QA

Q&A

Question: What is a Smoke Test?

 

Answer:  A subset of all defined/planned test cases that cover the main functionality of a component or system, to ascertain that the most crucial functions of a program work, but not bothering with finer details.  A daily build and smoke test is among industry best practices.  [ISTQB] 

When you want to quickly assess the state of a software build, you often turn to a Smoke Test (sometimes called a Build Verification Test).  Essentially, you are trying to do something that is relatively quick and inexpensive, that will give you a general feeling for the software.  You aren't looking for all the bugs.  You aren't trying all the scenarios.  You just want a general idea if the software works or not.

Often, the goal of this Smoke Test is to decide if more in-depth, more expensive testing is worthwhile, or if the software is too broken to be bothered.

Usually, you exercise only the basic paths of the software, and avoid all the unusual conditions.  And usually, you don't test deeply at all - you just skim the surface.

In her book Effective Software Testing: 50 Specific Ways To Improve Your Testing, Elfriede Dustin says that a Smoke Test is "a condensed version of a regression test suite".  And many companies do just that - extract a portion of their overall regression test suite, and use it repeatedly as a Smoke Test.

Manual Smoke Testing
Sometimes, a manual Smoke Test just involves "playing with the software for a while".  For an experienced user/tester of the software this may make sense.  Such a tester may have a good sense of what to try, and just how deep to go.

But often, a written script tells the manual Smoke Tester what to test and how. 

Either way, the manual Smoke Test should be brief and to the point.  If the software is in generally good shape, the manual Smoke Test should pass.  If not, the Smoke Test should fail.

Automated Smoke Testing
I see this as one of the basic uses for my Test Automation Suite.  I want to be able to quickly run a test after the build, so I can assess whether or not my team should bother to dig in and spend their time testing it.  If the system-under-test passes the Smoke Test, we can proceed.  If not, we reject the build until it is fixed.

If the builds occur overnight, I like to be able to schedule this Smoke Test so that it runs after the build and so that the results are ready and waiting for me when I get in the next morning.  Sometimes, this allows me to run a larger overnight test and still have the results ready for the morning.

When I start to automate the testing of a system, the Smoke Test is usually the first automation I create.

In their excellent book How We Test Software At Microsoft, Alan Page, Ken Johnston, and Bj Rollison list these attributes of an automated Smoke Test (Build Verification Test):

• Automate Everything - run it on every build, the same every time.
• Test a Little - verify basic functionality.
• Test Fast - should execute quickly
• Fail Perfectly - fail only when the build isn't suitable for further testing
• Test Broadly, Not Deeply - focus on primary usage scenarios
• Debuggable and Maintainable - easy to fix, and keep up to date
• Trustworthy - you must be able to trust these tests
• Critical - requires time and careful thought to get it right
  

For other QA and Testing terms, see: http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/46/A+Glossary+of+Testing+Terms.html

Peridocally, I'll pick a QA or Testing term and try to explain it in a bit more detail.  If you have a term that you'd like explained - Email Me

A Zune Swoon?

Hey, anyone know how to get this thing working again?

Apparently, starting around midnight last night, all first-generation 30GB Model Zunes - every one - restarted themselves and locked up at the boot screen.

Just take a look at some of the Headlines:

• 30GB Zunes Failing En Masse
• 30GB Zune apocalypse arrives as devices enter digital coma
• Zune 30s all freezing up at once. Ack! Aliens!
• Zune plagued by massive freeze
• Did the Y2K failure come to Zune 30 devices 9 years later?
• Microsoft Zunes spontaneously dying all over the place
• Microsoft Zunes Hit By Rash of Lock-Up Bugs
• Microsoft Zune 30GB users reporting freezing problems
• Zunesday
• 30GB Zunes Everywhere Are Frozen. Z2K9?
• Worldwide Zune suicide?
• 30GB Zunes Fail Simultaneously Everywhere
• 30GB Zunes Killing Themselves In Droves
• Microsoft's Latest Global Problem
• 30GB Zunes hibernating for 2009?
• Z-Day Hits Zune 30s
• Some Zunes Expire Along with 2008
• Z2K for Zune music players?

