Software Quality Matters Blog

Sliding Mind, a new technology provider, who delivers inspired, innovative solutions for IT help desks, announced TrackPath, a new solution that eliminates the guess work involved in recreating the application problem when a user contacts the IT Help Desk. TrackPath continuously monitors the activity on each PC so that in the event of any issue, a fully documented audit trail is instantly available for transmission to the IT help/service desk.

According to Gartner: “There continues to be an erroneous belief that the IT service desk tool represents the greatest cost for IT service support… 86% of the cost of an IT service desk is staffing related…” *

TrackPath continuously tracks all user activity on a PC irrelevant of whether the application is deployed through the cloud, browser or desktop. A user friendly audit trail is available in the event of operating system or application problems. TrackPath is the perfect solution for large user communities supported by a central help desk. Help desk staff are no longer reliant on the ability of a user to recall or reproduce the steps that led to their problem. Instead, the user can send a fully documented audit trail within two mouse clicks.

This core detailed reporting of user activity is reinforced with screen by screen tracking of memory and CPU usage, a detailed timeline, hardware configuration and operating system information plus information on the application stack being used. TrackPath also removes the need for remote PC access after an issue has occurred, an approach which impacts both the help desk professional and end user.

TrackPath is available now for download and free trial from the Sliding Mind website at: http://slidingmind.com/cms/trackpath/downloads/

* “IT Key Metrics Data 2009: Key Infrastructure Measures: Help Desk Analysis: Multi Year” – 15 December 2008, Linda Tracy, Jamie K. Guevara, Eric Stegman

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The Software Testing Club (STC), has now gone stateside with its very first software testing meetup hosted in Chicago! The “STC Meetups” have taken the software testing community by storm, and we are very pleased to be hosting the first US meetup in Illinois’ Windy City.

The Software Testing Club is a very successful and widely acknowledged community of software testing professionals, which has now grown to 10,000 active members.

The meetup will be held on the evening of November 10th from 5:30pm, and will be a relaxed social event for Chicago-based testers to gather, chat and have a drink, while discussing the finer points of software testing.

So if you are local to Chicago, enjoy a bit of testing talk and you are free that evening, why not come along?

To register for this event, simply visit the registration page here!

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Microsoft shot themselves in the foot with this embarrassing blunder that has definitely qualified for a spot in our Software Testing Hall of Shame!

A Microsoft antivirus definition file was the cause behind Google Chrome’s browser to disappear from users’ PCs!

Scores of users reported the deletion of the Google Chrome browser from their PC after running Microsoft’s Security Essentials. Google told Chrome users that Microsoft incorrectly marked the browser as malware and it was later reported that 3,000 users were effected.

Can you blame Google for being a little cheesed off at their Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) rival. It has been alleged that Chrome will pass Mozilla’s Firefox as the second-most-popular browser by the end of this year, pitting Google and Microsoft for the top spot.

As reported in ‘ComputerWorldUK’ by Gregg Keizer: “An incorrect detection for PWS:Win32/Zbot was identified and as a result, Google Chrome was inadvertently blocked and in some cases removed from customers PCs,” Microsoft said in a statement posted to the Facebook page of its malware research center. “We have already fixed the issue…, but approximately 3,000 customers were impacted.”

So it seems the moral of this story once again is that inadequate testing and quality checks lead to issues.

I wonder what tools Microsoft were using to assist them? I would recommend they look here: http://www.origsoft.com/manual-testing-is-here-to-stay/

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At Original Software we believe that good customer service isn’t just providing fabulous products with a smile, but forging strong partnerships with our customers and working with them to ensure our solutions are a success within their businesses, generating an ROI that’s bound to make them internal heroes.

More than 400 organisations operating in over 30 countries use Original Software solutions. Current users range from major multi-nationals to small software development shops, encompassing a wide range of industries, sectors and sizes. We are proud of our partnerships, such as Coca-Cola Computer Services.

