December 26th, 2011 — Automation Testing, Software Testing Tools, Web Testing
In previous article we discussed on how WAPT pro performance testing tool can be used for website performance testing. But if you want to generate much higher load on web site you must use the latest x64 Load Engine release from WAPT team. This article and ultimately the testing tool is very useful for performance testers.
This is in fact most crucial test for time critical applications such as stock management systems which gets refreshed every minute creating huge load on Continue reading →
October 2nd, 2011 — Automation Testing, Software Testing Tools, Testing Tips and resources
What is loadUI?
LoadUI is a free and open source load testing tool that allows you to do complex load tests and test the performance by simply dragging the different components around. LoadUI lets you to create and update test cases while you run them. What is making loadUI powerful is the focus on usability through its visual interface and intuitive design combined with the flexibility that comes from the possibility of making changes during the test.
LoadUI consist of building blocks called Components that you drag from the Continue reading →
March 9th, 2011 — Automation Testing, Software Testing Tools, Web Testing
Why most of the manual testers fail when testing websites for performance? There are couple of reasons.
- They don’t have proper tools to test website for performance and
- They don’t have required skills for performance testing.
Does that mean you should wait till your stakeholder report the performance glitches in web application you developed? Definitely not. Many testers are good at testing websites manually and they report almost every defect while testing under standard tests. BUT, when same tester performs load or stress tests they stuck either at resource (required tools) or skill level.
I suggest not to take any risk if you are committed to defect free service. Ask for required tools and train your staff for necessary skills. Today, I’m going to review load, stress and performance testing tool for websites. The tool is called WAPT – Web Application Load, Stress and Performance Testing – a cost effective and easy to learn web load testing tool.
Continue reading →
January 22nd, 2010 — Automation Testing
This article covers following points:
1) What Is KDT (Keyword Driven Testing)?
2) Limitations of Automation testing – Why do Test Automation projects fails?
3) How to use Keyword Driven Testing method to overcome Automation testing barriers?
4) What is Test Language?
5) How to use Test Language for Keyword Driven Automation Testing?
6) Responsibilities of Functional Testers and Test Automation experts in KDT.
Please follow below link to download this free article in PDF file format:
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June 2nd, 2009 — Agile Testing, Automation Testing
In this article Author J.B. Rajkumar is sharing his experience in Implementing Automated Regression Testing in the Agile Environment.
Abstract
Recently, when I wanted to start my new Automated Testing Project with four resources, I thought of applying any one of the Agile methodologies. But I was not able to continue because, a series of questions were raised inside my mind. The questions are like “Is it possible to use Agile methodologies in Automated Testing?”, “Can I use traditional tools”, “Should I have to go for open-source tools”, “What are the challenges I have to face if I am implementing automation in Agile Environment”. In this article let us analyze some of challenges we face while implementing Automation with Agile methodologies. Automated testing in the Agile environment stands a risk of becoming chaotic, unstructured and uncontrolled.
Agile Projects present their own challenges to the Automation team; Unclear project scope, Multiple iterations, Minimal documentation, early and frequent Automation needs and active stakeholder involvement all demand lot of challenges from the Automation Team. Some of these challenges are:
Challenge 1: Requirement Phase
Test Automation developer captures requirements in the form of “user stories”, which are brief descriptions of customer-relevant functionality.
Each requirement has to be prioritized as follows:
High: These are mission critical requirements that absolutely have to be done in the first release
Medium: These are requirements that are important but can be worked around until implemented.
Low: These are requirements that are nice-to-have but not critical to the operation of the software.
Once priories are established, the release “iterations” are planned. Normally, each Agile release iteration takes between 1 to 3 months to deliver. Customers/software folks take liberty to make too many changes to the requirements. Sometimes, these changes are so volatile that the iterations are bumped off. These changes are greater challenges in implementing Agile Automation testing process.
