Best 5 Software Testing Traps and How To Overcome Them?
Best 5 Software Testing Traps and How To Overcome Them?
What do you think when you hear the term “software testing,”? You may know about some types of testing, such as regression testing or functional testing. Do you visualize the complex, interconnected network of test types and methods that make up the vast world of testing?
More experienced developers understand that software testing is not the only solution. Still, in the broadest sense, it is to determine whether an application is running successfully and if it can be expected to remain working as it should in real-world use scenarios. It refers to a collection of tests and evaluations. The purpose of software testing is to ensure that all gears rotate smoothly and work together like an oiled machine.
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If you aspire to be a software tester, you must be familiar with what software testing is? What vital role does software testing play in improving the product quality? Improving the productivity of software tests is very important to ensure proper functioning of the process.
However, some software testing traps can reduce the productivity of the software testing process.
Check out what are best 5 software testing traps and how to overcome them?
1. Are you running out of testing ideas?
It is the most common problem that testers may encounter in a project. How many times have you experienced without knowing what else to test and how to test? We call this phenomenon “tester block syndrome” [a condition related to professional testing that may cause testers to lose the ability to find new bugs or defects in the software they are testing].
How to overcome this trap?
Pair Testing
The couple test allows you to develop test ideas that can be exhausting if you try them independently. Pair testing is nothing more than a testing method in which two testers work in pairs to test the software.
BCA (brute force analysis) –
If one tester thinks of a bug and another tester considers all the characteristics and areas where the bug may manifest, the tester can use this unique Brainstorm technology.
Think out of the box –
Instead of thinking about the functions, features, and uses available, it is better to do the opposite. Take a step back and reassess the situation. When your ideas are exhausted, have you tried a functionality test? What about load, performance, and stress testing? What about tests that include structure, platform, data, devices, browser, and operations?
2. Testing without setting any proper objective –
Testers can hold meetings with the development team and managers to discuss improvements that need to be tested. Everyone in the conference room seems to understand this, but only you do not. In this case, the best way is to agree with everyone as if it works. However, this causes problems at a later stage.
How to overcome this trap?
It is essential to ask people relevant questions during the meeting. It can prevent you from falling into the above situation.
You need to brainstorm on products, applications, or features that you need to test in the future. Then collect a list of teammates’ impulsive ideas and discuss all possible test plans, ideas, and strategies for the test project with the test team.
When you research the latest technologies, new products and even tools, please find some information available about similar situations to help you get started. You must be familiar with various test tools. Here are some of the software testing tools you need to know to overcome the various testing traps.
3. Are you suffering from in-attentional blindness?
How many times have you missed an apparent defect or an error or bug that was right there on the screen, and yet you missed it because you were busy ticking off the other test items from the checklist or executing the test case document? This situation is very embarrassing. Not only does it overlook something too simple and obvious, but it also happens when you are busy chasing test cases to find things like these!
How to overcome this trap?
Stop blindly following the test matrix and test case.
Before using the test case for testing, make sure to ask yourself the following questions and edit the test case to fill in the missing links.
- Why is this test case critical?
- What is the subject of this test case?
- Which part of the product function does this test case cover? Can the “-” test case be tested in other ways or methods?
- If yes, how to proceed?
Change the focal length of the testing approach –
When following the test matrix and test cases to test something, pay attention to other things that may occur while running the test. Examine other relevant areas even if they are not listed in the test/matrix case. A control object which flickers a little when saving the input to another part of the form section, clicking the button rattles the speaker and clicking another test area causes the submit button to change slightly when you click inside another test. The subtle looking actions could indicate that the catastrophic system is about to fail.
4. What to test and what can be skipped?
How often do you feel that you do not know the number of opportunities and options to approach testing? With the increasing complexity of software and technology, testers often have to consider many things when conducting tests. When the project deadline approaches, it is pretty challenging to decide what to test, where to start, how to start, and what to skip.
How to overcome this trap?
Gather intelligence data
First, check the existing errors with the Bug Tracker tool and note the critical errors. Talk to the developers, consider the top 10 most important things that affect the functionality of most end users, and list them. Carefully read the review documentation, implementation guide, user manuals, and anything to understand what is most important to your customers and end-users.
DIQ approach (Dive In/Quit) –
Now listing all these crucial things to check, let us look at the magic DIQ (Dive In/Exit) method. In this test method, please choose one of the most important tests and try it. If it seems too hard for you, then quit and take a different item, dive in and test until you have tried all your test ideas on it. So, you take an item > dive in > quit when you cannot test it any further > repeat it with another item > come back to the initial item when you have finished all other test items.
5. Not sure if ‘It’ is working or not?
How often have you encountered an error or problem that was not reported as an error because you did not know if it was wrong or what you did? Subsequently, the same problem was discovered and solved by a colleague or colleague or, god forbid, your clients?
How to overcome this trap?
Trust your tester’s instinct.
If your instinct tells you something is suspicious, and the error you observe and experience is likely to be a bug, please report it to the developer. After all, what is the worst-case scenario? The developer may come back and say that you did something wrong (misconfiguration, misunderstanding of the actual function, etc.), not a bug. It is still much better than ignoring it, thinking it may not be a bug, and the manager or client will find it later.
Start with a fresh set of eyes –
You will find the mistake with fresh eyes. If you are still unsure, pause and try again to make sure what you see is not a bug.
Tested by other testers –
Select one of the testers, ask them to run the same test scenario, and review their suggestions.
Best ways to Improve Software Testing –
Following are some of the ways to improve software testing:
Always start with a product map.
At the beginning of the project, you need to spend time researching the software and modelling the functionality and requirements of the product. Graphical models (such as mind maps) can provide a concise and easy-to-understand representation of the product. The modelling process can help you find features that you might not have noticed before.
Choose flexible management tools according to your needs –
The two companies are not the same. It may mean that a particular tool is better suited for a different situation. You need to find a test management tool that meets today’s daily testing needs and offers flexibility if the test method changes in the future.
Ensure developers have the test cases –
It is suitable for testers to provide test cases to developers to ensure that all critical features are properly developed before releasing the application for further testing. It minimizes the rework as the developers themselves handle the most critical parts of the application.
Conclusion –
Due to the inherent characteristics of the complexity of modern communications and software systems, software testing is becoming more and more complex. Therefore, more effective methods, techniques and testing heuristics need to be developed. If your progress as a tester is not fast enough, then you are likely to fail.
Therefore, you should be prepared to fail from time to time. After all, we are testers, not magicians. However, if you are learning from past mistakes, updating your testing heuristics, and upgrading your testing skills to fix these mistakes and prevent them from happening again.
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