Read more about how Coca-Cola use Original Software solutions for their software test automation.

“The Original Software solution enabled the QA team of Coca-Cola Computer Services to create a wide range of automated tests and help maintain the high quality of the BASIS application used by many bottling plants around the world. The Coca-Cola team needed a solution which would enable them to build rapid and maintainable automation as well as address other aspects of the testing challenge including the database and managing test data environments, and they found this unique combination with Original Software in a partnership which has continued for over 8 years. During this time the test assets created proved especially beneficial when Coca-Cola delivered big releases that required a complete retest of the complex and business critical application. Around 130 Test Cases with about 3000 Scripts comparing 200,000 individual screens have been recorded over time and are readily available to run business process related tests in a short time. It has saved the team many hundreds of man-hours and means that BASIS can be assured to a level just not possible manually, supporting Coca-Cola’s mission of delivering quality to their business partners in a timely manner.”
Gerald Weichselbraun, Quality Manager, Coca-Cola Computer Services

If you would like to speak to us about how we can help you with your software testing processes, from manual testing to automation, Agile or even Test Data Management, simply contact us today at http://www.origsoft.com/contact

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Play our manual testing game – “The Pit Stop Challenge”.
The player with the fastest time wins an iPad2!

http://www.origsoft.com/game/

Welcome to our online manual testing associated game called, “The Pit Stop Challenge” – back by popular demand. It’s a great coffee break challenge that tests your speed, hand and eye co-ordination. Best of all, if you achieve the fastest time by the deadline you will win a fantastic iPad2!

The Pit Stop Challenge represents Original Software’s innovation in manual testing and our ability to push your manual testing into overdrive!

Software testing is almost always perceived as the main bottleneck in any application delivery timeline and it is universally agreed that manual testing can be time consuming, laborious, repetitive, and costly. QA departments around the world continue to rely on manual processes for 80% or more of their software testing. Experts may talk about test automation, but in reality manual testing will always be around.

TestDrive-Assist, from Original Software, delivers practical and immediate benefit by allowing your existing testing resources to test more efficiently and by enabling the transition from manual testing into automation quickly and easily. It is a dynamic solution for manual testers and has been shown to cut the time spent on manual software testing by up to 50%.

Join us as we celebrate next generation technology and dynamic manual testing by playing our Pit-Stop Challenge! http://www.origsoft.com/game/

If your time qualifies for our leaderboard, make sure you register your details for your chance to win an iPad2. The player with the fastest time wins…

Best of luck!

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The stars are out at the very first EuroSTAR Virtual Conference.

With over 1200 registrations, it’s going to be a busy day online on Tuesday 13th September 2011.

Presentations by top industry experts from the Software Testing community will be running all day, from the comfort of your own desk!

Original Software will be there with our virtual booth, where you can chat to us in real-time and access our whitepapers, brochures and videos. Our experts will be on hand to answer your questions on manual and automated testing, application quality management and the management of test data. You can also play our “The Pit Stop Challenge” game for your chance to win an iPad.

Please register now, because we’d hate you to miss out on the first time that Original Software goes virtual with EuroSTAR! The Virtual doors open at 9.00am London Local Time (Check your local time) and the first session starts at 9.15am London Local Time.

I hope you stop by the Original Software virtual booth and say hello!

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Original Software is proud to announce that it has been recognised for its innovation in software testing. We are one of many nominees in the 10th annual Chicago Innovation Awards.

The Chicago Innovation Awards continues to shine a bright light on the creative spirit of Chicago. It focuses attention on the most significant new products and services, regardless of sector or industry, introduced in ‘The Windy City’ region.
Qualify, our Application Quality Management solution which was launched last year, is the new product that has been nominated. With our US office based in Chicago, it’s great to be part of such a local awards ceremony and we would like to thank the Original Software Community for nominating us.

