Archive for the ‘Agile Testing’ Category

Free Testing Conference in London

Just to let you know, we’ll be in London next week at TestExpo. If anyone is in the area, please come along. It is a great conference and expo for all those involved in testing and QA and best of all, it’s free to attend!

This year’s TestExpo takes place on Thursday (25th March) at the Congress Centre in London.

Our very own George Wilson will be presenting a conference session on the subject of Agile testing. It kicks off at 10am and will explore how to define a test process to ensure application quality within an Agile environment.

Here’s the presentation synopsis – “Agile is a methodology that is seeing increasingly widespread adoption. Yet for the QA professional an Agile approach can cause discomfort. In the ideal world they would have a ‘finished’ product to verify against a finished specification. To be asked to validate a moving target against a changing backdrop is counter intuitive. It means that the use of technology and automation are much more difficult, and it requires a new approach to testing, in the same way that it does for the users and the developers”

The Reality of Software Testing in an Agile Environment

Agile is a methodology that is seeing increasingly widespread adoption, and it is easy to understand why especially in today’s economic climate.

For the QA professional an Agile approach can cause discomfort. In an ideal world they would have a finished product to verify against a finished specification. To be asked to validate a moving target against a changing backdrop is counter intuitive.

Read more about “The Reality of Software Testing in an Agile Environment” and discover how the use of technology and automation requires a new approach to testing in the same way that it does for the users and the developers.

Download our webform free Agile Testng Whitepaper or listen to our archived webinar here:

http://www.origsoft.com/whitepapers/agile-testing-environment

Great Places to network with other Test and QA professionals

(Part 1 – Linked-In)

Linked-In is fast becoming one of the best platforms to pick up industry related news and network with other professionals. There are literally thousands of Linked-In groups, so much so, that finding the most relevant, biggest, best or most active groups can be a bit of a challenge!

To help you on your way, here is a selection of the groups we’re familiar with and can heartily recommend.

Agile (4,813 members)

Agile Enthusiast (638)

Agile Progect Management Group (3,851)

Agile Testing (595)

Agilistias (2,415)

American Society for Quality (11,054)

Automation Testing (518)

Methods & Tools (822)

QA Automation Architect (664)

QA Test Automation (1,010)

QA/Testing (1,193)

QAGuild Network (5,545)

Quality Assurance and Test Professionals / Analysts (242)

Senior Testing Professionals (1,579)

Software Test & Performance Group (914)

Software Testing & QA (997)

Software Testing & Quality Assurance (19,957)

Software Testing and Quality Assurance (2,561)

Software Testing Club (3,705)

SQA forums (2,366)

Test automation (3,875)

Test Development (552)

Test Management Forum (530)

Test Republic (298)

Test strategy and test management (741 members)

NEWS: AppLabs and Original Software Partner to Help Clients Take the Step from Manual to Automated Testing

AppLabs sees huge value proposition for its clients with agile-friendly automation suite

11 August 2009 – Original Software today announced a strategic partnership with AppLabs, the world’s largest software testing and quality management company. AppLabs has entered into an agreement with Original Software to take to market its innovative quality management suite. The agreement will likewise allow Original Software to position AppLabs’ services into its own customer base.

Scott Andress, Vice President, Global Alliances and Service Lines at AppLabs commented: “As a tool agnostic services company, we focus on putting the right solution into the right project. We’ve spotted a compelling value proposition for our clients with Original Software’s suite, which can be a great fit for most agile developments, can speed up time-to-market and can provide a silver bullet for those clients struggling to make the transition from manual to automated testing.”

The industry analysts agree. A recent Ovum report stated: ‘TestDrive-Assist provides you with a rich environment for manual testing, but the bigger payback is how it facilitates adoption of full automation. Uniquely for any of the guided manual test execution products that we know of, Original can automatically convert a manual TestDrive-Assist test into a fully automated TestDrive test that can be repeated.” “Overall this is a low risk, low cost way of progressively adopting test automation.” “It fits in with classic waterfall processes, and it can also be used in agile processes more easily than other functional test automation suites.”

“TestDrive-Assist cuts the time it takes to manually test in half, with some customers having recorded savings of 75-80 percent” said Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software. He continued: “This partnership not only provides us with a strong route to market, but allows us to add services to our expanding portfolio. AppLabs’ expertise in testing services and its global, skilled resource pool will be a valued addition to our offering, giving customers the option to outsource projects or business functions or take advantage of specialized consultancy to optimize their IT and business quality management and testing capabilities.”

NEWS: Original Software Positioned as a Visionary in Magic Quadrant for Integrated Software Quality Suites

Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced that it has been placed in the ‘visionaries’ quadrant by leading analyst firm Gartner, Inc. in its recently published Magic Quadrant for Integrated Software Quality Suites, 31 July 2009.

“The total market for test management and functional and load/stress automation is currently valued at just under $1.2 billion, and is growing at more than 8% per year.” said Thomas Murphy in the report^1. “Testing software can be an expensive process, but poor software quality leads to user dissatisfaction, as well as increased development and maintenance. Therefore, having a well-defined set of tools and practices to drive software quality will positively affect the overall business bottom line.”

The report evaluates fourteen vendors of software quality solutions based on a rigorous set of criteria that comprise ‘completeness of vision’ and ‘ability to execute’. Original Software has been positioned as a visionary.

Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software, said: “We consider our positioning in the visionaries quadrant to be confirmation of the real value that our approach to solving challenges in the quality process has brought to our users, extending the reach of these solutions within an organization and providing an early return on investment. We are now expanding on the unique work we have done, in reducing script maintenance, supporting manual testing, code-free automation and test data management, with the launch of a radical new ALM solution later this year.”

