challenges of Test Automation (PDF) Uphill challenges and how to meet them QA All Stars, Building your Dream Team (PDF) A vision on creating a successful testing and test automation team Agile Test Development with ABTHow can agile fit into testing Action Based Testing: The Solution For Agile Test AutomationThis was published in our Magazine. It applies ABT to agile projects Testing and Test Automation in Agile ProjectsPublished in STP, summarizing the ABT approach for agile projects Test GovernanceHow to organize and control testing in an organization Business Test PoliciesWhat are key policies around testing and software quality, and how to identify them Testing Under PressureRelieving the "crunch zone" Capitalizing Testware as an AssetA view of the intrinsic value of tests for the bottom line, independent from the systems they are testing Software Test Automation: Divide and Conquer An ancient vision provides a valuable principle for automated testing Centralize? Decentralize? ConcentralizeAnother take on the question of centralizing or decentralizing testing and test automation
Methods and practicesSoap Opera TestingAn alternative slightly off-beat, but potentially effective technique for test design Action FiguresModel-based testing using keywords Automation and RequirementsHow do system requirements play into testing Bonus BugsNew bugs as side effect of system changes, and how to prevent them Is Action Based Testing an Automation Technique?As a keyword based approach, ABT is not necessarily a way of automating Is Test Automation the Same as Programming Tests?No, it is not The Potential and Risks of Keyword Based TestingOften hailed as panacea, this article introduces some reality into the technique that is quickly gaining ground Are Use Cases Harmful For Test Automation?Questions about the value of a common practice
Test designKey Principles of Test DesignIntroducing 3 "holy grails" to make testing more effective and achieve better automation The First Holy Grail of Test DesignEffective breakdown of tests and manageable units, called "test modules" The Second Holy Grail of Test DesignSelecting the right approach for each test module The Third Holy Grail of Test DesignSpecifying the test cases at the right level of abstraction Jungle TestingExpect the unexpected
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