When Testers Abuse Authority: Q&A with Michael Bolton‏?

When Michael Bolton talks, testers listen. In our latest Testing the Limits interview, we shoot some questions back and forth with the popular author, speaker and consultant. Here's a sneak-peek: 

On the authority of testers - Part I

"I urge testers: You want to manage a project? Become a project manager. I urge quality assurance people: You want to assure quality? Make sure you have real, final authority over the product and the people who produce it. That is, become a manager. You're not a gatekeeper of quality; you're a speed bump on the road to quality."

On testers vs. programmers - Part II

"I've met testers who believe that it's their prerogative to tell programmers what to do or how to do it. I recommend that such testers reflect on how they feel when they're told what to do by people who've never done testing work."

Testing the Limits with Michael Bolton >>>

10 Tips for Performance Test Automation?

By Scott Barber:

https://www.perftestplus.com/resources/Automating_Performance_Tests-TAD.pdf

A software expert's heuristic for regression testing?

By Karen N. Johnson:

Regression testing can be a bundle of work. Regression testing is testing designed to revisit existing aspects of an application or product to ensure the application is still working after changes have been made within a product or new features have been added. By definition, regression testing can be expansive because we may want to ensure nearly every aspect of a product is retested. Recognizing that regression tests are typically previously-created tests means that the labor of regression testing is not in test creation as much as test execution time. Planning what to regression test is the first challenge. So, how do you choose what to regression test? 

Regression testing can be a bundle of work. Regression testing is testing designed to revisit existing aspects of an application or product to ensure the application is still working after changes have been made within a product or new features have been added. By definition, regression testing can be expansive because we may want to ensure nearly every aspect of a product is retested. Recognizing that regression tests are typically previously-created tests means that the labor of regression testing is not in test creation as much as test execution time. Planning what to regression test is the first challenge. So, how do you choose what to regression test?
I devised a heuristic to plan regression testing, it's called: RCRCRC. It stands for:

• Recent
  
• Core
  
• Risky
  
• Configuration sensitive
  
• Repaired
  
• Chronic

If you haven't worked with heuristics before, the term can sound intimidating. A heuristic is a rule of thumb or a shortcut that helps us solve problems and make judgments. A heuristic is not a perfect method. The purpose of this heuristic is to help you think through various aspects of the application you're testing and think about the product in different


Read more at: https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/tip/A-software-experts-heuristic-for-regression-testing

Tips for Better User Acceptance Testing?

By Karen N. Johnson

The theory of user acceptance testing (UAT) is straightforward: User acceptance testing is conducted by users of the product. Users test a product to determine whether the product meets their needs, expectations, and/or requirements. But the distance between the theory of UAT and the reality of what takes place in UAT can be a mighty big gap.
The user acceptance test cycle can be one of the vaguest and most poorly planned segments of the whole product development lifecycle. Confusion may abound about exactly what UAT is and who is responsible for running it. One of the larger pain points of UAT is how late in the cycle this testing takes place. Typically UAT is one of the last efforts before product launch. The late timeframe of the testing adds to frustration, leaving some users and product team members wondering, "What's the point of UAT?"

Read more at:
https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1431821

Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager?

By Timothy R. Barry

What qualities are most important for a project leader to be effective? Over the past few years, the people at ESI International, world leaders in Project Management Training, have looked in to what makes an effective project leader. With the unique opportunity to ask some of the most talented project leaders in the world on their Project Leadership courses ESI have managed to collect a running tally on their responses. Below are the top 10 in rank order according to frequency listed.


Inspires a Shared Vision
An effective project leader is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. Visionaries thrive on change and being able to draw new boundaries. It was once said that a leader is someone who "lifts us up, gives us a reason for being and gives the vision and spirit to change." Visionary leaders enable people to feel they have a real stake in the project. They empower people to experience the vision on their own. According to Bennis "They offer people opportunities to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for the organisation." (Bennis, 1997)

Read More at:

https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-10-qualities-project-manager.html