Think some Boundary Value Analysis might be in order?

At this time, Microsoft's Zune Support page says only:

zune service status

 

Status:

 

Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware.  We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!

When I checked at 2:00 PM Eastern time, Microsoft's Zune Support page now says:

zune service status

 

Status:

 

Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware.  We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it.  The Zune Social might be slow or inaccessible.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!

So apparently it was a leap year problem.

Today 5:43 PM
   
Official response for Zune 30 Freezing Issue (Zune 30gb stuck at reboot screen)
 
Early this morning we were alerted by our customers that there was a widespread issue affecting our 2006 model Zune 30GB devices (a large number of which are still actively being used).  The technical team jumped on the problem immediately and isolated the issue: a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year.  The issue should be resolved over the next 24 hours as the time change moves to January 1, 2009.   We expect the internal clock on the Zune 30GB devices will automatically reset tomorrow (noon, GMT). By tomorrow you should allow the battery to fully run out of power before the unit can restart successfully then simply ensure that your device is recharged, then turn it back on.  If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, you may need to sync your device with your PC to refresh the rights to the subscription content you have downloaded to your device. 

 

Customers can continue to stay informed via the support page on zune.net (zune.net/support).

 

We know this has been a big inconvenience to our customers and we are sorry for that, and want to thank them for their patience. 

 

Q:  Why is this issue isolated to the Zune 30 device?
It is a bug in a driver for a part that is only used in the Zune 30 device.

 

Q:  What fixes or patches are you putting in place to resolve this situation? 
This situation should remedy itself over the next 24 hours as the time flips to January 1st.

 

Q:  What’s the timeline on a fix?
The issue Zune 30GB customers are experiencing today will self resolve as time changes to January 1.

 

Q:  Why did this occur at precisely 12:01 a.m. on December 31, 2008? 
There is a bug in the internal clock driver causing the 30GB device to improperly handle the last day of a leap year.

 

Q:  What is Zune doing to fix this issue? 
The issue should resolve itself.

 

Q:  Are you sure that this won’t happen to all 80, 120 or other flash devices? 
This issue is related to a part that is only used in Zune 30 devices.

 

Q:  How many 30GB Zune devices are affected?
All 30GB devices are potentially affected.

 

Q: Will you update the firmware before the next leap year (2012)?
Yes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt Akers
Zune Product Team

Now who could possibly have thought to test for leap year issues?  After all, that "leap year" thing is a fairly new invention, right?

Perhaps they should have tested more.

An update.

Supposedly, this is the code which failed:

year = ORIGINYEAR; /* = 1980 */

while (days > 365)
{
    if (IsLeapYear(year))
    {
        if (days > 366)
        {
            days -= 366;
            year += 1;
        }
    }
    else
    {
        days -= 365;
        year += 1;
    }
}

see:

http://www.aeroxp.org/2009/01/lesson-on-infinite-loops/

http://www.zuneboards.com/forums/zune-news/38143-cause-zune-30-leapyear-problem-isolated.html

http://programphases.com/?page_id=1732

http://www.zune.net/en-us/support/zune30.htm

http://gizmodo.com/5121311/30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10130186-75.html

http://blogs.msdn.com/james_whittaker/archive/2009/01/06/the-zune-issue.aspx

Can your Zune still hold a tune?
Email Me

A really nice addition to my QA Bookshelf.

How We Test Software at Microsoft
by Alan Page, Ken Johnston, Bj Rollison

In How We Test Software at Microsoft, Alan Page, Ken Johnston, and Bj Rollison provide a terrific mix of insight into Microsoft, along with in-depth explanations of practical test processes.

From the introduction:

"This book is for anyone who is interested in the role of test at Microsoft or for those who want to know more about how Microsoft approaches testing.  This book isn't a replacement for any of the numerous other great texts on software testing.  Instead, it describes how Microsoft applies a number of testing techniques and methods of evaluation to improve our software."

