Testing Tips _Day 3

Methods for Test Estimation

1. Best Guess: This technique is purely guesswork and based on the some sort of experience. The method is very common, but since it is based on your gut feeling, its uncertainty contingency is probably around 200% or even higher.

2. Ad-hoc Method: The test efforts are based on tentative timeframe. The timeline set by managerial or marketing personnel or by client without any guess/experience. Alternatively, it is done until the budgeted finances run out.
This is very common practice in extremely immature organizations and has error margins of over 100% at times.

3. Experience Based: Analogies and experts:

• Metrics collected from previous tests.
• You already tested similar application in previous project.
• Inputs are taken from Subject Matter experts who know the application (as well as testing) very well.

4. Work Breakdown Structure: It is created by breaking down the test project into small pieces. Modules are divided into sub-modules. Sub modules are further divided into functionalities and functionalities are divided in sub-functionalities.
Review all the requirements from Requirement Document to make sure they are added in WBS. Now you figure out the number of tasks your team needs to complete. Estimate the duration of each task.

5. Delphi Technique – Same as above WBS. Here functionalities and each task are allocated to each team member. Then team member gives estimate that they will take this many hours to complete the task.

Averagely, this technique gives good confidence in the estimation. This technique can be combined with other techniques.

6. Three-point Estimation – This technique is based on statistical methods In this technique, task is broken down into subtasks (similar to WBS) and then three types on estimation are done on each chunk –

• Optimistic Estimate (Best case scenario in which nothing goes wrong and all conditions are optimal.) = a
• Most Likely Estimate (most likely duration and there may be some problem but most of the things will go right.) = m
• Pessimistic Estimate (worst case scenario which everything goes wrong.) = b
 

Formula to find Value for Estimate (E) = a + (4*m) + b / 6

Standard Deviation (SD) = = (b - a)/6

TESTING TIPS_The Day -2

TESTING TIPS

1        Make sure test cases should be available to developers prior to coding, let the developers analyze your test cases thoroughly to develop quality application and it will also save re-work.   2        If possible identify major scenarios and group them and create a regression test suite for an effective regression testing cycle.   3        While doing regression testing always use previous reports of infected areas this will let you know that on which part of the application possibility of reoccurrence of issues is higher.   4        Always try to keep developers away from the test environment, so that they cannot do any such changes accidentally or intestinally so that missing things can be captured at the right place and at right time.   5        Testing team should share best testing practices, experience with other teams in organization.   6        Communication between developers & testing engineers must be strong to know more about the internal logics and try to resolve disputes face to face quickly to avoid misunderstanding (Make sure all such kind of communication should be documented or should be on proper emails. always avoid verbal communication).

TESTING TIPS_The Day -1

TESTING TIPS

Its Always good approach to keep the Tester from software Requirement and design phase , so that Tester can have full knowledge of application and if you are not being  part of it , then always Request to your superior and asked to be a part , to have full knowledge of product.   Use traceability matrix to maximize Test Coverage whenever you test the application, because might be 100% coverage is not possible, but still try to reach near it.   Try to Break the Modules into smaller sub modules  for i.e. if you are testing web based application and there is one functionality of checking User Information , so one should break into different parts like – UI,  Functional,  Security, Browser testing including Positive , Negative , Field type , validation test to ensure maximum coverage.   Think positively as well as negatively while doing testing, as it’s very important while testing an application with intend of finding issues, by doing this you will definitely get subtle bugs.