Friday, December 18, 2009

Yeh Jo Zindagi Ki Kitaab Hai

Yeh Jo Zindagi Ki Kitaab Hai, Yeh Kitaab Bhi Kya Kitaab Hai,
Kahin Ek Haseen Sa Khawaab Hai, Kahin Jaan Leva Azaab Hai,

Kahin Chaaon Hai Kahin Dhoop Hai, Kahin Ek Haseen Sa Roop Hai,
Kai Chehray Is Main Chupay Huye, Ek Ajeeb Si Yeh Nikab Hai,

Kahin Kho Dia Kahin Paa Liya, Kahin Roo Dia Kahin Gaa Liya,
Kahin Chain Leti Hai Zindagi, Kahin Haar Baane Bemisaal Hai,

Kahin Ansoon Ki Hai Dastaan, Kahin Muskurahatoon Kabeyaan Hai,
Kahin Barkatoon Ki Hain Baarishain, Kahin Tishniggi Bemisaal Hai,

Yeh Jo Zindagi Ki Kitaab Hai, Yeh Kitaab Bhi Kya Kitaab Hai,
Kahin Ek Haseen Sa Khawaab Hai, Kahin Jaan Leva Azaab Hai

Thursday, December 17, 2009

बस मुस्कुराना चाह्ता हूं

एक ऐसा गीत गाना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..
खुशी हो या गम, बस मुस्कुराना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..

दोस्तॊं से दोस्ती तो हर कोई निभाता है..
दुश्मनों को भी अपना दोस्त बनाना चाहता हूं, मैं..

जो हम उडे ऊचाई पे अकेले, तो क्या नया किया..
साथ मे हर किसी के पंख फ़ैलाना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..

वोह सोचते हैं कि मैं अकेला हूं उन्के बिना..
तन्हाई साथ है मेरे, इतना बताना चाह्ता हूं..

ए खुदा, तमन्ना बस इतनी सी है.. कबूल करना..
मुस्कुराते हुए ही तेरे पास आना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..

बस खुशी हो हर पल, और मेहकें येह गुल्शन सारा "अभी"..
हर किसी के गम को, अपना बनाना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..

एक ऐसा गीत गाना चाह्ता हूं, मैं..
खुशी हो या गम, बस मुस्कुराना चाह्ता हूं

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Automated Regression Testing Challenges in 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.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Software Test Estimation - 9 General Tips on How to Estimate Testing Time Accurately

For success of any project test estimation and proper execution is equally important as the development cycle. Sticking to the estimation is very important to build good reputation with the client.

Experience play major role in estimating “software testing efforts”. Working on varied projects helps to prepare an accurate estimation for the testing cycle. Obviously one cannot just blindly put some number of days for any testing task. Test estimation should be realistic and accurate.
In this article I am trying to put some points in a very simple manner, which are helpful to prepare good test estimations. I am not going to discuss the standard methods for test estimations like testing metrics, instead I am putting some tips on - How to estimate testing efforts for any testing task, which I learned from my experience.

Factors Affecting Software Test Estimation, and General Tips to Estimate Accurately:

1) Think of Some Buffer Time: The estimation should include some buffer. But do not add a buffer, which is not realistic. Having a buffer in the estimation enables to cope for any delays that may occur. Having a buffer also helps to ensure maximum test coverage.

2) Consider the Bug Cycle: The test estimation also includes the bug cycle. The actual test cycle may take more days than estimated. To avoid this, we should consider the fact that test cycle depends on the stability of the build. If the build is not stable, then developers may need more time to fix and obviously the testing cycle gets extended automatically.

3) Availability of All the Resources for Estimated Period: The test estimation should consider all the leaves planned by the team members (typically long leaves) in the next few weeks or next few months. This will ensure that the estimations are realistic. The estimation should consider some fixed number of resources for test cycle. If the number of resources reduces then the estimation should be re-visited and updated accordingly.

4) Can We Do Parallel Testing?: Do you have some previous versions of same product so that you can compare the output? If yes, then this can make your testing task bit easier. You should think the estimation based on your product version.

5) Estimations Can Go Wrong: - So re-visit the estimations frequently in initial stages before you commit it. In early stages, we should frequently re-visit the test estimations and make modification if needed. We should not extend the estimation once we freeze it, unless there are major changes in requirement.

6) Think of Your Past Experience to Make Judgments!: Experiences from past projects play a vital role while preparing the time estimates. We can try to avoid all the difficulties or issues that were faced in past projects. We can analyze how the previous estimates were and how much they helped to deliver product on time.

7) Consider the Scope of Project: Know what is the end objective of the project and list of all final deliverables. Factors to be considered for small and large projects differ a lot. Large project, typically include setting up test bed, generating test data, test scripts etc. Hence the estimations should be based on all these factors. Whereas in small projects, typically the test cycle include test cases writing, execution and regression.

8 ) Are You Going to Perform Load Testing?: If you need to put considerable time on performance testing then estimate accordingly. Estimations for projects, which involve load testing, should be considered differently.

9) Do You Know Your Team?: If you know strengths and weaknesses of individuals working in your team then you can estimate testing tasks more precisely. While estimating one should consider the fact that all resources may not yield same productivity level. Some people can execute faster compared to others. Though this is not a major factor but it adds up to the total delay in deliverables.

And finally tip number 10.

Over To You! This test estimation tip is purposefully left blank so that you can comment your best estimation techniques in below comment section.