I would also add that this book is for anyone who wants to learn some extremely useful, real-world approaches to both typical and complex testing situations.

Contents:

1. Software Engineering at Microsoft
2. Software Test Engineers at Microsoft
3. Engineering Life Cycles
4. A Practical Approach to Test Case Design
5. Functional Testing Techniques
6. Structural Testing Techniques
7. Analyzing Risk with Code Complexity
8. Model-Based Testing
9. Managing Bugs and Test Cases
10. Test Automation
11. Non-functional Testing
12. Other Tools
13. Customer Feedback Systems
14. Testing Software Plus Services
15. Solving Tomorrow's Problems Today
16. Building the Future

While not all of the solutions will apply to everyone (unless you happen to work at a company with over 9,000 testers), everyone will learn something.  The excellent explanations of Equivalence Class Partitioning and Boundary Value Analysis are among the best I have ever read.

This is a very good book - one I highly recommend to all current and would-be testers.

Have a Testing or QA-related book you particularly like?
Email Me

Many vendors of commercial test automation tools offer trial versions.

Here are some:

e-Tester
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/app-testing/index.html

 

EggPlant
http://www.redstonesoftware.com/products/eggplant_functional_tester/trial

 

JTest
http://www.parasoft.com/jsp/customers/customer_login.jsp?caller=%2Fjsp%2Ftrial_request.jsp%3Fproduct%3DJtest%26itemId%3D25

QA Wizard Pro
http://www.seapine.com/qaweval.php
 
QuickTest Pro
https://h10078.www1.hp.com/cda/hpdc/display/main/index.jsp

 

Rational Functional Tester
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/functional/index.html
 
Rational Robot
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/tester/robot/
 
SilkTest
http://www.borland.com/downloads/download_silk.html
 
TestComplete
http://www.automatedqa.com/downloads/testcomplete/index.asp
 
TestPartner
http://www.compuware.com/solutions/forms/testpartnertrial.asp?source=Web

 

Visual Studio Test Edition
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/bb633757.aspx

 

Visual Test
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/awdtools/visualtest/support/download.html

 

WinTask
http://www.wintask.com/free_downloads.php

Know of any other commercial test tools that have a trial version?
Email Me

New England Sports

2008-2009 Season

(so far)

A rough season for the Patriots.  Imagine:

• Losing your starting quarterback - last year's NFL MVP - seven minutes into the season
• Losing your starting running back
• Losing your #2 and #3 running backs for significant portions of the season
• Losing your best linebacker
• Losing your starting safety and defensive leader
• Losing your starting insider linebacker
• Losing several key backups and special team players
• Sending 14 players to Injured reserve
• Being forced to use 43 different starters

and still going 11-5?

Yet, after that surprising effort, the Patriots are the first team in over 30 years to win 11 games and not make the playoffs.  Oh well. 

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe says of the Pats: "They're the Best Team Ever To Miss The Playoffs".

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/12/29/not_enough____but_they_gave_plenty/

A terrific season by Matt Cassell, and a good season by the team.  Unfortunately, not quite good enough, given the high standards in New England.  Next year...

After all these years - conclusive evidence of WMDs in Iraq:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/14/bush_notebook_surprises_galore_on_hush_hush_trip/

txtN cn B fun - bt danjrus!

Who knew that simply texting the word "reboot" would actually cause a phone to reboot?

Apparently, words texted right after a reboot were interpreted and executed as commands with root priveleges by Android, rather than simply being sent. 

A bit of a security flaw, no?

"I was in the middle of a text conversation with my girl when she asked why I hadn't responded. I had just rebooted my phone and the first thing I typed was a response to her text which simply stated "Reboot" - which, to my surprise, rebooted my phone."

 

"Google hurried to repair the problem, which causes the phone to interpret any text entered just after the phone was turned on as a command."