Please spread the word so that others may join our revolution to show the software testing community that software quality can be achieved through innovative and easy-to-use technology.

Find out more at: Chicago Innovation Awards.

Please sign up to our RSS feed to find out the results of these awards in the near future. http://www.origsoft.com/blog/feed/rss/

In the meantime, if you would like to ask us any questions about our solutions and why they have been nominated for their innovation in test automation, you can get in touch here: http://www.origsoft.com/contact/

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Original Software is very proud to have been nominated in four different categories by The Automated Testing Institute for, “Best Automated Test Tool” for our solution TestDrive, and “Best Automated Testing Article”, written by George Wilson, Operations Director, Original Software. Please vote for us to win today!

The Automated Testing Institute (ATI), are hosting its third annual Automation Awards, which encourages the testing community to discuss, network and vote for the solutions that are currently representing cutting edge technology in test automation. The ATI operates based on the belief that more must be done to help software test automation reach its full potential. Automation can only be reached through moving the IT industry forward and establishing Automated Software Testing as an accepted discipline.

Our solution TestDrive has been nominated under the Commercial Tools Category for:
- Best Commercial FUNCTIONAL Automated Test Tool – Java
- Best Commercial FUNCTIONAL Automated Test Tool – Flash/Flex
- Best Commercial FUNCTIONAL Automated Test Tool – Web Services

We have also been nominated under the Communications Category for:
- Best Automated Testing Article, “Test automation: Business agility requires disposable test assets”

Please help us to show the testing community that software quality can be achieved through innovation.
VOTE FOR US HERE: http://www.origsoft.com/about/company-history/vote4us.php

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Managers who are responsible for quality should implement processes and technology that will support their business objectives in a pragmatic and achievable way, without negatively impacting current projects.

Understanding the current project status, the trends in the progress and the implications for resources, target dates and costs are vital for making correct decisions. In today’s dynamic world, the information needs to be available instantly. If gathering status information across all the projects takes a week, the number of hours potentially burnt in the wrong activities could becomes alarming.

To help you to keep your finger on the pulse of your development lifecycle, you need instant access to key information via the most appropriate device. Printed reports should be at the bottom of the pile given that they are out of date the moment they are created, PCs and web access are better, and personal devices such as smart phones or Apple iPads at the top of the heap.

Qualify is our unique solution for Application Quality Management (AQM) providing real-time project visibility through customisable dashboards with drill down functionality for detailed analysis.
Full historical records are available for every project, modification and test performed, allowing for a complete audit trail and easing the burden of compliance. Status and performance metrics are instantly available to help meet SLAs.

This short video, focuses on the use of customisable dashboards for project metrics within our Qualify solution and it is a great way to see for yourself the power of a holistic approach to Application Quality Management.

You can watch a short video on software testing metrics here!

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Whether you are planning to implement or upgrade to Oracle’s E-Business Suite Release 12.1, knowing that you will have to perform an Oracle application test does not sound fun.

Historically upgrades can be a pain, time consuming and expensive since the time and resource it takes to move to a new version of the ERP (enterprise resource planning) software can be quite costly. Upgrades, especially functional upgrades, might take months of planning, testing, validation, and require business users to take time out of their daily workloads to check the new system.

What is required is a robust process for assuring Oracle application quality and stability. Organisations must plan on efficient testing activities that start from the project kick-off right the way through to the last few weeks before the project go-live. If application quality and testing are not managed well, it can result in serious doubts by business users over the acceptability of the upgraded Oracle system and potentially fail to deliver the promised business value.

Join Original Software on a webinar that attempts to dispel your testing fears and show you how to perform a best practice method for a swift and efficient Oracle application test. You can register here!

Listen to John Miner, as he helps to guide you to a pain-free Oracle E-Business Suite implementation or upgrade. Even if you can’t attend on the day, it is still worth registering so you can have access to the recording on demand.

Register your attendance today at: http://www.origsoft.com/oracle

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