Tips and Tricks for Software Testing
Published in
3 min readApr 30, 2017
- Start early and from the beginning — It is a good idea to start testing right from the beginning and then at every stage of the development cycle. Finding bugs and errors right from the beginning of the development cycle will prevent the software from having a larger problem later on, being closer to the finished product. Not only that, but sometime there isn’t enough time to deal with it later, so rather start from beginning and do the right thing (revise) along the way.
- Test different browsers and OS —There are many new changes in technologies, so we can’t just focus on one browser and one operating system. Testing on all the other browsers, as well as other operating system will make sure the software is working on all OS and browsers. Some of the common browsers that many people utilize include Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and of course, Internet Explorer. Some of the different operating systems that are also accessible are Mac OS, Microsoft Windows and Linux.
- Keep track of solutions for problems — Sometimes there is a new bug or problem developed when testing and it is caused by the previous fix. Not keeping track of testing and solutions will waste more time figuring out why the new problem appeared, when all the person has to do look back at their log that tracks what they did.
- Think rationally — Don’t start testing thinking that there will be no bugs or problem with their code. Start testing with the thinking that the tester is going to find bugs, because then they will not be surprised when they find some. Those who start with a irrational mindset will miss or not find any bugs because they are not in the mindset to look for any.
- Divide and Test —The best way to make testing fun and easy is to divide the code into smaller functional parts. Testing the whole code can be hard and most won’t even feel like doing that. Code broken into smaller function code segments will make it easier to complete because honestly testing does get pretty overwhelming when a person is doing testing on code that is really long.
- Automated Testing — Most of the testing that is done is automated because doing that much testing manually is going to be costly. Automated testing is divided into different tests which are unit tests, component tests, integration tests, acceptance test and GUI tests. However, not all test can be done automated, there are some test that a person will have to do manually, such as usability testing.
- Make a plan — It is important to know what is it that the tester is going to be testing. Creating a test plan is imperative, as it allows for a more organized way of ensuring that the tests are as good as they can be. Some things to consider while creating a good test plan entails the test goals, costs, time involved testing, possible limitations, etc.
- Keep developer away from testing — Developers will continue to make changes to the code, even when they are testing. Sometimes these changes are occurring close to the release of the product. Not only that, but developers all see their code as happy paths. All a developer cares about is that their code is working, and they will not go into further details like a tester would. A developer would say “I wrote this code, its working properly”. Honestly, from my personal experience testing is probably one thing that I hate doing and lack.
- Communication with developer — Testers should maximize their communication with the developer because there are going to be some things in the code that a person might need some clarification on. Best way to fix some unclear points is to communicate face to face, it can be done during daily stand ups or meetings. Communicating through email or over anything that doesn’t involve face to face may not be an effective way to maximize communication.
- Descriptive bug report — It is important that a person writes a thorough and complete bug report ensuring that it is easier and effective testing process. Considering a bug report will also help consider many solutions, saving the company’s time and resources. When writing a bug report don’t just list out what the bug is, writing in depth about the bug like how it was possibly created, the effects and the possible ways to fix the bug.