 

"Linux and Unix users are advised to use their systems with "root" privileges reserved only for administrators, but Android was actually giving anybody that privilege."

 

"The Android bug has to rate as one of the great software bloopers of all time."

 

"We tried really hard to secure Android. This is definitely a big bug."

Perhaps they should have tested more?

Here are a few helpful suggestions for words to use while testing the fix for this particular bug:

• Restart
• Shut Down
• Ctrl Alt Del
• $1,000,000
• Travel Back In Time 
• Melt
• ET Phone Home
• Nuclear Winter
• Delete Traces Of All The Calls I Just Made To Those 900 Numbers
• iPhone
• Sarah Palin President (no wait, this one simply isn't worth the risk)

See also:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10093573-83.html?tag=rtcol;relnews
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/18382/texting-bug-for-android
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7722367.stm

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2714843045.html

Know of any other interesting public bugs that might have been prevented?
Email Me

New England Sports

2008-2009 Season

(so far)

After three straight seasons of reaching the MLS Cup, and six straight seasons of reaching the Eastern Conference finals, the New England Revolution bowed out this year in the first playoff series.

Lots of injuries this year eventually become too much to overcome.

Oh well - wait until next year.

A real leader takes the blame when things don't go as expected:

"And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours."
- John McCain, in his concession speech

And a real leader gives the credit to the team when things do go well:

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you."
- Barack Obama, in his victory speech

On November 4th - don't vote

If:

• You don't really care who is our next President
• It's not important who appoints the next Supreme Court Justices
• Issues don't matter to you
• You don't want to be part of what will certainly be an historic election
• You don't ever complain about the way the country is run anyway
• You don't mind if others make decisions for you, without your input
• Doing your civic duty isn't something that concerns you
• You think: "If things change - that's fine.  If they stay the same - that's fine too"
• Little things like ballots and Presidents are just too complicated for you

then DON'T VOTE!

All the better for the people who care.

New England Sports

2008-2009 Season

(so far)

It's hard not to be at least a little bit disappointed that the Red Sox didn't make it back to the World Series.

Still, making it to game 7 of the ALCS isn't all that bad.  And, they have a young team that should continue to contend for years to come.

It was a beautiful fall day in New England yesterday.

Sunny, cool, no wind, great foliage.

So once we got our to-do list done for the day, we drove to Concord, and took a walk around Walden Pond.

(Walden Pond.  October 18th, 2008)

What a great way to spend a fall afternoon.

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

The good folks at Simtec have released a new version of one of the tools in my toolbox - HttpWatch.

The biggest news is that HttpWatch now supports Firefox as well as Internet Explorer!

Here's the complete list of new features:

• HttpWatch now supports Firefox 2.0 and 3.0 on Windows as well as IE 6, 7 and 8 Beta 2
• Added a Properties window that can opened or closed from the View menu. It displays information about the log including browser type, time zone and operating system version
• A comment can be assigned to a log file using the Properties window or through the automation interface
• The values shown in the Summary window's Timings tab can now be accessed through the automation interface.
• Started times can now be displayed as local time, GMT or as an offset from the start of the log
• The Timings tab in the Summary window now provides minimum, maximum, average and total for each type of timing (e.g. DNS Lookup, Connect, etc)
• Visual Studio style tabs are displayed in HttpWatch Studio for each log file making it easier to switch between files
• The automation interface has been updated to support Firefox, timing summaries and log properties
• There is now a FireWatir automation sample

Check out HttpWatch at http://www.httpwatch.com/

See all the tools in my tool box at:
http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/55/Tester%26%2339%3Bs+Tool+Box.html

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

As I have written before, I use StatCounter to track hits on this blog.

(http://www.statcounter.com)

I like it because it's very simple to use, but also very powerful.  And I find some of the results fascinating.

Among the features provided by StatCounter is a Keyword Analysis report.

