CAST 2013

This tutorial offers ideas on how to approach testing a product from beginning to reporting using a flexible methodology.

You have just been assigned to a new testing project. What do you need to do? How can you organize yourself to develop a plan and start testing? How will you report on your progress?

This tutorial is designed to show you multiple methods of approaching new test projects that should enable you to plan, test and report effectively and efficiently. This approach was developed through much trial and error over a 5 year span as a practical implementation of the Heuristic Software Test Model from Rapid Software Testing concepts. Multiple ideas will be shown and the participants will be able to select the methods that can be directly applied or adapted to their own environments.

You will be instructed during hands-on testing of a product from the software being handed to you through to your final report. You will start by creating three raw lists (Product Coverage Outline, Potential Risks, and Test Ideas) that will help ensure high levels of product coverage and also assist, later on, in reporting your test activities. These lists will be referenced to create your initial list of test charters. The use of “advanced” test management tools (Microsoft Excel and Whiteboards with sticky notes) will be discussed and how these can be used to create useful test reports without using “bad metrics” (e.g.: pass/fail counts of test cases, % of test cases executed vs. plan).

You will be able to look forward to your next testing project with these new ideas on how to improve your preparation, your testing, and your test reporting.