A Simple Tool I Use...

One of the simpler tools that I have and think comes in handy for my testing is a Menu Item Checklist. It is devised simply and kept in an Excel spreadsheet.

I list the Main Menu, then the Menu Item, then the Conditions, and finally the Expected Results. I have found some good benefits of this list that seem to not lose value:

1. A new tester can easily go through this and learn something about the application/product/system in test.
2. Changes that are not communicated through the development process can be found if they directly impact any of these menu items. (I have seen this first hand... )
3. It helps to verify that nothing has changed without permission on an updated application/product/system.

How often do I utilize this tool? When new features are added that also include menu items, I might pull it out and make sure the previously added items still have the expected results now that the new item is added. I might look at it every now and again during a defocusing session to gain fresh ideas, add conditions, or perform regression testing.

How do I know this tool has value? I have seen it in action. Menu items added/deleted/changed without information/communication from development or product management.

This is a simple tool, but I feel it has value in reminding me of what the expected/designed/required results are for the menu items. And, in my opinion, it does not cost much time/money to maintain.

"That's not my job"

There is an old story, from an anonymous author that

goes like this:

This is a story told about four people named, Somebody, Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was one important job to be done.

Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it. Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

I came across a situation very fitting to this story just this past week. A bug was let loose due to it - and was allowed to live in the field for quite some time. I admit I am disheartened when I come across stories like this.

Maybe it was because my formative years were spent poor. Maybe it was because my family instilled in me hard work ethics. Maybe it is because I spent years raising my four girls on my own. Maybe it is because I have little fear and believe there is always a solution to a problem. Maybe it is because I was raised to do something if I saw a problem instead of complaining. Maybe it is because I have pride.

Whatever the reason is, I don't have much tolerance for the pass-the-buck syndrome. I don't have much tolerance for a people distancing themselves from the team. And to me, the team is the whole system of people in an organization, not just the little groups or departments.

I know a developer that reports bugs when he finds them. I know product managers and business analysts that do the same. This never injures my pride, it builds it. When they find something I overlooked, I am glad they did, especially if it is before our customers did. And I learn from it, if/when I can.

I know a class A tester that answers customer support call issues when asked to. And she does it with a smile and a sense of gratification that she helped someone out. I know a manager that stays late nights and helps the test team test when it gets close to release/shipment. He rolls up his sleeves and asks, "what can I do?".

I know of a front desk/reception lady who comes in occassionally when there are late nights and brings around a candy cart to keep the troops fed when testing.

And then there is the other side... the side of fear. Those who won't "cross the line" for fear of "stepping on toes" or taking on jobs that are not theirs.

In 2008, I wrote a blog titled This reminds me of when I was a waitress. I still believe the job I do is service oriented. When asked a question, I will answer, "let me see what I can find out", "yes", or "no". Sometimes I take a couple days and think things over - I plan. Sometimes I answer right away - if my schedule will or won't allow it. Sometimes I offer to help even if I have no clue what the solution is.

To me, the whole thing that I do is for the customer and me. I take pride in what I do and I do not want the customer to find issues/bugs/problems before me... I like the challenge in that part of it :)

Today, it takes more than doing your job, as set by the description, to make a difference in the end result or to add value to the organization, the product, the project... Stop being afraid... be ready/willing/able to not just "inform" the stakeholders, but to serve them as well.

article claims Google Chrome 5 is bug free....

Personally, I like Google. I use the search engine like no one's business. I have an iGoogle page that I set as my Google Chrome home page. On iGoogle I have three pages worth of gadgets to give me articles and links to topics I have interest in.

Though I have pointed out their lack of concern over my own personal privacy, I still use them to keep an eye out on/research lots of things, including myself. I look forward to seeing/using/testing with (hopefully) the Google OS as well.

All this aside, I read an article today that made me laugh out loud and write this blog as a challenge to my fellow testers. Bloomberg Businessweek author, Nathan Alderman, proclaimed in the first sentence of his article on Google Chrome 5 "Bug-free and beautifully designed...".

I do not believe that any software/application/product/system designed is bug free. I do not have a Mac, nor do I currently have access to one, so I put this out there for those testers who do...

My question/challenge to those of you have a Mac and have installed Google Chrome 5 on your system... is this browser really bug free?

A Challenging Validation...

My 20-year-old daughter and her fiance came to visit from Nashville, TN for a few days for her 17-year-old sister's high school graduation. We took a lot of pictures, of course, and she decided to go to a local pharmacy to get hers put on a CD for us to have a copy of a couple of hours before her flight home.

After ordering the CD, she was told it would take about an hour to finish, so she gave me the receipt and went to lunch with her sister before her flight home (I would be meeting them there after picking up the CD.)

I went to the pharmacy when the hour was up. A young lady came to assist me and to inform me that originally my daughter selected the Express option through the photo kiosk, and this was out of order. She had my daughter select the Today option and they thought it uploaded, and evidently there was an issue with that option as well.

I talked with her and asked her a few questions about it, then agreed to just get a refund on the CD. She then stunned me by saying, "Thank you for not yelling at me."

I asked her, "why would I yell at you?" She told me that people are "funny" about their pictures. I told her I test software, and that I understood that it was the technology that had the "bugs", and I understood that it was people's frustration with it that caused them to be "funny" about things, and that I was sorry that the customers took it out on her.

I kept thinking about this conversation for days later... and I took it as a personal challenge to continue to grow and improve as a software tester...

And I challenge you to do the same... conversations like these validate the need for testing professionals in software development.

What's on your walls?

I recently read a post called What's on your office Wall? by Jeffrey Phillips on his Thinking Faster blog.

This post inspired me to take a look around my office and share what inspires me throughout the day when I need a bit of motivation...

This question mark was painted to match the surrounding ladybugs by one of my daughters. The collection reminds me that it is in questioning a product/process that I find bugs....



On the wall to the right of me, the first thing I see is the art work my girls have given me over the years I have been at my current organization, and a mirror that has a sign over it that says, "People Problem? Check with this person first."



Moving to the right on that same wall is a bookshelf with my "bug babies", real "babies", and two of the books that have inspired me on my journey...



Lastly, on that wall, are the slinky hanging from the ceiling that makes space invader noises when pushed up from the bottom - for stress relief... and the two certificates that mean anything to me. One is from the completion of the Rapid Software Testing Course that Michael Bolton taught our group some years back, and the other is the tongue and cheek All Things Quality Certification that was given by Joe Strazzere.



On the wall directly in front of my desk, I have a Dream Your ABC's poster to remind me to be positive in what I believe, a National Sarcasm Society tin (cause I can be quite sarcastic), a Michelle Street sign that was given to me (with a personal bug, since my name has one "l" in it), a Patton quote, and a sign that reads "Everyone brings joy to this office, some when they enter, others when they leave."



My walls that surround me combine inspiration, motivation, and humor... what's on your walls?