This report has recently been published by Gartner. More information can be found on the analyst page of Original Software’s website.

NEWS: Original Software offers ‘Escape’ for apprehensive Borland and Compuware customers

Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, today announced a swap-out promotion for customers of the soon to be engulfed companies, who face uncertainty in the future of their legacy product roadmaps.

Original Software offers market-leading AQM solutions that span the application development life-cycle from requirements, planning and management to complete automated regression testing, including unique solutions for manual testing and test data management.

“Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software, said: “Any customer on a current maintenance contract with Borland or Compuware can qualify for the Escape program and swap to one of our comparable solutions, provided they switch the maintenance agreement.” The promotion, which runs until the end of the year, includes preferential pricing on all the company’s other complimentary solutions.

“While MicroFocus has now completed the acquisitions of Borland and Compuware, the future for their customers is far from clear. It is inevitable that one of the solutions will take precedence, leaving the other customer base facing an unpleasant choice. You have to feel special sympathy for the users of the Borland testing products for who this is the second change of ownership in less than three years.”

“The great thing about the Escape program is that companies can remove the uncertainty about products futures and join a company whose vision has been widely recognized by industry analysts like Gartner and Ovum. At the same time they can benefit from great customer service and a modern AQM solution suite that addresses traditional automation and the now widely recognized needs for collaboration, manual test support and test data management”.

News: Ovum applauds Original Software’s agile compatibility

New analyst report is free to download from our website

22^nd June 2009 – Original Software, the Application Quality Management (AQM) vendor, has received praise for its capabilities in enabling agile development in a recent report by independent industry analyst group, Ovum. In the report, written by Ovum analyst Paul Herzlich, the company’s solutions were applauded for being a better fit for agile processes than any competitive functional test automation suite.

“In its totality, Original’s suite is appropriate for automation specialists, non-technical testers and even business users for acceptance testing. It fits in with classic waterfall processes, and it can also be used in agile processes more easily than other functional test automation suites.” he states.

Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software, said: The feedback from our customers has been resounding and we are pleased to see that the major analyst groups are acknowledging our leadership in this space. Customers practicing agile methodologies are finding our tools easy to implement, and the reuse and repeatability of our manual tests really pay off. Automation can be a powerful enabler in agile development and TestDrive’s self-healing technology adds value in each iteration, enabling scripts to be re-run even when the application under test has undergone tweaks and changes.

The Ovum report notes: “One area in which TestDrive-Assist can be surprisingly appropriate is in unstable, changing circumstances. The two most notable situations are the first release of an application and in agile processes.”

Herzlich continues: “By recording your manual test, you may not have the benefit of full automation, such as automatic data entry and validation. However, you do get an audit trail and clear information for reproducing bugs. The ability to automatically migrate your test to an automated one may pay off immediately, if you are lucky, but in any case, by the end of your scrum or iteration, it will form the foundation of a future automated test. “

This report has recently been published by Ovum and can be downloaded free of charge from Original Software’s website.

March issue of Testing Experience Magazine

The March issue of Testing Experience Magazine has been published and there is a great article from our very own George Wilson (pages 94-96) – The Reality of Software Testing in an Agile Environment. Ten QA Myths Blown Apart. Check it out at:

Update: This url may be moved or archived later: – http://www.testingexperience.com/this_issue.html

Automation puts the – A – in Agile

I read a really interesting article about the role of automation in agile testing on the sys-con media site recently and thought I should share it here – http://java.sys-con.com/node/865658 – It’s a really good piece about the challenges and benefits of using an automation solution in your agile scrum.

‘In terms of challenges, those interested in implementing agile testing automation are facing a number, such as operating agile and traditional testing methods side-by-side, identifying tools that are usable and flexible enough for an agile approach, allowing specific non-technical and non-testing members to actively contribute to the testing process, enabling open source integration, and enabling test-driven (or model-driven) development. Overwhelming? Yes. Insurmountable? Definitely not!’

The author goes on to say: ‘Agile software delivery relies on the right mix of people, processes, and tools. The choice of testing tools becomes critical for reaping the efficiency and quality benefits of agile. One side of the coin shows that the manual testing processes popular with most businesses today can make it difficult – if not impossible – to implement and scale agile delivery methods. On the other side of the coin are those automated testing tools designed solely for use in traditional environments that force testers to work within a certain development practice to ensure test accuracy. With such choices, it’s no wonder many companies fear adopting automated testing tools!

He’s got a point, so many of the authors I read and people we speak to, have such bad perceptions of the flexibility of automation that they just don’t see a place for it in an agile environment! They don’t know how wrong they are! He goes on to say…

Time to trade in that outdated “coin” for real change: an agile delivery process requires a shift to truly agile testing tools. When researching tools for implementing automated testing, watch out for those that can only be initiated at defined points in the development process, require specific QA knowledge, or require that specific development practices be used to guarantee precision. Automated testing puts the ‘A’ in agile, but only if the tools can deliver both flexibility and accuracy.’ Here, here!

Agile is certainly causing a stir in the industry at the moment, and with the emergence of TestDriven Development (TDD) some “experts” are suggesting the demise of QA. We’ve recently published an article responding to some of these myths and highlighting some of the challenges that QA teams will need to face in order to be successful in an increasingly Agile world. Please visit Origsoft.com to download ‘The Reality of Software Testing in an Agile Environment – 10 QA Myths Blown Apart’