Three days of Experience

Talking about my experience, last week I was shifted to a team of developers who are assumed to be the best in our organization (coz they were highly paid and yeah they worked smartly as in code, logics, communicating and in many ways).

DAY 1

It took me one whole day to go through the requirements of the developed software, mean while team member around me started chatting with me asking about me, my experience, why testing (many more questions) and unintentionally they were even trying to nag out me (they were pretending to be happy as a tester joined their team but, their intention was to remove me out of this team) because no one like testers or can I say no one like spectators on them.

After few hours, truly speaking I felt, will I be able to find error, bugs, mistakes, defect in their work, coz their talks created a perception in my mind due to which my approach, my mentality changed towards finding bugs. I was not supposed to run the software on the same day but, I did, to feel the complexity of the developers and software.

As I said earlier due to my brain wash and change in perception I couldn’t find any error, bugs.
Now, I was totally bugged out. I left application and went back on requirement document.

I know that testers always cannot find bugs but, in my case I was feeling horrified, not exactly but, yeah anger was there in me (I couldn’t find bugs. Huh!). There were only two questions running in my mind.
1. Are they so good in developing?
2. What if I don’t find any error, mistake, bug…?
On this note I left for the day (back to home).

DAY 2

I’ll describe my day two in point format.
1. Revised a small part of requirement you can say phrase 1.

2. Took a U-turn on software and simultaneously went through requirement doc. and application.

3. Slowly slowly started understanding the purpose of the software and started using the software as per the requirement and from the N number of user’s point of view. (I know I can’t think like users coz every one is different but, tried my best to view, throw my perception in different angel, mode of situation, permutation combination)

4. Unbelievingly my half day went like hopping here and there. Finally, after lunch I was ready with all requirements standing firm in my mind, all my thoughts very clear. Started my testing.

5. Took up a small module, within five minute two typo errors. WOW. (small but, good for that point of time)

6. Within 20 minutes two functionality errors (which was missing as per specs.). Yahoo!! (that time I was feeling great)

7. Now comes the coding of the module, as per my knowledge I was a management student without any technical knowledge. Then two was curious to know more about this team’s coding.

8. Started with date format changed the date format viewed the application, this Exception error was not handled. (This date was exported from another application by running the windows services.)

9. I was feeling extremely happy not just because I was finding error but, by thinking that yes now I can also add value to product. This feeling was amazing.

10. Talking about coding errors, this application screen was in a grid format in which you can add different fields as per your needs and mails had to be send from this application if some one passes a comment on you, this was not happening just because, the added field was suppose to be added in the end but, I added it at the top of all the field due to which the mail id of the user on which the mail had to be sent was disturbed and the code was written using an array now, ERROR. Excellent. BRAVO.

11. Day end but, before leaving office I was supposed to report my PM. (I had reported this error on a bug tracking tool called project management)

12. As soon as I entered his cabin he was smiling, the first sentence he spoke was, “So, I got some one to bug me and this team”. I was appreciated by him.

DAY 3

The whole team came to know about the error reported, all my well wishers were happy for me, including the expert team members. :-))

**NOTE** The errors reported by me were nothing great but, well it does matter to a fresh unidentified tester.

Work experience...

Hi everyone,

Currently, I am testing four projects at a time, being a fresher I never believed myself that I can perform well in this kind of situation or handle so much of pressure at a time but, some time I think is it correct to do this kind of experiment.
I can say it’s an experiment to test my ability, to test my performance, to test my testability and there are many a things to be tested in a tester.

While doing this experiment I learnt a lesson which left me with a moral and a question for me, I really don’t know which one to accept as a question or moral, I cannot make up my mind.
This moral and a question was in form of a sentence which as follow,
Question --> Test plan and implementing on this test plan are two different things
Moral --> Planning and working are inversely proportional to each other

With the following example I have concluded my question and my moral from the above two sentences.
For ex. When we finish a round of testing and revert back to test plan to check the nos. reports to be produce for the client, at this point of time a question comes to your mind,
“Making a test plan and implementing on this test plan are these two different things?”

When we plan our testing criteria (a type of testing enforced on a module) and when we produce a conclusion through planned criteria. This conclusion turns up to be some thing different which we had never thought off. “Planning and working are inversely proportional to each other”

This is what I have concluded but, there are many time where I find my moral as a question and my question as my moral.