Challenge 2: Selecting the Right Tools
Traditional, test-last tools with record-and-playback-features force teams to wait until after the software is done. More over, traditional test automation tools don’t work for an Agile context because they solve traditional problems, and those are different from the challenges facing Agile Automation teams. Automation in the early stages of an agile project is usually very tough, but as the system grows and evolves, some aspects settle and it becomes appropriate to deploy automation. So the choice of testing tools becomes critical for reaping the efficiency and quality benefits of agile.
Challenge 3: Script Development Phase
The Automation testers, developers, business analysts and project stakeholders all contribute to kick-off meetings where “user-stories” are selected to next sprint. Once the “user-stories” are selected for the sprint, they are used as the basis for a set of tests.
As functionality grows with each iteration, regression testing must be performed to ensure that existing functionality has not been impacted by the introduction of new functionality in each iteration cycle. The scale of the regression testing grows with each sprint and ensures that this remains a manageable task the test team use the test automation for the regression suite.
Challenge 4: Resource Management
The Agile approach requires a mixture of testing skills, that is, test resource will be required to define unclear scenarios and test cases, conduct manual testing alongside developers, write automated regression tests and execute the automated regression packages. As the project progresses, specialist skills will also be required to cover further test areas that might include integration and performance testing. There should be an appropriate mix of domain specialist who plan and gather requirements. The challenging part in the Resource management is to find out test resources with multiple skills and
allocate them.
Challenge 5: Communication
Good communication must exist among Automation testing team, developers, business analysts and stake holders. There must be highly collaborative interaction between client and the delivery teams. More client involvement implies more suggestions or changes from the client. It implies more bandwidth for communication. The key challenge is that the process should be able to capture and effectively implement all the changes and data integrity needs to be retained. In traditional testing, developers and testers are like oil and water, but in agile environment, the challenging task is that they both must work together to achieve the target.
Challenge 6: Daily Scrum Meeting
Daily Scrum Meeting is one of the key activities in Agile Process. Teams do meet for 15 minutes stand up sessions. What is the effectiveness of these meetings? How far these meetings help Automation practice Developers?
Challenge 7: Release Phase
The aim of Agile project is to deliver a basic working product as quickly as possible and then to go through a process of continual improvement. This means that there is no single release phase for a product. The challenging part lies in integration testing and acceptance testing of the product.
If we can meet these challenges in a well optimized manner, then Automated Regression Testing in Agile environment is an excellent opportunity for QA to take leadership of the agile processes. It is better placed to bridge the gap between users and developers, understand both what is required, how it can be achieved and how it can be assured prior to deployment. Automation practice should have a vested interest in both the how and the result, as well as continuing to assure that the whole evolving system meets business objectives and is fit for purpose.
About the Author:
J.B.Rajkumar has more than 15 years of experience in both Academics and Software Testing. He has worked as Corporate Trainer, Test Lead, QA Manager and QC Manager. He is a frequent speaker for International Conferences, Colleges, Universities and Software Industries. Presently he is with Automation Practice, in one of the top MNCs.
February 5th, 2009 — Automation Testing
This is a guest article from J.B.Rajkumar. Author is having good experience on automation tools and is currently working with a top MNC.
Learning Basics of Rational Robot (7.0)
1. Features of Rational Robot
Rational Robot is an automated functional, regression testing tool for automating Windows, Java, IE and ERP applications under windows platform. Rational Robot provides test cases for common objects such as menus, lists, bitmaps and specialized test cases for objects specific to the development environment. It integrates with tools like Rational Test Manager, Rational Clearquest and Requisite Pro in the Rational Unified Processor for Defect Tracking, Change Management and Requirement Traceability. It also supports UI technologies like Java, the Web, all VS.NET controls, Oracle Forms, Borland Delphi and Sybase Power Builder applications.
2. Rational Administrator
It is a tool for managing associations between Rational artifacts such as Test Datastores, Requisite Pro projects and Rose models.
