My everyday project experience with testing and problems solutions
Smoke test helps to determine the impact of latest changes in an application on the test planning
10:41, 2010-Mar-17
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When new version (build) of the application or system is released a test manager faces a challenge to determine the scope and importance of test work within nearly days. He also needs to figure out if updates of project test planning and test strategy are required. Test strategy is usually formed on the basis of project management expectations of results from test team work. Test planning covers terms when test manager shall discuss with project management progress of test activities. Facing challenges of changing test expectations and test planning during the entire project, a test manager has very often does not have latest changes about current or future changes in the project planning or strategy.
Also information about latest changes in the code or design of application does not come at the time, when build is delivered. In order not only to survieve impact of latest changes in the application on manager is also required to make necessary changes in the broader test planning based on the expectations of project management on when testing will be completed and which results it shall deliver. In order to complete this task, a test manager shall also have a clear vision on which changes in the implementation and design done by development team in new delivery an application or system. Impact of those changes on the application shall be analyzed and considerations taken into the test planning.
Having good configuration management system in place helps to save time and effort on indicating what were changes in the project, but clarifying what impact of changes on the application is rather difficult, because of risk of misunderstanding by development team product(project) requirements, which often are formed in a very vague way. Also development team may be not quit enough familiar with an application/system or implementation techniques. Those two risks increase uncertainty factors for test manager.
A smoke test is meant as a method to give test manager an information wether application is mature enough to be tested. It was often seen as a pure "to be or not to be" question giving only yes or no answer. However this kind of test can be expanded to become a scan test run on each new version of the application. This test will consist of set of small test cases. Each little group of test cases performs a stability check, but which relates to one/two feature(s) only, not the entire application. That approach gives very fast preliminary information on the status of application and may hold a clue in figuring out impact of latest changes and adopting necessary changes in the test strategy and test planning. The flexibility of test planning is increased and test manager may carry its day activities easily and provide a fast response to the needs of project(s) and businesses. Test manager shall concentrate his efforts on features, where impact of changes was the most if those features are stable enough to be tested.
Business needs as a driven force for quality assurance within projects
03:13, 2010-Mar-16
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Majority of business directors often see quality procedures within project as something within project caring about own needs and always complaining about not having enough time to test. I came to the conclusion that the only way to succeed in my task as a QA consultant is to speak with business in the language of business. For that task it is very important to understand the level of product quality business expects and how they see self QA assurance role within project. QA shall work more as IT Business Assurance especially in small projects.
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Smoke test helps to determine the impact of latest changes in an application on the test planningBusiness needs as a driven force for quality assurance within projects