Getting into deeper sections, I found some thing very common in these two things (my moral and my conclusion) that is “ Mentality ” the state of mind, the way you look at software’s, the way you approach a software, the way you bug yourself to find a bug in a software. On different stages of software development different direction / dimension is needed and we testers are not responsible for the change in method of testing it’s the product which demands proper attention from all direction. Yes, we testers are responsible for the mentality we carry while testing particular software. We being the first user for the newly build software it’s our responsibility to modify or be flexible to fit in as per customer’s requirement, as per user requirement, as per developers requirement.
I don’t want to get into the fight of developer VS testers instead just think after the PM (project manager) we should have the art of getting our bugs fixed.

BWST-1

2-5-09 Bangalore.
A lucky day for me, to personally meet some well-known personality of testing field.
Yes, you guessed it right I am talking about the BWST-1 conference held in Bangalore.
I had a great time out there in matter meeting people, learning, understanding testing, problems faced by testers etc…
I apologies for the delay in posting about BWST-1, actually the learning from this conference was equal to a big pool (of knowledge) and to write about my understanding from this pool it’s some what equal to catch a fish bare handed.
Anyways, following is my experience for/in BWST-1.

The day began with a general introduction between all presented (15) testers. Introduction was pretty much important to know each other [and to target people easily :-) (just kidding)]

India’s first ever Software testing conference BWST-1 was attended by, Ajay Balamurugadas, Aishwarya D Shukla, Guruprasad, Manjunath, Rahul Verma, Rahul Mirakhur, Shrini Kulkarni, Manoj Nair, Ravisurya, Santhosh Tuppad, Raghu Sahay, Sharath Byregowda, Pradeep Soundararajan and off course ME.

We were given three color cards 1. Red 2. Green 3. Blue.
Red- to stop every one and you speak your point.
Green- to add some interesting point.
Blue- to start a new thread.
Being our first time, using these cards were a bit confusing task but, after a while everybody started understanding the basic fundas of how to use these cards.

Moving on to presentations,
Presenter - Ajay Balamurugadas, Topic - Rapid Software Testing (changing the way of testing).
Ajay’s experience is experienced by almost all fresh testers, he says when he was new organization gave a template and set of test case which had to be executed nothing else, no other conditions or no other thoughts to be executed.
A new one has to follow this orders but, he didn’t found thing working so what he did is except those test cases, tried a different angle of testing, exploratory testing and unbelievably error/bug flowed like running water.
[Now, it doesn’t mean that only change in angle (exploratory testing) bought these error/bugs but, it’s a tester who should understand his perfect angle and utilize it in a correct direction.] Target achieved but, when testers achieve their target questions raise and that is what happened, now ajay communicated and tried to explain every one how/why error/bugs generated.
There after, ajay became the bug hunter of his organization. (Everybody wanted a piece of ajay for testing)
Nice move isn’t it?
Moral of this presentation-
1. Always move in a direction in which you are perfect.
2. Communicate or stand only when you have enough evidence to prove something.
(Detail description and discussion of this presentation click here)


Presenter - Manoj Nair, Topic - An attempt for better testing.
Manoj’s experience was all about testing a product in every direction which was really appreciated in his organization but, slowly and some how a problem created of managing data. Sometime questions rose to him saying how to manage data and what mode of presentation would be better. This was a real time question for testers. Manoj found solution for him, which is session based test management.
A question rose in between this presentation – Limits of data providing after which it becomes an overflow of data (by- Aishwarya)
This actually gave a different angle for the discussion, according to me this question is yet unanswered.
Moral of this presentation-
Data’s are meant for informing you only if, you manage them.


Presenter - Manjunath, Topic - Review of Bug Reports.
Frankly speaking first few minutes were bouncer for me coz I didn’t get the idea of reviewing the bug report.
Then slowly slowly when manjunath shared his experience that time my ideas got cleared actually then I understood the real purpose of reviewing a bug report.
Shrini sir explained me or you can say gave examples on this topic. (While walking towards the restro for lunch)
Now, I think reviewing the bug report is something which every tester should practice.