This report can show you the searh terms people entered into various search engines that ended up as a click through to your site.  Here's a small sample:

Num	Perc.	Search Term
2	22.22%	define:load testing
2	22.22%	qa interview questions
1	11.11%	qa department business plan
1	11.11%	define:beta testing
1	11.11%	board games tock
1	11.11%	wintast version 3.5
1	11.11%	is yucart good for your
9	100.00%

 

Usually it's fairly obvious what the seearcher was looking for, but occasionally, I see a real puzzler.

I'll list some here as I encounter them, with a guess as to how the relevant search engine happened to serve up a link to All Things Quality in the results.

I assume the searcher was trying to find ways to crash browser. 

And they learned about crashing Google Chrome the easy way. 

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1784/Let%26%2339%3Bs+All+Play+Crash+That+Browser+-+Google+Chrome.html

when are us elections november 4th

When are the elections?  November 4th, right?

Note sure what this person was seeking, but they found this. 

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1874/US+Elections+on+November+4th+-+Don%26%2339%3Bt+Vote%21.html

grandma mona simpson

I occasionally use Simpsons character names as test data.  To make that easier, I have a list on one of the blog pages.

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1692/Test+Data+-+Simpson+Characters.html

is yucart good for your

While the searcher may have been looking for "yogurt", apparently this term brought the searcher to my post about some Spam that arrives in my email spam filter. One of the "from" names was "Yucart Churchgoing".

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/973/Lazy+Spambots%3F.html

see: http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/832/A+New+Tool+for+Your+Website+or+Blog+-+StatCounter.html

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

In my company, we've recently started a Game Night.

We take turns bringing in games.  After hours, we grab a conference room, and play for an hour or so. It's been lots of fun so far, and helps create a nice bit of teamwork.

The games

• need to be able to accomodate around 5-10 players at a time (so checkers, chess are out)
• need to be quick to learn
• need to be accessible for teammates who are not native English speakers (so complex word or idiom-based games are out)
• can't take more than 1-2 hours to play

Here are some we have played so far...

Foppen

 

"A trick-taking card game where the object is to empty your hand. The twist is the player who plays the lowest card in a trick sits out the next round."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1942) 

Hit or Miss

 

"Sharpen your pencils - and your intuition - for this quick playing "think-in-sync" party game. Draw a category card and in 45 seconds, list as many related words that come to mind. When the timer runs out, roll the die - if it lands on HIT, pick a word that you think everyone wrote; if it lands on MISS, pick one that only you wrote. Choose wisely and score big points. The player with the highest score wins. Hit or Miss - the can't MISS game that will turn your next party into a HIT!"

 

(http://www.gamewright.com/gamewright/index.php?section=games&page=game&show=207)

Category 5

 

"There are 104 cards numbered from 1 to 104. Every card has at least 1 small flag on it, which will score against you. The deck is shuffled and players are dealt 10 cards each. 4 more are dealt up on the table to form the start of 4 rows.

When each player has chosen a card from their hand, these are revealed and put on the ends of the rows according to simple rules.

As the rows get longer, a row with 5 cards in it is full. If your card is to be the 6th, you pick up the 5 cards in the row, and your 6th card goes to the front to restart the row. The cards you pick up do not go into your hand, but sit in front of you to score against you at the end of the round. Play rounds until someone hits 74 (the minimum speed of a hurricane) and the lowest score wins."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/432)

Gracias

"The deck contains 6 kinds of cards. On each turn a player will take a stack of 3 cards (1 hidden and 2 visible) and keep one hidden and one visible card. The second visible card will be given to another player. At the end of the round, the player with the largest stack of cards in each color will not score points for those cards, while all other players will score points for those cards."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/16184)

Wyatt Earp

 

"The aim of the game is for each player to earn the most money from capturing famous outlaws. 2 to 4 players take up the roles of Sheriffs who are hot on the outlaws’ tails, trying to capture the outlaws with most rewards on their heads."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/878)

Trans America

 

"A very simple railway game. Each player has a set of 5 cities strung across the US that need to be connected by rail. Players place either 1 or 2 rails each turn. The player who can make the best use of the other players' networks is generally victorious."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2842)

