Zen Q.A.

App The World Turns: My i-Phone App Testing Experience

09:55, September 8, 2010 .. 0 comments .. Link
"Wisdom is offspring of success and failure"

My experience with testing apps and mobile websites on an i-Phone came as a unique opportunity. The testing process for the aforementioned apps/sites allowed for a tremendous degree of flexibility. My task day-in and day-out was to acquire the device, install the app, test, document findings. Lame!

Here's where I got the chance to turn it around:

To begin with, learning the device was a fun task. I had the opportunity to learn the nuances of the OS, the device display, the interaction of the app with the browser, and everything else of particular relevance.

Then came testing. Initially, the testing process was just to see that the app works. Again, lame! Because routine is not in my nature, I wanted to kick the testing up a notch (or two). I researched some sites and read a ton of blogs and articles, and I came up with the following testing paradigm:
  • test the app as it relates to the html site counterpart (if it does it on the website, it ought to do it the same way on the app)
  • test in a variety of conditions, anticipating network traffic and other scenarios encountered by a user
  • test the app in a way that makes the most sense (you'd be surprised the amount of complaints a user submits that we, as testers, cannot recreate)
  • be thorough in the testing process, but have fun and be creative (otherwise, testing is monotonous and tedious...which leads to errors)
For the most part, testing was a great learning experience. I had the opportunity to apply testing methods normally relegated to websites.

Device testing is an absolute MUST for anyone who developed an app or mobile website, but is only testing in Firefox (using a User Agent Switcher to emulate the device). While the testing can be boring at times, remember...only boring people get bored.

Ignore the 800 lbs. QA Gorilla At Your Own Peril

04:05, July 25, 2010 .. 0 comments .. Link
Ignore the 800 lbs. Gorilla At Your Own Peril: Why SQA should never be overlooked

To begin, I would like to make it very clear that "Quality Assurance" is the augment of any project management initiative for a project that is to be delivered to a client.
  • Quality is in the planning of the  project, from the initial contact to the signed proposal
  • Quality is in the design and development of the project, ensuring all deliverables have been fulfilled
  • Quality is the responsibility of the project manager assigned to the project to guarantee that the Client is satisfied, the product is delivered on time, at the intended cost, and with all the functionality agreed to in the proposal
  • Quality is task of the Quality Assurance Analyst to guarantee the product does at intended -- adequately drafting a test plan, test cases, and an audit report as a means of improving testing efforts
Does this sound obvious? You bet.  Ask me how often some of the points get overlooked in the interest of keeping within the proposed timeframe or allocated budget.

One better! Ask me how often the buck gets passed to a QA tester, minimal information given (ie. design or functionality specs), and asked to test under some ridiculous time constraint.

Perhaps I'm ranting a little. Perhaps I'm stating the obvious. Or, I'm making this all up as a way to keep you, the reader, entertained.

From my experience, I can only say that these are some truths I have encountered in my travels. They don't apply to any one person or place, but they can be applied to any situation where the product fails.

When the iPhone-4 was tested for reception performance, you can bet this was a bug found and ignored in the interest of the bigger picture -- get it in stores and let's hope no one notices.

Think Quality Assurance is not important? Ask a Toyota customer. Testing is tedious but necessary. Forsaking quality in the interest of saving time or coming under budget is how BP got into their epic disaster.

But what do I know? I'm just the guy who spotted the beast in the corner playing solitaire on an iTouch.

Next:  "App The World Turns: My i-Phone App Testing Experience"





Q Are You?

09:36, July 19, 2010 .. 0 comments .. Link
"who are you?" asked the caterpillar to the girl,
     every word, a smoky swirl,
to which the girl replied without malice,
"I know who I am, my name is Alice..."

The purpose of any quality assurance testing is to (a) establish clear and definitive objectives for testing an application or site, (b) test against said objectives, and (c) build a knowledgebase from both the successes and failures encountered.

I referenced the scene from "Alice in Wonderland" with a poem that kept dancing around in my head after I saw that scene. The point wasn't to know who she was, but rather who she thought she was relevant to who she is to become. Using the caterpillar as the symbol for metamorphosis is absolutely brilliant.

Over the next couple of entries, I hope to undergo similar metamorphoses. Testing methods as they are now will continue to improve. The ultimate end of quality assurance as I know it is to take the app/site and present flaws that need to be corrected and/or improved so as to participate in the successful development of a "living" product.

Next: "Ignore the 800 lbs. Gorilla At Your Own Peril: Why SQA should never be overlooked"

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