Presenter - Rahul Verma, Topic - Confession of a Fallible Tester.
What a presenter? Seriously he reminded me, my graduations first presentation but, his presentation was more professional kind off, amazing presentation.
Rahul verma didn’t present a way of testing instead he presented his mistakes which taught testing to him.
One of his experience:- In one of his assignments rahul’s senior gave him a tool and said use this tool for testing coz this is the best tool existing. He accepted that and tested with that tool but simultaneously he use to search reasons which makes this tool tagged best tool.
He shared his experiences with us which were more than a motivating presentation.
Rahul’s presentation didn’t taught how to test but he taught to learn from your mistakes
Can any one motivate you to make mistakes, rahul did seriously speaking, this presentation charged me to make more mistakes only if, I learn from it.
Moral of this presentation-
Nobody can educate you unless and until you want to learn.


Presenter - Rahul Mirakhur, Topic - Career in testing.
Rahul presented two questions why testing and why not testing. He gave out quite a few example how he tackle people with a question why testing.
According to him each and every one is a tester and every one like to explore, which was very true.
People at a certain level in IT sector do nothing just manage the given task and while managing they do not get a chance to live or to do what they want to do. I think this actually happens in real world.
Then he talked about how earlier developers were forced to do testing which created this mental blockage.
People have created a mental block either they live with it or leave it.
Moral of this presentation-
Every negative side has a positive angle for someone.



Presenter - Shrini Kulkarni, Topic - Test Automation, mindset, skill and people.
Seriously guys, I found him a pool of knowledge covered with a small brain.
Shrini discussed about his experiences in automation testing, meeting different people with different mind set plus with different skills.
What I learn from him,
Test automation- automation is more than just scripting.
People – many with many ideas.
Skill- to working differently
Mindset- keep on changing your ideas.
Moral of this presentation-
Testing lost its real meaning when it was brought to India.


Presenter - Sharath Byregowda, Topic - Session Based Test Management.
He shared his experience as how he changed the way of testing and achieved something which was unknown or unexpected.
You must read his blog Here, this would give you a clear idea about how he tested a product with his team and managed to create great result in testing.
Moral of this presentation-
Do what ever you want but manage things to make you understand.


Clock slowly and steadily moved on to 6.00pm which was the indication of stop.
Being very frank I was exhausted just because testing was more than testing out there was more than my expectations but, enjoyed it truly.
We ended up our BWST-1 conference on a good note- promising to be back soon.
On that note we left the premises to enjoy the evening out in Bangalore we went to a mall, to fill in up some food stuff. The process of hanging out got carried out for 3 hours and around 9.00pm we left towards are respective places.

What a tester does?

My main focus is on what does a tester do?
Actually, on Sunday I met my social friends which are mostly developers as well as been in developing for a long time (experience, mini=1 max=5). They thought to blast me with their developing idea as we are aware, all the developers think testers are devils for them, God knows why and what makes them think that…
I tried to explain them the whole concept of testing and even why testing field has got a different position.
The place we met was CCD (café coffee day) and before this discussion started we had planned to leave that place within next half an hour but, would you believe that discussion continued for two hours with 25 coffees and 60 cigarette between 6 people (5 developers 1 tester) no one realized when, where and how time went on…

We all where enjoying the discussion because we included waiter, shop manager, parents, teachers, boy walking on road and even Gandhi-ji in examples to prove our respective points…
Slowly and steadily the topic started heating up and we all started shouting like any thing, believe me we all where like politicians shouting in parliament but, suddenly from some where the speaker (shop manager) came into picture and requested us to calm down, manager was a nice person coz twice he tolerated our noise but third time he pleaded us to leave the café so, we finished our topic and decided to meet up again on next Sunday with the same topic and same café. Left for our respective home (God save the ccd manager)

While returning back home I realized a pattern in different question asked by developers,
Eventually question where many but motive was the agenda, I went into flashback and re-winded all question and you know the entire questions where revolving around different patterns of questions which are as follows….
Agenda
1. Who is a tester?
2. What does Software testing mean?
3. Why testing came in software?
4. How testing should be done?
5. Why not developers can do testing?
6. Why do we need testers?
7. Value of testing?
8. Is testing good or bad?
9. Whom exactly testing benefits?
10. Why there is no qualification for a tester.
11. What a software tester does?

I explained them the entire 10 question but got a bit confused when question 11 came up to me, what a tester does? (And added the following point)
What actually a software tester do to a product, add value, add confusion, add in an extra brain or create misunderstanding. What a tester does? (I thought the best suitable answer would be “ Testing ” that is what a tester does isn’t it? )

But would like to here your comments on this question…
What a tester does in testing?