Bohnanza

 

"As card games go, this one is quite revolutionary. Perhaps its oddest feature is that you cannot rearrange your hand, as you need to play the cards in the order that you draw them. The cards are colorful depictions of beans in various descriptive poses, and the object is to make coins by planting fields (sets) of these beans and then harvesting them. To help players match their cards up, the game features extensive trading and deal making."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11)

Tock

 

"Tock is a board game, similar to Ludo or Sorry!, in which players race their four tokens around the game board from start to finish—the objective being to be the first to take all of one's tokens "home". Like Sorry!, it is played with cards rather than dice."

 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tock)

Uno Spin

 

"The UNO classic card game goes revolutionary! When a spin card is played, someone must spin the wheel. Will luck be on your side? Will players get to discard cards, be forced to pick up more cards, or even exchange hands? In a single turn, everything can change! Players can come from behind and suddenly take the lead. It's fast-paced fun that'll make your head spin! Includes one UNO Spin? wheel and 112 UNO Spin cards and instructions."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/24318)

Are you doing something like this? Have any good suggestions for more games to try?
Email Me

In my experience, developers tend to be optimistic folks, while testers tend to be more pessimistic.

• Developers are creators, with a natural optimism about making new things and solving difficult problems.
• Testers are fault finders, with a necessary skepticism and doubt.
• If developers are the ying, testers are the yang.

I believe this is a good thing, a sort of checks-and-balances tension that makes for better software.
 
But it does lead to some interesting contrasts
 

Optimistic Developer:	The glass is half full
Pessimistic Tester:	The glass is twice as big as required
Optimistic Developer:	This code hasn't yet been tested.  It's not known if it has any bugs
Pessimistic Tester:	This code hasn't yet been tested.  It's not known if it works
Optimistic Developer:	We are 90% done
Pessimistic Tester:	We don't know when we'll be done, if ever
Optimistic Developer:	We will refactor the code to make it better
Pessimistic Tester:	They are throwing out the working code and replacing it with an unknown quantity
Optimistic Developer:	I only changed one line of code
Pessimistic Tester:	The entire system must be retested
Optimistic Developer:	The code is the design
Pessimistic Tester:	There is no design
Optimistic Developer:	We'll fix those bugs later, when we have time
Pessimistic Tester:	We never have enough time to fix the bugs
Optimistic Developer:	This build is feature complete
Pessimistic Tester:	The features exist; some are completely broken
Optimistic Developer:	Anything is possible, given enough time
Pessimistic Tester:	Everything has flaws, and given enough time I can prove it
Optimistic Developer:	Of course it will work
Pessimistic Tester:	It might work, but probably won't
Optimistic Developer:	One last bug fix, and we can ship tomorrow
Pessimistic Tester:	Fixing this one bug will likely lead to two more
Optimistic Developer:	Stop finding bugs, or we'll never be done
Pessimistic Tester:	Stop creating bugs, so I can find them all
Optimistic Developer:	There's no need for more tests
Pessimistic Tester:	Let's just run a few more tests to be sure

Optimistic Developer:	There is no I in TEAM
Pessimistic Tester:	We can't spell BUGS without U

What's wrong with advanced artificial intelligence systems these days?

It's no surprise that self-aware systems will always turn on their creators - anyone could see that coming.  But buggy robots?  There's just no excuse.

• A robot forgets who she is
• Malfunctions cause her to flip from protecting John to attempting to assassinate him
• Another software glitch causes gynoid Cameron to go missing
• A software glitch causes her to wreck her shopping cart into a display of watermelons at the grocery store

Perhaps they should have tested more?

Oh wait, they still can!  Just go back in time and do the testing that they should have done in the first place.

And if you can go back in time, why can't they go back and avoid the bugs altogether?

I guess the future just isn't what it used to be.

See:

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080929/ENT03/809290389

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/sarah-connors-1.html

http://www.acedmagazine.com/content/view/1845/54/

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

The good folks at TaskWare have released a new version of the favorite tool in my toolbox - WinTask.

This is a minor release, but adds a few new features:

DelTree()

Deletes the files and sub-directories below the specified directory.

GetHTMLEditText()

Captures the text displayed in the specified field of a Web form.

ExtractLink()

Returns all the links (HREF properties) of the child elements of the specified HTML element.

#HTMLPosRetry

Tells WinTask to check #HTMLPosRetry times that the specified HTML element has the same coordinates before using it.

Version 3.5a also provides a few changes to existing features: 

Scheduler e-mail feature allows now Secure connection for public mail server (such as gmail).

Like many of you, I get a lot of QA-related email.

An email I received recently from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) titled "Want the potential to earn more money?" says:

"Research shows people who joined associations have experienced increased job satisfaction, earn more money, and are generally happier*. An ASQ membership can help by giving you the tools you need to become successful in your industry and differentiate you from the competition. So why wouldn’t you want to be a part of ASQ?

 

Networking
Have the opportunity to meet, communicate, and collaborate with your peers within the quality community through conferences, local section meetings, ASQ forums or divisions, ASQ Communities of Quality discussion boards, and more.

Take this opportunity to be an integral part of the recognized leader in quality and be happy as an ASQ member. Visit www.asq.org/membership and use priority code XXXXXXX to join today.

 

*2008, The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research"

The clear implication from the title and the text is - join ASQ and you will earn more money.

But when I searched for this "research", I found that the press release from The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research itself makes it clear that this is not a cause-effect relationship:

"The report reveals that, on average, association members earn higher salaries, like their jobs more and are happier people than those who do not join  associations. Rather than suggesting that association membership itself leads to success, the report concludes that success in one's profession increases the likelihood of joining an association."

 

(http://www.smithbucklin.com/news/pdfs/WSmith_Institute_Winners_Report.pdf)

Now I'm sure this is just a bit of sales puffery, right?

After all, a group that bills itself as "the world's leading membership organization devoted to quality" and which requires its members to be "honest and impartial in serving the public, their employers, customers, and clients" wouldn't intentionally mislead people, would they?

I'm sure there are good reasons to join ASQ.  But I'm not sure that this research provides any compelling reason to do so.

(If I read research which indicates that owners of Rolls Royces earn 50% more than the average, should I go out and buy one in hopes of increasing my salary?  Or, perhaps I should just hang around and collaborate with people who already own one?)

  -    =  ?

Sunday, during the first quarter of the first game, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was injured and will be out for the season.

While the Patriots had been favored to win the Super Bowl prior to Brady's injury, sportswriters are quickly dismssing their chances.

It will be interesting to see how these assessments look at the end of the season.

Glen Farley - Patriot Ledger

"A sixth straight AFC East Division championship and the playoff appearance that goes along with it aren’t out of the question."
 
http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/x475160308/Pats-season-is-not-lost

Jim Donaldson - Projo

"There’s no reason to believe that the Patriots can’t still win the AFC East, although the Jets, and even the Bills, undoubtedly believe their chances of wresting the division title away from New England have improved considerably. I’d like to believe the Patriots still can win the Super Bowl — that Cassel can do in 2008 what Brady did in 2001. But I can’t."

 

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patriots_jim_donaldson09_09-09-08_59BG_v10.16041c7.html

Jeff Jacobs - Hartford Courant

"There is no way the Patriots are winning the Super Bowl.  They will make the playoffs."
 
http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-jeffcol0909.artsep09,0,1222382.column

Pete Prisco - CBS Sportsline

"One week does not make a season -- unless you're the New England Patriots. Theirs is over. OK, so that's a bit of a rush. I'm guilty."
 
Prisco ranked them #17 in his Power Poll:
 
"Yes, they're 1-0. But they're down here because Brady is done. Don't give me that 2001 song and dance again. This team won't make the playoffs."
 
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10968862

Jeff Chadiha - ESPN.com

"Now that Brady is out for the year, it's hard to see New England winning more than eight games. "
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3576284

Tim Graham - ESPN.com

"New kings of the AFC East: Buffalo Bills"
 
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-3-49/Domino-effect--How-Brady-s-knee-impacts-AFC.html

Don Banks - SI.com

"I'm not ready to bury the Patriots' chances to defend their division title -- in fact, I still think they'll scrape out 10 wins."
 
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/08/brady/index.html?eref=T1

Candus Thomson - Baltimore Sun

"The Patriots won't make it to the Super Bowl, but they will be in the playoffs."

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff910,0,213598.column

Childs Walker - Baltimore Sun

"The Patriots will flirt with playoff contention sans Tom Brady but will fall short because he was just that important to their excellence last year."

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff910,0,213598.column

Jesse Palmer - TSN

"Now I don't even think the Patriots will finish as high as second in the AFC East division!"

 

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/jesse_palmer/?id=248945&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nfl

Buddy Thomas - New Bedford Standard-Times

"Thanks to the JV schedule the National Football League was nice enough to provide them, the Patriots probably will make the playoffs even if Marcia Brady has to play quarterback the rest of the way. But without Tom Terrific under center, the dust will continue to accumulate on the team's most recent Super Bowl trophy."

 

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/SPORTS/809110385/-1/SPORTS

Ross Tucker - SI.com

"For his part, I believe Cassel will play at a competent level and help the Pats win about half their games from here on out. Call it 8-8 or 9-7."

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ross_tucker/09/10/patriots/index.html

Gregg Easterbrook - ESPN

"As for any predictions New England will collapse without Brady, bear in mind: Currently the Patriots are on a 24-2 run, with their only losses being defeats decided late by that year's Super Bowl champion: the Colts and then the Giants. Even with Brady holding a clipboard all season the Patriots remain a monster team."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/080909

Cold, Hard Football Facts

"Can the Patriots succeed without Tom Brady?  Through the simple beauty of the English language (which some Americans still speak fluently), the short answer to this question is conveniently summed up with just two symbols: N-O.

If Brady’s absence is an extended one (and we now know it will be), New England will suffer dearly"

 

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2373_Patriots_fans:_bluer_than_blue.html

Andrew Perloff - SI.com

"New England will go back to its roots, winning 2001-style. The Pats will win a lot of games with what seems like smoke and mirrors. This season will prove the system is bigger than one player in Foxboro."

 

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/3222

Jeremy Green - Scouts, Inc.

"10-6, AFC East champs, lose in divisional playoffs."

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3581734

Doug Kretz - Scouts, Inc.

"9-7, miss the playoffs. New England still is a good team, but not elite with Cassel behind center."

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3581734

Tom Curran - NBC Sports

"They will improve as the season goes along and are certainly still a playoff-caliber team"

 

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26672073/

Clark Judge - CBSSports.com

"So go ahead and scratch New England from the playoff mix if you'd like. Me? I'm not ready. It's not that I trust Cassel to make all the right moves; it's that I trust everyone else, starting with the head coach."

 

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10967646

Shannon Sharpe - NFL Today

"I like the Jets to overtake the Patriots to win the AFC East."

 

http://sportsmedianews.com/09/nfl-today-talks-tenn-qb-and-oakland-sideline/

Keyshawn Johnson - Sunday NFL Countdown

“Instead of wrapping up the division in November, they will do it in December...
I think they can get to the playoffs and anything can happen at that point and time.”

 

http://sportsmedianews.com/09/sunday-nfl-countdown-notes-and-quotes-week-2/

After the Patriots' 19-10 win versus the Jets, bringing their record to 2-0

John Clayton - ESPN

"The Patriots are still the team to beat in the AFC East, but boy, do they look beatable.
...
So in the big picture, it appears little has changed in the AFC East. The Patriots still have 10- or 11-win potential without Brady."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/notebook?page=lastcall08/week2

Do you know of any other sportwriters willing to predit the Patriots fate?
Email Me